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TURKISH ARMY KEEPS EYE ON POLITICIANS
By Mark Mardell
BBC News, UK
Nov 7 2006
The tanks are rumbling through the streets of Istanbul and the crowds
are cheering.
Not images from one of the four military coups of the last 50 years,
but celebrations for the birthday of the Turkish republic.
Row upon row of sometimes rather baby-faced young men in smart blue
uniforms march past, carrying trumpets and drums adorned with the
Turkish flag.
Turkey's army is the second biggest in Nato Their white helmets and
matching spats gleam. Behind them comes a troop of rather harder
looking men shouldering assault rifles.
Then the serious stuff. Angular amphibious landing vehicles trundle
by. Helicopter gunships whirr out of the sky.
The powerful chug of lines of tanks is drowned out by the scream of
fighter bombers overhead.
Above stirring martial music the announcer yells out: "The sun is
yours, the earth is yours, the sky is yours, let victory be your most
sacred desire!"
'Political force'
It is a reminder that this is one of the largest armies in the world,
more than a million people under its command, in Nato second only in
size to the world's only superpower.
The army had a semi-colonial mission to the rest of society - and
they've never ceased enthusiastically believing that they are the
real civilising elite in Turkey
Prof Hailil Berktay Turkish historian
But it is also a reminder that Turkey's army is not only a potential
force on the battlefield - it is a real force in day-to-day politics.
Few adult Turks can see this sight without recalling that the last
coup was just nine years ago and was preceded by the coups of 1980,
1971 and 1960.
Senior diplomats say that Turkey has moved beyond coups and the army
would only intervene like that if there was a total economic and
political meltdown.
But no-one thinks the army is about to give up its political role
either.
If the army thinks the politicians are giving in to the rise of
political Islam, Kurdish separatists or are betraying northern Cyprus,
then the politicians will know about it.
EU concerns
It is true that Turkey's armed forces have swallowed hard in recent
years and accepted a reduction in their power - mainly to please the
European Union, which on the whole they think is a good, if extremely
irritating and naive, thing.
The legacy of Ataturk dominates the military establishment
Since 2001, Turkey's national security council has had more elected
civilians on its board and the cabinet merely has to "evaluate"
that body's decisions, rather than "take them into consideration".
It meets less frequently and the civilian government can now audit
military accounts.
This summer laws were revised so that military courts can no longer
try civilians.
But these look like mere technical details compared to the EU list
of complaints.
In the report being published on 8 November 2006, the European
Commission notes that the armed forces exercise "significant political
influence", the military has in law "a wide margin of manoeuvre"
within "a broad definition of national security".
It concludes that the military should stick to speaking about defence
matters and even these statements should only be made under the
authority of the government.
General's warning
This is very far from what actually happens.
If this building [the state] falls down everything... including
democracy, freedom of speech, human rights... gets crushed
underneath. So the roof has to be strong - the army keeps an eye on it
Edib Baser Retired Turkish general
When the EU condemns the Turkish top brass for making "public
statements to influence areas beyond their responsibilities" it
could well cite last month's speech by the chief of staff, Gen Yasar
Buyukanit.
He said the Turkish republic and its values were "under heavy attack"
from "people in the highest positions of government" because they
wanted to redefine secularism.
Make no mistake, he does mean the present government. It was elected
by a massive majority and is the first party for years that has been
able to rule without needing to form a coalition.
It is up for election again next year and expected to win again. It
could take the presidency as well.
It was elected promising to bring the headscarf ban to an end,
something the majority of the population want.
But it has not been able to do it. From the women affected to
fundamentalist agitators, no-one I talk to seems the tiniest bit
surprised or even disappointed. They know the army has drawn a
red line.
'Army is constitution'
Nearly two weeks after the National Day parade, I am watching a debate
in the studios of Crescent TV, an Islamic channel on what is probably
the hottest, longest-running topic in Turkey today - the relationship
between religion and the state.
Republic Day brings an outpouring of patriotic fervour Four earnest men
around a desk listen as a taped report sets the terms of the debate.
The reporter begins: "It's 83 years since the birth of the Turkish
republic and yet we are still governed by a constitution written
by solders..."
But this perhaps misses the point. In Turkey, the army thinks it is
the constitution.
At least, it takes upon it the function of the constitution in many
countries, seeing itself as the highest arbiter of the state, making
sure that mere democratically elected governments do not stray from
the straight and narrow.
Its sacred driving principle is that the sacred should never become
a driving principle of the state.
It sees itself as a bulwark against political Islam and what it would
regard as surrender to terrorism.
'Post-modern coup'
A retired four-star general, Edib Baser, who now runs the Institute
for the Study of Ataturk's Principles and the History of the Republic,
sees the state as a building.
"If this building falls down everything... including democracy,
freedom of speech, human rights... gets crushed underneath. So the
roof has to be strong. The army keeps an eye on it."
It is instructive to look at the1997 coup, which has been called the
first "post-modern coup". That is a trendy way of saying the army
made clear its displeasure, and events followed without the need for
much brute force.
Neither the generals nor their puppets took over but the government
resigned and there was a clampdown on political Islam.
