Cyprus-Forum.com

[EPSILON]

Turkey and its army

Restive colonels and generals
Jun 18th 2009 | ISTANBUL
From The Economist print edition

New evidence of old anti-government conspiracies within the army


OLD habits die hard. No institution in Turkey lives up to that adage more than its meddlesome army, which is embroiled in yet another row with the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. The latest mischief-making concerns an alleged plan that was hatched last April to overthrow AK and to incriminate Turkey’s largest and most influential Islamic brotherhood, led by a moderate preacher called Fetullah Gulen.

A copy of the “Plan to Combat Islamic Fundamentalism” was published by Taraf, a liberal daily newspaper, on June 12th. It promptly sparked a political storm that has left the army on the defensive. Signed by Dursun Cicek, a colonel serving in the army’s psychological warfare unit, the plan calls for “mobilising agents” within AK to discredit the party through their actions and words. Worse, it speaks of planting weapons in the homes of members of Mr Gulen’s movement, with a view to demonstrating that they are “terrorists” with links to separatist Kurdish PKK rebels.

Another aim of the plan was apparently to use the media to galvanise nationalist support against Armenia and Greece. And the authors also wanted to clear the names of officers who are being prosecuted for past coup plots against AK as part of the so-called Ergenekon conspiracy.

Skulduggery of this kind is not exactly new in Turkey. The army, which has seized power three times directly, used similar tactics to unseat the country’s first Islamist-led government in 1997. In 2004 a group of generals cooked up various schemes to overthrow AK on the grounds that it was seeking to introduce religious rule. Yet for once the government is fighting back. It has laid a formal complaint with public prosecutors, calling for a full criminal investigation into an attempted coup. Colonel Cicek, who protests his innocence, has been called to testify before prosecutors dealing with the Ergenekon case. “If the allegations are true, the situation is dire,” declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, after a 70-minute meeting with Ilker Basbug, the chief of the general staff.

Reuters

Basbug and Erdogan, sailing into the sun
The general denies all knowledge of the affair, but he has promised to punish any of his men who are guilty. The general staff has launched its own investigation. But army prosecutors have rushed to declare that there is no evidence that the plan was devised at its headquarters, even if they could not refute its existence. “This statement has only reinforced suspicions,” sneered Bekir Bozdag, an AK whip.

If the plot was really conceived without General Basbug’s knowledge, it was probably the act of a group of renegade officers within the army. This theory was buttressed by a recently retired general, who told Taraf that he knew of “five or six people” who were bent on unseating AK, adding that he had warned General Basbug of their plans. Another less likely story is that the police, heavily penetrated by Gulenists, forged the document to embarrass the army.

Certainly there is little trust between the army, the government and the security services. Many hope the affair will give Mr Basbug a chance to prove his democratic credentials and root out rogue elements once and for all. Yet the signs are not encouraging. Colonel Cicek has not been suspended during the inquiry. And army prosecutors have slapped a legally dubious ban on any coverage of it.

The onus is now on Mr Erdogan to insist to the generals that they must take orders from him and not the other way round. His meeting with General Basbug suggests that he may be more interested in cutting deals. That is what he supposedly did with the general’s predecessor, Yasar Buyukanit, who had issued a statement on the internet in April 2007 threatening to seize power. Soon afterwards Mr Erdogan met General Buyukanit for two hours. Both vowed secrecy, prompting speculation of a truce.

This new scandal suggests that, no matter how many conspiracies it survives, AK will remain a target of those who resent its encroachment on their traditional bastions of power. Ominously, the prosecutor who launched the court closure case against AK in 2008 has now made the bizarre complaint that the government is focusing “too much on economic growth” at the expense of secularism. He has also spoken against proposed constitutional changes that would make it more difficult to ban political parties. Mr Erdogan needs to stick to his guns and push through these changes. The best response to an attack on democracy is more democracy.

[akiner]

Turkey and its army

Restive colonels and generals
Jun 18th 2009 | ISTANBUL
From The Economist print edition

New evidence of old anti-government conspiracies within the army


OLD habits die hard. No institution in Turkey lives up to that adage more than its meddlesome army, which is embroiled in yet another row with the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. The latest mischief-making concerns an alleged plan that was hatched last April to overthrow AK and to incriminate Turkey’s largest and most influential Islamic brotherhood, led by a moderate preacher called Fetullah Gulen.

