All eyes on Gül in political standoff
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Serkan DemirtaÅŸ
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 02, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The arrest early Wednesday of a Navy colonel is the most recent incident among many that have divided Turkey’s governing bodies and renewed tension between the AKP and the military. In the middle of it all is President Gül, whose next step might very well determine the future balance between the military and the civilian authorities
Amid an "asymmetrical psychological warfare" against the military, as the top general puts it, or normalizing military-civil relations, as the government puts it, President Abdullah Gül has stepped onto center stage and into a potential blockbuster role.   Â
The action, for now, is vague, but amid sound and fury, what is obvious is that the country’s top institutions, including the judiciary, are sharply divided and have lost their trust in each other as a result of handling the process with only tactical moves that do not include vision and strategy.
Bells rang June 12 and alerted the nation to the new tension between the secular military and the pro-Islam Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government when liberal daily Taraf published a military plan allegedly prepared by Navy Col. Dursun Çiçek. The plan outlined ways to topple the government and its powerful supporter, the Fethullah Gülen movement. It triggered nationwide political discussions among political parties, the military and the media, placing the always-questioned civil-military ties at the center of debate.
Five days ago the country’s top commander described the alleged military plan as a "piece of paper" aimed at tarnishing the military. Then Wednesday morning, just hours after an eight-hour security board meeting Tuesday night during which the main focus was strained civil-military ties, Çiçek was arrested by the civilian judiciary, despite a military court’s ruling that there were no causes for prosecution.
Since Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ’s press conference on Friday, when he denied that this plan was a product of the military and called on the civilian judiciary and intelligence institutions to uncover the perpetrators of this conspiracy against the military, he has held three meetings with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who hinted at his dissatisfaction with the way the military approached the alleged plans against the government.
These meetings, however, far from diffused the tension or calmed the country, instead they have indicated a lack of confidence among and communication between the top institutions.
In this respect, Tuesday’s critical National Security Council, or MGK, meeting showed that President Abdullah Gül stepped in and started to play his role as "arbitrator" between the institutions. After the council meeting, Gül asked Erdoğan and Başbuğ to hold another meeting to discuss the bill curbing the powers of the military court. The bill awaits Gül’s approval before it becomes law.
At that meeting, in which the defense and justice ministers later participated, Gül asked the ministers to send him their ministries’ perspectives on the bill before he makes a decision, sources said. For many, the best option for Gül is to partially veto the bill, in a move to appease the already concerned military. Gül will likely continue his role but his influence will be limited; a civilian court arrested Çiçek long before the law would have entered into force.
Changed rhetoric
AKP officials on Wednesday seemed to change their rhetoric slightly on what has happened in the country in the last few days. "We think such publications target not only our military but also the government," Bekir Bozdağ, the ruling party’s parliamentary deputy group leader, told reporters at Parliament. Bozdağ said his party shares the military’s concerns.
But what is important is how Erdoğan will take it. He was the one who decided to file a criminal complaint the day the alleged plans were published by Taraf, without waiting for conclusions from the military’s investigation. He was the one who complained about coup plotters in the military in his public speeches, giving the impression that the Turkish people would wake up to a country in which the military might topple the government overnight at anytime.
Başbuğ clearly stated the military’s position during his press conference on Friday. He probably did the same during Monday’s face-to-face meeting with Erdoğan and Tuesday’s MGK meeting. As he stated Friday, he would continue to hold the military to a democratic line but at the same time he would fight back against those who try to tarnish its image via the media. It was his success when the MGK statement mentioned the publications that harm the state institutions, but it’s doubtful to what extent he can ease the concerns of the military brass.
The action, for now, is vague, but amid sound and fury, what is obvious is that the country’s top institutions, including the judiciary, are sharply divided and have lost their trust in each other as a result of handling the process with only tactical moves that do not include vision and strategy.
Bells rang June 12 and alerted the nation to the new tension between the secular military and the pro-Islam Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government when liberal daily Taraf published a military plan allegedly prepared by Navy Col. Dursun Çiçek. The plan outlined ways to topple the government and its powerful supporter, the Fethullah Gülen movement. It triggered nationwide political discussions among political parties, the military and the media, placing the always-questioned civil-military ties at the center of debate.
Five days ago the country’s top commander described the alleged military plan as a "piece of paper" aimed at tarnishing the military. Then Wednesday morning, just hours after an eight-hour security board meeting Tuesday night during which the main focus was strained civil-military ties, Çiçek was arrested by the civilian judiciary, despite a military court’s ruling that there were no causes for prosecution.
Since Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ’s press conference on Friday, when he denied that this plan was a product of the military and called on the civilian judiciary and intelligence institutions to uncover the perpetrators of this conspiracy against the military, he has held three meetings with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who hinted at his dissatisfaction with the way the military approached the alleged plans against the government.
These meetings, however, far from diffused the tension or calmed the country, instead they have indicated a lack of confidence among and communication between the top institutions.
In this respect, Tuesday’s critical National Security Council, or MGK, meeting showed that President Abdullah Gül stepped in and started to play his role as "arbitrator" between the institutions. After the council meeting, Gül asked Erdoğan and Başbuğ to hold another meeting to discuss the bill curbing the powers of the military court. The bill awaits Gül’s approval before it becomes law.
At that meeting, in which the defense and justice ministers later participated, Gül asked the ministers to send him their ministries’ perspectives on the bill before he makes a decision, sources said. For many, the best option for Gül is to partially veto the bill, in a move to appease the already concerned military. Gül will likely continue his role but his influence will be limited; a civilian court arrested Çiçek long before the law would have entered into force.
Changed rhetoric
AKP officials on Wednesday seemed to change their rhetoric slightly on what has happened in the country in the last few days. "We think such publications target not only our military but also the government," Bekir Bozdağ, the ruling party’s parliamentary deputy group leader, told reporters at Parliament. Bozdağ said his party shares the military’s concerns.
But what is important is how Erdoğan will take it. He was the one who decided to file a criminal complaint the day the alleged plans were published by Taraf, without waiting for conclusions from the military’s investigation. He was the one who complained about coup plotters in the military in his public speeches, giving the impression that the Turkish people would wake up to a country in which the military might topple the government overnight at anytime.
Başbuğ clearly stated the military’s position during his press conference on Friday. He probably did the same during Monday’s face-to-face meeting with Erdoğan and Tuesday’s MGK meeting. As he stated Friday, he would continue to hold the military to a democratic line but at the same time he would fight back against those who try to tarnish its image via the media. It was his success when the MGK statement mentioned the publications that harm the state institutions, but it’s doubtful to what extent he can ease the concerns of the military brass.