Power without responsibility, perhaps, but it is probably more accurate
to say the Turkish army feels it has a responsibility but does not
actually seek direct power.
All armies, perhaps, have a reverential sense of their own history,
but this is especially true in Turkey.
'Hampstead Liberals'
They were the driving force behind the revolution that modernised
and westernised the country.
In the young Turkish republic, Kemal Ataturk, an army officer all his
life until he became a revolutionary leader, used the army to build
the schools and canals and mosques for grateful villagers.
But his conscript army also educated its solders, making sure they
could read and write before they left its service.
A consequence of this is a rather strange anomaly.
In Turkey, there are liberals in a modern Western sense. But many of
those who you would expect to be "Hampstead Liberals" in Britain are
here among the strongest supporters of the army.
The controversial artist Bedri Baykam tells me: "This government
unfortunately is trying to change every law little by little. It's
as though we were trying to enter the Iranian Union, not the EU.
"Turkey is the only Muslim country that has democracy, freedom of
speech and an international lifestyle and that is not a coincidence.
It's because of Ataturk's ideas and the Turkish army's care and
attention."
He has just been on a march in favour of secularism and against the
possibility of the headscarf ban being lifted, and adds: "We do not
want any military coup d'etat, because that would take us 20 or 30
years backwards. But we also don't want an Islamic coup, because that
would take us 1,000 back. Between 30 and 1,000, I would prefer 30."
'Perpetual fear'
Some think that as Turkey changes and becomes more secure as a
secular democracy, then the army will become more relaxed about
Islamic symbols in the public sphere and slowly relinquish its role.
The army itself sometimes says that is its aim and desire. But it
will not be easy.
Professor Hailil Berktay, a historian and expert on the way Turkey
sees its own history, tells me: "The army had a semi-colonial mission
to the rest of society. And they've never ceased enthusiastically
believing that they are the real civilising elite in Turkey."
"They say, 'We are the ones keeping Pandora's box closed and preventing
the demons of backwardness, superstition, religious fundamentalism,
Kurdish separatism and Armenian nationalism from emerging.' It's this
sense of a civilising and protecting mission that drives them."
He adds: "The larger problem is the way the rest of Turkish society
has internalised this and lives in perpetual fear of what the military
might do."
The real test may come next year, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan may decide to run for president.
If he does and wins, the thought of a man whose wife wears a headscarf
living in the presidential palace, a man who was once imprisoned for
words thought to represent militant Islam, occupying the role that
Ataturk first held, may be too much for some officers to bear.
Then again, if these things come to pass and the sky does not fall in,
they may start to relax a little and keep the moaning for the army
mess table.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6122878. stm
By Mark Mardell
BBC News, UK
Nov 7 2006
The tanks are rumbling through the streets of Istanbul and the crowds
are cheering.
Not images from one of the four military coups of the last 50 years,
but celebrations for the birthday of the Turkish republic.
Row upon row of sometimes rather baby-faced young men in smart blue
uniforms march past, carrying trumpets and drums adorned with the
Turkish flag.
Turkey's army is the second biggest in Nato Their white helmets and
matching spats gleam. Behind them comes a troop of rather harder
looking men shouldering assault rifles.
Then the serious stuff. Angular amphibious landing vehicles trundle
by. Helicopter gunships whirr out of the sky.
The powerful chug of lines of tanks is drowned out by the scream of
fighter bombers overhead.
Above stirring martial music the announcer yells out: "The sun is
yours, the earth is yours, the sky is yours, let victory be your most
sacred desire!"
'Political force'
It is a reminder that this is one of the largest armies in the world,
more than a million people under its command, in Nato second only in
size to the world's only superpower.
The army had a semi-colonial mission to the rest of society - and
they've never ceased enthusiastically believing that they are the
real civilising elite in Turkey
Prof Hailil Berktay Turkish historian
But it is also a reminder that Turkey's army is not only a potential
force on the battlefield - it is a real force in day-to-day politics.
Few adult Turks can see this sight without recalling that the last
coup was just nine years ago and was preceded by the coups of 1980,
1971 and 1960.
Senior diplomats say that Turkey has moved beyond coups and the army
would only intervene like that if there was a total economic and
political meltdown.
But no-one thinks the army is about to give up its political role
either.
If the army thinks the politicians are giving in to the rise of
political Islam, Kurdish separatists or are betraying northern Cyprus,
then the politicians will know about it.
EU concerns
It is true that Turkey's armed forces have swallowed hard in recent
years and accepted a reduction in their power - mainly to please the
European Union, which on the whole they think is a good, if extremely
irritating and naive, thing.
The legacy of Ataturk dominates the military establishment
Since 2001, Turkey's national security council has had more elected
civilians on its board and the cabinet merely has to "evaluate"
that body's decisions, rather than "take them into consideration".
It meets less frequently and the civilian government can now audit
military accounts.
This summer laws were revised so that military courts can no longer
try civilians.
But these look like mere technical details compared to the EU list
of complaints.
In the report being published on 8 November 2006, the European
Commission notes that the armed forces exercise "significant political
influence", the military has in law "a wide margin of manoeuvre"
within "a broad definition of national security".