A copy of the “Plan to Combat Islamic Fundamentalism” was published by Taraf, a liberal daily newspaper, on June 12th. It promptly sparked a political storm that has left the army on the defensive. Signed by Dursun Cicek, a colonel serving in the army’s psychological warfare unit, the plan calls for “mobilising agents” within AK to discredit the party through their actions and words. Worse, it speaks of planting weapons in the homes of members of Mr Gulen’s movement, with a view to demonstrating that they are “terrorists” with links to separatist Kurdish PKK rebels.

Another aim of the plan was apparently to use the media to galvanise nationalist support against Armenia and Greece. And the authors also wanted to clear the names of officers who are being prosecuted for past coup plots against AK as part of the so-called Ergenekon conspiracy.

Skulduggery of this kind is not exactly new in Turkey. The army, which has seized power three times directly, used similar tactics to unseat the country’s first Islamist-led government in 1997. In 2004 a group of generals cooked up various schemes to overthrow AK on the grounds that it was seeking to introduce religious rule. Yet for once the government is fighting back. It has laid a formal complaint with public prosecutors, calling for a full criminal investigation into an attempted coup. Colonel Cicek, who protests his innocence, has been called to testify before prosecutors dealing with the Ergenekon case. “If the allegations are true, the situation is dire,” declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, after a 70-minute meeting with Ilker Basbug, the chief of the general staff.

Reuters

Basbug and Erdogan, sailing into the sun
The general denies all knowledge of the affair, but he has promised to punish any of his men who are guilty. The general staff has launched its own investigation. But army prosecutors have rushed to declare that there is no evidence that the plan was devised at its headquarters, even if they could not refute its existence. “This statement has only reinforced suspicions,” sneered Bekir Bozdag, an AK whip.

If the plot was really conceived without General Basbug’s knowledge, it was probably the act of a group of renegade officers within the army. This theory was buttressed by a recently retired general, who told Taraf that he knew of “five or six people” who were bent on unseating AK, adding that he had warned General Basbug of their plans. Another less likely story is that the police, heavily penetrated by Gulenists, forged the document to embarrass the army.

Certainly there is little trust between the army, the government and the security services. Many hope the affair will give Mr Basbug a chance to prove his democratic credentials and root out rogue elements once and for all. Yet the signs are not encouraging. Colonel Cicek has not been suspended during the inquiry. And army prosecutors have slapped a legally dubious ban on any coverage of it.

The onus is now on Mr Erdogan to insist to the generals that they must take orders from him and not the other way round. His meeting with General Basbug suggests that he may be more interested in cutting deals. That is what he supposedly did with the general’s predecessor, Yasar Buyukanit, who had issued a statement on the internet in April 2007 threatening to seize power. Soon afterwards Mr Erdogan met General Buyukanit for two hours. Both vowed secrecy, prompting speculation of a truce.

This new scandal suggests that, no matter how many conspiracies it survives, AK will remain a target of those who resent its encroachment on their traditional bastions of power. Ominously, the prosecutor who launched the court closure case against AK in 2008 has now made the bizarre complaint that the government is focusing “too much on economic growth” at the expense of secularism. He has also spoken against proposed constitutional changes that would make it more difficult to ban political parties. Mr Erdogan needs to stick to his guns and push through these changes. The best response to an attack on democracy is more democracy.

She has already, and like every good standing democracy she has the nerve to protect its system... And because she has the democracy the military Colonel will be put on trail in civil courts if the document that have mentioned is real regarding to decision of the civil public prosecutor.

Ps: Should i make it bold letters for the word of "civil" above. I did not because it might be an insult for your high level of Greek"we invented the World" intelligence...

Copy/pasting for tihs one will not make your day my dear, maybe you should paste something about Muftus of the Turks in Greece for the sake of democracy and human rights

[EPSILON]

Turkey and its army

Restive colonels and generals
Jun 18th 2009 | ISTANBUL
From The Economist print edition

New evidence of old anti-government conspiracies within the army


OLD habits die hard. No institution in Turkey lives up to that adage more than its meddlesome army, which is embroiled in yet another row with the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. The latest mischief-making concerns an alleged plan that was hatched last April to overthrow AK and to incriminate Turkey’s largest and most influential Islamic brotherhood, led by a moderate preacher called Fetullah Gulen.

A copy of the “Plan to Combat Islamic Fundamentalism” was published by Taraf, a liberal daily newspaper, on June 12th. It promptly sparked a political storm that has left the army on the defensive. Signed by Dursun Cicek, a colonel serving in the army’s psychological warfare unit, the plan calls for “mobilising agents” within AK to discredit the party through their actions and words. Worse, it speaks of planting weapons in the homes of members of Mr Gulen’s movement, with a view to demonstrating that they are “terrorists” with links to separatist Kurdish PKK rebels.

