Turkey: Army will protect country from Islamists
Posted by Marisol on September 26, 2006 10:16 PM
And the the EU has expressed objections to this, remaining all too eager to extend the rights and privileges of membership to a country where jihadists can -- and will, if allowed -- exploit the democratic process to achieve their goals. From [1] AP:
A top Turkish general said Monday that increasingly powerful Islamist forces threatened Turkey's secular system and that the army would play its role in defending the country against them, the state-run news agency reported.
General Ilker Basbug's comments appeared aimed at both the Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and at EU officials who have repeatedly called on the Turkish military to limit its role in state affairs.
The military views itself as the protector of Turkey's secular identity. Fiercely secular generals have directly led three coups since 1961 and ousted a government from power in 1997 for what they saw as an excessive Islamist bent.
Article printed from Jihad Watch: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2006/09/turkey-army-will-protect-country-from-islamists.html
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