It concludes that the military should stick to speaking about defence
matters and even these statements should only be made under the
authority of the government.
General's warning
This is very far from what actually happens.
If this building [the state] falls down everything... including
democracy, freedom of speech, human rights... gets crushed
underneath. So the roof has to be strong - the army keeps an eye on it
Edib Baser Retired Turkish general
When the EU condemns the Turkish top brass for making "public
statements to influence areas beyond their responsibilities" it
could well cite last month's speech by the chief of staff, Gen Yasar
Buyukanit.
He said the Turkish republic and its values were "under heavy attack"
from "people in the highest positions of government" because they
wanted to redefine secularism.
Make no mistake, he does mean the present government. It was elected
by a massive majority and is the first party for years that has been
able to rule without needing to form a coalition.
It is up for election again next year and expected to win again. It
could take the presidency as well.
It was elected promising to bring the headscarf ban to an end,
something the majority of the population want.
But it has not been able to do it. From the women affected to
fundamentalist agitators, no-one I talk to seems the tiniest bit
surprised or even disappointed. They know the army has drawn a
red line.
'Army is constitution'
Nearly two weeks after the National Day parade, I am watching a debate
in the studios of Crescent TV, an Islamic channel on what is probably
the hottest, longest-running topic in Turkey today - the relationship
between religion and the state.
Republic Day brings an outpouring of patriotic fervour Four earnest men
around a desk listen as a taped report sets the terms of the debate.
The reporter begins: "It's 83 years since the birth of the Turkish
republic and yet we are still governed by a constitution written
by solders..."
But this perhaps misses the point. In Turkey, the army thinks it is
the constitution.
At least, it takes upon it the function of the constitution in many
countries, seeing itself as the highest arbiter of the state, making
sure that mere democratically elected governments do not stray from
the straight and narrow.
Its sacred driving principle is that the sacred should never become
a driving principle of the state.
It sees itself as a bulwark against political Islam and what it would
regard as surrender to terrorism.
'Post-modern coup'
A retired four-star general, Edib Baser, who now runs the Institute
for the Study of Ataturk's Principles and the History of the Republic,
sees the state as a building.
"If this building falls down everything... including democracy,
freedom of speech, human rights... gets crushed underneath. So the
roof has to be strong. The army keeps an eye on it."
It is instructive to look at the1997 coup, which has been called the
first "post-modern coup". That is a trendy way of saying the army
made clear its displeasure, and events followed without the need for
much brute force.
Neither the generals nor their puppets took over but the government
resigned and there was a clampdown on political Islam.
Power without responsibility, perhaps, but it is probably more accurate
to say the Turkish army feels it has a responsibility but does not
actually seek direct power.
All armies, perhaps, have a reverential sense of their own history,
but this is especially true in Turkey.
'Hampstead Liberals'
They were the driving force behind the revolution that modernised
and westernised the country.
In the young Turkish republic, Kemal Ataturk, an army officer all his
life until he became a revolutionary leader, used the army to build
the schools and canals and mosques for grateful villagers.
But his conscript army also educated its solders, making sure they
could read and write before they left its service.
A consequence of this is a rather strange anomaly.
In Turkey, there are liberals in a modern Western sense. But many of
those who you would expect to be "Hampstead Liberals" in Britain are
here among the strongest supporters of the army.
The controversial artist Bedri Baykam tells me: "This government
unfortunately is trying to change every law little by little. It's
as though we were trying to enter the Iranian Union, not the EU.
"Turkey is the only Muslim country that has democracy, freedom of
speech and an international lifestyle and that is not a coincidence.
It's because of Ataturk's ideas and the Turkish army's care and
attention."
He has just been on a march in favour of secularism and against the
possibility of the headscarf ban being lifted, and adds: "We do not
want any military coup d'etat, because that would take us 20 or 30
years backwards. But we also don't want an Islamic coup, because that
would take us 1,000 back. Between 30 and 1,000, I would prefer 30."
'Perpetual fear'
Some think that as Turkey changes and becomes more secure as a
secular democracy, then the army will become more relaxed about
Islamic symbols in the public sphere and slowly relinquish its role.
The army itself sometimes says that is its aim and desire. But it
will not be easy.
Professor Hailil Berktay, a historian and expert on the way Turkey
sees its own history, tells me: "The army had a semi-colonial mission
to the rest of society. And they've never ceased enthusiastically
believing that they are the real civilising elite in Turkey."
"They say, 'We are the ones keeping Pandora's box closed and preventing
the demons of backwardness, superstition, religious fundamentalism,
Kurdish separatism and Armenian nationalism from emerging.' It's this
sense of a civilising and protecting mission that drives them."
He adds: "The larger problem is the way the rest of Turkish society
has internalised this and lives in perpetual fear of what the military
might do."
The real test may come next year, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan may decide to run for president.
If he does and wins, the thought of a man whose wife wears a headscarf
living in the presidential palace, a man who was once imprisoned for
words thought to represent militant Islam, occupying the role that
Ataturk first held, may be too much for some officers to bear.
Then again, if these things come to pass and the sky does not fall in,
they may start to relax a little and keep the moaning for the army
mess table.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6122878. stm