KoÅŸaner was a hardline secularist. Traditionally the military has been the guardian of Kemalist secularism. But now several military officers have been arresting for plotting to overthrow the government. Erdogan has won, and Turkey is on its way to becoming an Islamic state. “Necdet Özel becomes acting Chief of General Staff after mass resignations,” from Today’s Zaman, July 29 (thanks to Joshua):
Former Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Necdet Özel was appointed as Land Forces Commander and acting Chief of General Staff after Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner and the commanders of the air, navy and land forces all resigned from their positions amid controversy over the appointment of generals.
Özel, who is the only commander who did not request retirement, came to the Prime Ministry to meet with ErdoÄŸan late on Friday. ErdoÄŸan met with Özel – the highest-ranking commander who remained in office. Özel was widely expected to become the next head of the military and KoÅŸaner’s resignation might speed up the process.
According to Turkish laws, 24 hours must pass for Özel to assume powers of Chief of General Staff.
“The Turkish Armed Forces will continue to do their duty in a spirit of unity,” the office of Prime Minister said in a statement issued after the military’s top four commanders quit.
The statement also named Özel as acting Chief of the General Staff. It also said a key Supreme Military Council meeting to decide promotions would go ahead as planned on Monday.
Özel and Erdoğan later went to Çankaya Presidential Palace to have three-way talks with President Abdullah Gül.
By tradition, the head of the land forces replaces the armed forces chief when he retires.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan earlier ruled out any prospects of tension between the government and the military at a Supreme Military Council (YAÅž) meeting slated for Monday, saying that the decisions to be made at the meeting will be in accordance with the law.
The resignation of so many top commanders for the first time ever in Turkey signals a deep rift with the government, which has been confident in confronting a military that once held sway over Turkish political life. The arrests of high-ranking military officers would once have been unimaginable.
The resignations of Turkey’s top generals came hours after a court charged 22 suspects, including several generals and officers, with carrying out an Internet campaign to undermine the government….
KoÅŸaner, who took over as head of the armed forces in August 2010, is regarded as a hardline secularist, but he has kept a lower profile than previous chiefs of the general staff.
Alongside KoÅŸaner, the land forces head Erdal CeylanoÄŸlu, air forces chief Hasan Aksay and navy commander UÄŸur YiÄŸit have also sought retirement….
The government denies the coup cases are politically motivated and says it is just trying to work to improve democracy.
ErdoÄŸan’s ruling party, which won a third term in elections on June 12 in a landslide victory, has said its key goal is to replace a military-era constitution with a more democratic one.
The Turkish military has staged three coups and forced an former prime minister to quit. Coup leaders drew on the support of Turks who saw them as saviors from chaos and corruption, but they were often ruthless.
In a 1960 takeover, the prime minister and key ministers were executed. In a 1980 coup, there were numerous cases of torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killing….