SETimes.comTurkish military names new commanders, stresses secularism
07/08/2007
The Supreme Military Council dismissed several officers for alleged Islamic activities, and promoted a lieutenant general known for his role in the 1997 military coup.
By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 07/08/07
Bolstering secularism in Turkey was the main emphasis of a four-day meeting of Turkey's Supreme Military Council, which ended on Saturday (August 4th). The meeting came after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam, won a landslide victory in the July 22nd general elections.
The Council dismissed ten officers from the Armed Forces for their alleged involvement in "reactionary" activities -- a term denoting Islamist extremism. Thirteen others were expelled for disciplinary reasons.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has been at odds with the military and Turkey's secular elite, chaired the meeting. He and Defence MinisterVecdi Gonul expressed reservations about the officer expulsions, but acknowledged that under the current system, Council decisions cannot be appealed. The AKP reportedly plans to change the system as part of a planned constitutional reform.
The military, meanwhile, continues to insist that the AKP choose a secularist president to succeed incumbent Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In April, as Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul sought to become president, the military published a sharply worded warning. Gul's bid then failed.
"We are still behind what we said on April 12th," General Staff chief General Yasar Buyukanit told reporters last week. "There is no change on that."
At its meeting, the Council promoted Lieutenant General Erdal Ceylanoglu to the rank of full general. He is known for his orders to dispatch tanks to Ankara's Sincan district in 1997, as a show of force against an earlier Islamic-rooted government.
The move was part of a military campaign that eventually ousted Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. His Welfare Party -- the precursor to Erdogan's AKP -- was banned in 1998.
Several other personnel changes were announced. Admiral Muzaffer Metin Atac will replace Naval Forces Admiral Yener Karahanoglu, who will retire at the end of the month. Turkish War Colleges head General Aydogan Babaoglu was assigned to replace Turkish Air Forces Commander General Faruk Comert, who will also retire on August 30th. First Army Commander General Fethi Remzi Tuncel, Aegean Army Commander General Sukru Sarıısik and Turkish Land Forces Education and Doctrine Command chief General Orhan Yoney were all retired.
In the Turkish Land Forces, three out of seven lieutenant generals were promoted to the rank of full general. In the Turkish Air Forces, a lieutenant general was also promoted to full general. Hasan Aksay was assigned to be commander of the Turkish War Colleges. Vice-Admiral Esref Ugur Yigit was promoted to admiral and fleets commander.