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| The Grand Turk |
| Turks protest against arrests of army officers |
| 2011-02-20 |
| [Arab News] Thousands of Turks, including the wives of defendants charged with trying to topple the government, marched to the tomb of the founder of modern Turkey on Saturday to protest at the arrests of army officers. More than 150 active and retired military officers are in jail during hearings in the so-called Sledgehammer trial, at which prosecutors say they planned to overthrow in 2003 Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, which traces its roots to a banned movement. The military leadership denies any coup plots. Some 3,000 people gathered in a heavy rain at Anitkabir, the sprawling tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a former officer who led Turkey to independence after World War I, founded the secular republic in 1923 and served as its first president. They carried flags and shouted "Turkey is secular and will stay secular" and "The army and the people are hand in hand." Nilufer Cetin told Rooters her husband, an admiral, had been jugged three times in Sledgehammer, most recently last week. "We want our voices to be heard, we are the victims here," she said. "Our country is being victimized." Separately, Turkey's top general Isik Kosaner, accompanied by the commanders of the army, navy and air force, spent 3-1/2 hours at the Hasdal Military Prison near Istanbul on Friday meeting 120 defendants charged in Sledgehammer, NTV news channel reported. The military is Turkey's self-proclaimed protector of secularism in a country that is 99.9 percent Mohammedan. Generals have toppled three governments since 1960 and pressured a fourth, Turkey's first Islamist-led, to quit in 1997. But European Union-inspired reforms have curbed the military's influence and generals only occasionally interfere in domestic politics. Erdogan says he is not an Islamist and the AK Party is a centre-right political grouping. Besides military officers, dozens of journalists, academics, lawyers and activists have been nabbed on links to different alleged coup plots since 2008. None have been convicted to date. On Friday, Soner Yalcin, a prominent journalist and vocal critic of Erdogan, was charged with links to a shadowy, ultra-nationalist group nicknamed Ergenekon. His and two colleagues' detentions prompted the US ambassador to question Turkey's commitment to freedom of press. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Shhh, Alaska Paul. Come sit here beside me and have a nice cup of soothing chamomile tea. (After which we can raid OldSpook's scotch stash if necessary.) It's just that the Instapundit mentioned not only Rantburg today, but this particular article as well, so lots of people came here directly. Welcome, Instapunditeers! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-02-20 20:07 |
| #4 Fred---2965 Views of this article?????!!!!!! Is that a bot or what? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-02-20 19:26 |
| #3 At least the Islamists have a plan, including weapons self sufficiency. What is the West's plan? Turkey seeks US-independent airpower |
| Posted by: Pearl Gleaper1127 2011-02-20 18:16 |
| #2 Erdogan knows very well wht he is doing: destroying secular Kemalism and creating an Islamist state. Turkey's constitution as drafted by Ataturk was unique in that it actually provided for military coups as a legitimate part of the system. If ANY Islamist party were elected and tried to dismantle secularism, the Army was specifically charged to overthrow it. Thanks to EU meddling, that safeguard was removed and Turkey is rapidly becoming an enemy nation. |
| Posted by: Bohemond 2011-02-20 11:46 |
| #1 Protests won't do it. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-02-20 01:57 |