Another aim of the plan was apparently to use the media to galvanise nationalist support against Armenia and Greece. And the authors also wanted to clear the names of officers who are being prosecuted for past coup plots against AK as part of the so-called Ergenekon conspiracy.

Skulduggery of this kind is not exactly new in Turkey. The army, which has seized power three times directly, used similar tactics to unseat the country’s first Islamist-led government in 1997. In 2004 a group of generals cooked up various schemes to overthrow AK on the grounds that it was seeking to introduce religious rule. Yet for once the government is fighting back. It has laid a formal complaint with public prosecutors, calling for a full criminal investigation into an attempted coup. Colonel Cicek, who protests his innocence, has been called to testify before prosecutors dealing with the Ergenekon case. “If the allegations are true, the situation is dire,” declared Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, after a 70-minute meeting with Ilker Basbug, the chief of the general staff.

Reuters

Basbug and Erdogan, sailing into the sun
The general denies all knowledge of the affair, but he has promised to punish any of his men who are guilty. The general staff has launched its own investigation. But army prosecutors have rushed to declare that there is no evidence that the plan was devised at its headquarters, even if they could not refute its existence. “This statement has only reinforced suspicions,” sneered Bekir Bozdag, an AK whip.

If the plot was really conceived without General Basbug’s knowledge, it was probably the act of a group of renegade officers within the army. This theory was buttressed by a recently retired general, who told Taraf that he knew of “five or six people” who were bent on unseating AK, adding that he had warned General Basbug of their plans. Another less likely story is that the police, heavily penetrated by Gulenists, forged the document to embarrass the army.

Certainly there is little trust between the army, the government and the security services. Many hope the affair will give Mr Basbug a chance to prove his democratic credentials and root out rogue elements once and for all. Yet the signs are not encouraging. Colonel Cicek has not been suspended during the inquiry. And army prosecutors have slapped a legally dubious ban on any coverage of it.

The onus is now on Mr Erdogan to insist to the generals that they must take orders from him and not the other way round. His meeting with General Basbug suggests that he may be more interested in cutting deals. That is what he supposedly did with the general’s predecessor, Yasar Buyukanit, who had issued a statement on the internet in April 2007 threatening to seize power. Soon afterwards Mr Erdogan met General Buyukanit for two hours. Both vowed secrecy, prompting speculation of a truce.

This new scandal suggests that, no matter how many conspiracies it survives, AK will remain a target of those who resent its encroachment on their traditional bastions of power. Ominously, the prosecutor who launched the court closure case against AK in 2008 has now made the bizarre complaint that the government is focusing “too much on economic growth” at the expense of secularism. He has also spoken against proposed constitutional changes that would make it more difficult to ban political parties. Mr Erdogan needs to stick to his guns and push through these changes. The best response to an attack on democracy is more democracy.

She has already, and like every good standing democracy she has the nerve to protect its system... And because she has the democracy the military Colonel will be put on trail in civil courts if the document that have mentioned is real regarding to decision of the civil public prosecutor.

Ps: Should i make it bold letters for the word of "civil" above. I did not because it might be an insult for your high level of Greek"we invented the World" intelligence...

Copy/pasting for tihs one will not make your day my dear, maybe you should paste something about Muftus of the Turks in Greece for the sake of democracy and human rights

Saria or you are calling it is not a democratic position. Muftus will be ellected by peole very soon in Greece but Saria will never be accepted to be establshed since all citizens of a state must be under only one law this of the state. We are not here fascists country you know and this "saria" was the reason for this delay in this certain issue.

And make me a favor do not compare a European country like Greece with cases such Turkey which -exempt some surface progress in West is still operating with the law of mid 1500. They are still killing their wifes in certain area and justice consider this as their right. Maybe Attaturk put you in costums but it seems that he did not suceed to change (to the majority at least) their way of thinking and behaving

be ensure that we are very open minded and we know exactly what we are speaking about-we do not make our opionions because of any propaganta or other surces but of actual experience of this famous country, which's history is full only of destructions and killings.

We, all here in this side of Europe, always prefer to have a real democracy in Turkey since this will be also for our benefit but to succeed this the Turks themselves must understand the problems of their system.

You, people, prefer to support your generals since you consider that they dafeguard you against of saria application and you ask Greece to accept saria law. This is at least rediculus!!!

[james_mav]

She has already, and like every good standing democracy she has the nerve to protect its system...

