Turkey army issues warning after 'coup plot' arrests

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Turkey army issues warning after 'coup plot' arrests


The head of Turkey's army has insisted coups are a thing of the past
Turkey's army has warned of a "serious" situation after 40 senior military figures were arrested over an alleged plot to topple the government.
All top generals and admirals met at the military headquarters to evaluate the investigation, the military said.

Police were questioning the suspects over the so-called "sledgehammer" plot which reportedly dates back to 2003.
Former heads of the air force and navy were among those detained in raids in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
The men arrested include the former air force chief Ibrahim Firtina, former navy chief Ozden Ornek, and several other generals and colonels, both serving and retired, Turkish media outlets reported.
General Ilker Basbug, the head of the army, dismissed the allegations, insisting coups in Turkey are a thing of the past.


The investigation follows reports published in the liberal Taraf newspaper, which said it had discovered documents detailing a 2003 plot to bomb two Istanbul mosques and provoke Greece into shooting down a Turkish plane over the Aegean Sea.

The aim of the operation was allegedly to undermine the Turkish government and justify a coup.

The army has said the plans were actually part of a planning exercise at a military seminar, and not a coup plot.
The alleged plot is similar, and possibly linked, to the reported Ergenekon conspiracy, in which military figures and other staunch secularists allegedly planned to foment unrest, leading to a coup.

Dozens of people are already on trial in connection with that case.
Many Turks regard the cases as the latest stage in an ongoing power struggle between Turkey's secular nationalist establishment and the governing AK Party.
The AK Party has its roots in political Islam, and is accused by some nationalists of having secret plans to turn staunchly secular Turkey into an Islamic state.
The government rejects those claims, saying its intention is to modernise Turkey and move it closer to European Union membership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8531486.stm

A bit crazy. 40 senior military figures involved. Must be something brewing in Turkey. I have to say, I've no idea whatsoever about the internal workings of the turkish Government, but something must be amiss to bring about that sort of scheming.

Moriarty

Interesting situation. The Turkish army view themselves as the guardians of secularism in Turkey, following the path of Ataturk. They initiated a number of military coups over the past fifty years when they thought that things were beginning to go astray in the political sphere. I don't really know enough about all the machinations, but from what I know of the situation, I'd have a fair amount of time for the Turkish army.

The Turkish army had problems with the election of the current ruling AK party as they were viewed as a populist Islamic party. I remember reading that the army viewed them with open suspicion that they were looking to roll back numerous secular policies. That the army has rolled up a possible coup plot seems to indicate conflicting views within the army over whether the AK party are a threat to Turkish secularism or not.

I wonder how it's going to play out once everyone hears the news?

wes

It is hard to say whats going on. The AKP (the current ruling), are apparently a Islamist party, but they have however improved Human Rights in Turkey, to try and get it into the EU, and the army does have a history of coup plots. So it would not surprise me if the army was planning a coup of some kind.

Hopefully, things don't escalate and law enforcement can get to the bottom of things.

nesf

Coups aren't necessarily a bad thing when the army acts only to defend the constitution and prevent abuses of power. Pretty hard to limit coups to just these though, that said, the Turkish army has a pretty good record so far as records for coups and returning power to the people go.

wes

nesf wrote: »

Coups aren't necessarily a bad thing when the army acts only to defend the constitution and prevent abuses of power. Pretty hard to limit coups to just these though, that said, the Turkish army has a pretty good record so far as records for coups and returning power to the people go.

This is true enough, but if what we are hearing about this coup plot, is true, then this is most certainly a pretty dodgy coup. They were planning on blowing up Mosques, and having a Turkish fighter shot down by Greece apparantly. So if the accusations are true, then the people behind this, were clearly engaged in terrorism.

Also, I haven't seen much to suggest any good reason to get rid of the AKP party. They seem to be trying to move the country towards Europe, and have changed laws which enhanced Human Rights etc to try and get them into Europe. Oddly enough, its seems that the quasi-Islamist party seem to be enhancing Human Rights more than the secularists did.

So its definetly an interesting situation.

meathstevie

nesf wrote: »

Coups aren't necessarily a bad thing when the army acts only to defend the constitution and prevent abuses of power. Pretty hard to limit coups to just these though, that said, the Turkish army has a pretty good record so far as records for coups and returning power to the people go.

Prime example of such a coup is Portugal.

Sleepy

If only we could convince our army to act in such a fashion.

FTA69

I'd have a fair amount of time for the Turkish army.

Why? How is right-wing, jingoistic and militaristic ultra-nationalism any better than Islamic-orientated government? The Turkish military has an appalling record, especially on issues concerning Kurdistan and the campaign of ethnocide they enforced.

nesf

Sleepy wrote: »

If only we could convince our army to act in such a fashion.

There are many things the present Government could be accused of but abusing the constitutional limits on term lengths or the consitution in general aren't one of them.

rich1874

Turkey is certainly a melting pot at the moment. I think the military do recognise that any sort of coup would lead to a very unstable situation since the ruling party(the AKP) is not part of any coalition. This would mean an entirely new government would have to be formed. Also the AKP has already won two crushing election victories and are one of the most popular parties in Turkish history, so the miliatary may not have the support of the people like in previous situations.
There is a dangerous situation forming in Turkey, the AKP on the one hand have brought(or at least begun to) the sweeping social and economic reforms necessary for EU entry but on the other continue to de-secularise one of history's proudest secular societies. The military, and the turkish nationalists will look to halt this religous interference, but as FTA69 said;

How is right-wing, jingoistic and militaristic ultra-nationalism any better than Islamic-orientated government? The Turkish military has an appalling record, especially on issues concerning Kurdistan and the campaign of ethnocide they enforced.