Turkish military loses its grip on political power

Turkey's president approved reforms on Wednesday aimed at curtailing the influence of the powerful military in politics, hoping to boost the chances of this largely Muslim country of joining the EU.

The reforms, approved by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, reduces the military's hold over a key forum grouping military and political leaders -- often used by generals to impose their will on the government.

The parliament passed the reforms last week in the hopes of starting negotiations for membership in the 15-nation EU by the end of next year. The EU has been pressuring Turkey to curb the military's influence and make other fundamental reforms as conditions to begin negotiations.

The reforms stress that the National Security Council, a military-dominated forum with strong influence over national policy, is an advisory body. They limit the number of times the council meets, enable appointment of a civilian to head the council's secretariat and allow greater parliamentary scrutiny of military expenses.

Several analysts hailed the reforms.

"Now with the reforms ... the National Security Council is only an advisory body that will no longer set policies or dominate the elected parliament," wrote Ilnur Cevik, the editor-in-chief of Turkish Daily News.

Cuneyt Ulsever, a commentator with the daily Hurriyet newspaper, called the reforms "the biggest blow to the military."

Turkey's pro-Western military, the self-appointed guarantor of Turkey's secular regime, has pledged its support for EU membership. But the top brass suspect the Islamic-rooted government isn't so much pursuing EU membership as an Islamic agenda.

Over the weekend, top generals severely chided Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for objecting to the sacking of 18 officers, most of them accused of having ties with radical Islamic groups.

The clash highlights deep-seated animosity between the military and the government -- and Turkey's uphill struggle to join the bloc.

The military staged three coups, which were widely welcomed by the public, in the last four decades. In 1997, the military pressured an Islamic government out of power for trying to rise the profile of Islam in this strictly secular country.

The EU welcomed the measures, but said it was watching to see how they are implemented. They also want Turkey to curb torture and expand freedom of expression.

While Turkey has enacted scores of new laws to meet EU standards over the past year, critics say that Ankara has been slow to implement them. Attempts at starting Kurdish language TV broadcasts, for example, have been stalled in the courts.

Guenter Verheugen, the commissioner in charge of EU enlargement, urged the reforms to be implemented effectively and "with the spirit in which they have been adopted."