When Turkey's government passed reforms to curb the military's influence on politics, the EU was jubilant. But the reforms drew the ire of the military, which responded with blunt criticism of the government at a traditionally tame annual gathering.
Over the weekend at a military congress, top generals reportedly chided Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his defense minister after parliament voted to cut the influence of the military-dominated National Security Council.
General Cetin Dogan, a top army commander, openly accused Erdogan of undermining the Turkish Armed Forces and attempting to change the secular regime, the daily Cumhuriyet reported Monday. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the report.
Another leading newspaper, Milliyet, also reported the clash at the meeting.
Turkey hopes to start membership talks with the EU by the end of next year, but the EU has demanded Turkey first curtail the military's influence and carry out other reforms before it can join.
The military suspects that the Islamic-rooted government of Erdogan has a secret agenda to replace the secular regime with an Islamic one -- an accusation denied by Erdogan.
``You are benefiting from the Turkish people's love for the EU. One day, you will pay for it,'' Cumhuriyet quoted Dogan as saying. ``Don't assume that this force will be a coup. This will be the Turkish people.''
The military has waged three coups and in 1997 pressured a pro-Islamic government out of power.
Said Dogan: ``Forces that will not allow any change in the secular structure of Turkey will act together. If needed, the army and the nation will achieve the result hand in hand.''
Cumhuriyet said Dogan was supported by other generals at the meeting. Erdogan reportedly defended his government, saying that it had no intentions to harm the military.
The reported clash during an annual military congress over the weekend to determine military promotions and firings came only days after parliament had passed reforms emphasizing that the National Security Council was an advisory body, allowing a civilian to serve as the council's secretary-general and permitting lawmakers to scrutinize some military expenses.
The military has a strong say in national policy through its presence on the council, a forum used by the military to exert influence on the government. But the tensions show how difficult it will be to curtail the influence of the military, which harbors enormous distrust of Erdogan's government.
``The reforms on paper change the balance of power between the military and civilians but this does not mean that the military is no longer effective,'' said Umit Cizre, a political scientist at Ankara's Bilkent University.
During the meeting, Erdogan reportedly clashed with the military over the firing of 18 soldiers for having suspected pro-Islamic leanings, but eventually relented.
The meeting was overshadowed by another thorny issue when Erdogan canceled a traditional banquet in honor of the generals to prevent a possible crisis over his wife's Islamic-style headscarf -- regarded by the military as a symbol of political Islam.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was