You mean via ergenekon? Sounds like a top-notch democratic institution to me.

I did not because it might be an insult for your high level of Greek"we invented the World" intelligence...

As opposed to the "we invented nothing" intelligence of tourkomogoloi.

should paste something about Muftus of the Turks in Greece for the sake of democracy and human rights

There are no "turks" in Greece, please have a ready of Treaty of Lausanne, to which tourkomogolistan is a signatory (but of course reneged on her own committments). Please also inform us of how the Greek government appoints mulsim religious leaders any differently to how the tourkomogolistani government appoints them. I am very interested to know.

[Get Real!]

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Funny, coming from someone living and believing in Greece…


Greece’s Human Rights Portfolio…

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus24484.html

[akiner]

should paste something about Muftus of the Turks in Greece for the sake of democracy and human rights

There are no "turks" in Greece, please have a ready of Treaty of Lausanne, to which tourkomogolistan is a signatory (but of course reneged on her own committments). Please also inform us of how the Greek government appoints mulsim religious leaders any differently to how the tourkomogolistani government appoints them. I am very interested to know.

"Treaty stipulations

The treaty was composed of 143 articles with major sections including:[3]

* Convention on the Turkish straits
* Trade (abolition of capitulations)
* Agreements
* Binding letters.

The treaty provided for the independence of the Republic of Turkey but also for the protection of the ethnic Greek minority in Turkey and the mainly ethnically Turkish Muslim minority in Greece. However, most of the Greek population of Turkey and the Turkish population of Greece had already been deported under the earlier Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey agreement signed by Greece and Turkey. Only the Greeks of Constantinople, Imbros and Tenedos were excluded (about 270,000 in Istanbul alone at that time),[4] and the Muslim population of Western Thrace (about 86,000[5] in 1922). Article 14 of the treaty granted the islands of Imbros and Tenedos "special administrative organisation", a right that was revoked by the Turkish government on February 17, 1926. The Republic of Turkey also formally accepted the loss of Cyprus (which was "rented" to the British Empire following the Congress of Berlin in 1878, but de jure remained an Ottoman territory until World War I) as well as Egypt and Sudan (which were occupied by British forces with the pretext of "establishing order" in 1882, but de jure remained Ottoman territories until World War I) to the British Empire. The fate of the province of Mosul was left to be determined through the League of Nations. Turkey also renounced all claims on the Dodecanese Islands, which Italy was obliged to return back to Turkey according to the Treaty of Ouchy

in 1912 (also known as the First Treaty of Lausanne (1912), as it was signed at the Ouchy Castle in Lausanne, Switzerland) following the Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912).[6]"

yep there are no Turks in Greece, whereas this minority screaming all the day and night for their Turkishness , it is quite interesting Kurds was not mentioned as a minority group in Lausanne... Something rings?!

[DT.]

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Funny, coming from someone living and believing in Greece…


Greece’s Human Rights Portfolio…

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus24484.html

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Epomeni fora pou en na vrethoumen en na pamen elliniki taverna

[Get Real!]

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Funny, coming from someone living and believing in Greece…


Greece’s Human Rights Portfolio…

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus24484.html

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Epomeni fora pou en na vrethoumen en na pamen elliniki taverna

Greek hypocrisy knows no bounds.

[EPSILON]

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Funny, coming from someone living and believing in Greece…


Greece’s Human Rights Portfolio…

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus24484.html

If you go through human rights statements i am not sure thatr you can find even one country be 100% ok but the point here is the general picture and daily life in a state.If you-for the known phycholigical reasons-compare Greece with Turkey then pls explain how it comes EU to still negotiate with Turkey to change its fascists laws .

But as i said before life is fair. which means "na sou zisei o kalamaras gapros h kalamarou nimfi se liga xronia!!!!

[Get Real!]

Turkey - can ever be a normal democratic country?

Funny, coming from someone living and believing in Greece…


Greece’s Human Rights Portfolio…

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/cyprus24484.html

If you go through human rights statements i am not sure thatr you can find even one country be 100% ok but the point here is the general picture and daily life in a state.If you-for the known phycholigical reasons-compare Greece with Turkey then pls explain how it comes EU to still negotiate with Turkey to change its fascists laws .

But as i said before life is fair. which means "na sou zisei o kalamaras gapros h kalamarou nimfi se liga xronia!!!!

Both Turkey & Greece are Human Rights abusers period!

So quit making fools of your selves with double standards all the time by only pointing the finger at Turkey, because there’s no such thing as “good” HR abuses!