<http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/29/news/turkey.php> Turkish government issues rebuke to Army By Sabrina Tavernise Sunday, April 29, 2007
ISTANBUL: The Turkish government has struck back at the country's powerful military, declaring that the army is not above the law or the government that commands it. A government spokesman, Cemil Cicek, said at a news conference Saturday that the military was out of line when it issued a warning late Friday that it would move against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan if religion was allowed to enter too far into politics. The government, Cicek said, is elected, and the military is under its control. "It is inconceivable in a democratic state that the general staff would use any phrase against the government on any matter," said Cicek, who is also the justice minister. His remarks were broadcast on Turkey's NTV. "The chief of the general staff, in terms of his duty and authority, is accountable to the prime minister." Cicek's remarks raised the stakes in a contest of wills between the country's secular establishment - its military, constitutional court and president - and Erdogan, an agile advocate of change whose background in political Islam has set the establishment against him. The military, one of the most powerful forces in the Turkish state, has initiated four coups against elected governments since 1960, most recently in 1997. It considers itself the protector of the secular legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's founder. The confrontation has crystallized around a vote on Erdogan's choice for president, Abdullah Gul, a close political ally. The president is the commander in chief, a post at the very heart of Turkey's secular establishment. The first of several rounds of votes in Parliament was held Friday. All of Turkey's secular political parties boycotted that round, and one appealed to the country's constitutional court to have the vote annulled. Erdogan said he would call early elections if the court agreed. The court was expected to rule by Wednesday. Cicek said he suspected that the army's statement was timed to influence the court while it was deliberating. Also on Saturday, Erdogan spoke by telephone to General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of staff, Cicek said. In Brussels, Olli Rehn, the European Union commissioner responsible for enlarging the organization's membership, was quoted by Reuters as saying, "This is a test case if the Turkish armed forces respect democratic secularism and the democratic arrangement of civil-military relations." Erdogan's government has been pushing for Turkey to gain European Union membership. Sebnem Arsu contributed reporting. -- Yoshie
