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| Europe |
| Turkey arrests 18 more officers for 2003 coup |
| 2010-02-27 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Turkish police have detained 18 more active military officers and one retired officer in an operation in 13 cities across Turkey, CNN Turk said on Friday. More than 50 officers have been detained since the start of the week in an investigation into an alleged plot by the secularist military to unseat the Islamist-rooted government. The arrests have undermined political stability and fuelled speculation of an early election in the EU-candidate country. Meanwhile, Turkish stocks and the lira currency edged higher on Friday after prosecutors released three retired generals suspected of plotting a coup, easing fears of a showdown between the government and military that had hit markets. But the threat of confrontation between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party and the secular armed forces remained, as investigations continued into the three men, who were among 50 officers detained at the start of the week. "The crisis has come to an end for now, or tension has been lowered, or at least has been postponed for a while," said Mehmet Ali Birand, a leading commentator. "Now, we have to wait. We'll see what happened yesterday more clearly in the next weeks or months." Turks and foreign investors fear Erdogan's party could be on a collision course with the military, whose leaders see themselves as guardians of Turkey's secular constitution. The military has overthrown four governments in Turkey in the past 50 years and with many of its officers still in detention, and more than 30 charged with crimes, tensions remain high and markets nervous. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 According to the Wall Street Journal, Eight current and former officers were formally charged Thursday with having plotted a coup in 2003, and were jailed pending trial. The alleged coup plot, known as Sledgehammer, included operations to blow up crowded mosques in Istanbul and to shoot down a Turkish aircraft over Greek waters to create a state of emergency. No coup attempt materialized. The military has said the alleged plan was part of an annual war-gaming seminar. The comments are interesting. I'd no idea so many ardent Turks read the Wall Street Journal. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-02-27 08:39 |