Turkish PM meets army chief in extraodinary meeting amid tensions
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and army chief Gen. Ilker Basbug held Monday an extraordinary meeting in the capital Ankara as tensions in the country rise over an alleged military drafted anti-government document published in a national daily. (UPDATED)
Monday's summit came a day before a bimonthly meeting of the state’s top security board National Security Council, or MGK, in which Basbug said he would bring document in question to the agenda.
Basbug has said the document published in Taraf daily was part of a "growing and organized" smear campaign against the military.
The meeting held at the Prime Ministry lasted just over 90 minutes and was also attended by Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin.
Ergin’s presence at the meeting hints that last week's amendment, which enables civilian courts to prosecute army personnel, was expected to have dominated discussions.
The government's legal maneuver comes after military prosecutors decided not to investigate a navy colonel, who was suspected of drafting the alleged anti-government document at the center of the debate.
Erdogan has defended the legislation, saying the move targets "coups and coup plotters." The main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, however, accuses the government of interfering with the law for its own agenda.