Turks are to take part in a street rally Sunday in support of the country's secular regime amid a row between the government and the army.

The organizers said Sunday's mass rally in Istanbul -- supported by some 400 non-governmental organizations - will follow a similar demonstration in Ankara on April 14 which drew up to 1.5 million people according to some estimates.

"Let us unite for the Republic, tomorrow may be too late," the organizers said in their call for the Istanbul rally.

The dispute which brought Turkey to the brink of a political crisis erupted when the Muslim government's candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, narrowly missed becoming the next president in a first round of voting in parliament Friday.

The prospect of Gul becoming head of state alarmed secularists about Islam creeping into all fields of life and prompted the opposition to boycott the vote, robbing the government of the required two-thirds majority.

In a harsh statement issued hours after Friday's vote, the army, which has carried out three coups in the past, said it was determined to defend the secular order against what it saw as a growing Islamist influence.

The government lashed out on Saturday, calling the armed forces to order.


ABM/HAR