TURKEY: Military and Government in Uneasy Marriage

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Analysis by Hilmi Toros

ISTANBUL, Sep 16 2007 (IPS) - Despite the verdict at the polls, Turkey’s staunchly secular military is far from caving in to the Islamic-rooted civilian authority that is now in full control of parliament, the government and the presidency. At best it appears willing to accept, for the time being, an uneasy co-existence.

The tanks are in the barracks and military planes on the ground, but the powerful and ever watchful military brass has yet to fully embrace former foreign minister Abdullah Gul as their President and titular Commander-in-Chief since Parliament elected the former Islamist the head of state Aug. 28.

The Chiefs of Staff, in a sudden foray into politics in a midnight memorandum on their website, had opposed Gul’s nomination by his Justice and Development AKP Party, leading to an impasse in Parliament that brought early elections.

But the national poll returned AKP to power, with its vote going up from 34 to 47 percent, and the new Parliament elected Gul. The new President, a ranking member of two former Islamist parties, now vows allegiance to secular values. The AKP professes to be “conservative” and not religious.

The military brass abstained from Gul’s swearing-in ceremony, and stayed away from his first reception at the Presidential Palace on the hills of capital Ankara. And on the national holiday Aug. 30, the invitation to Gul at a military reception was not extended to his wife Hayrunnisa, who wears the Islamic headscarf seen as a symbol of resistance to secularism.

Only once did Chief of Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit come to the Palace to see Gul. He carried with him a visible briefcase interpreted by the media as containing military demands that Turkey must stay on its secular course and not tilt toward Islamic principles in policy and public life.

So far, no senior military commander has followed the Turkish custom of addressing Gul as “My President”. As a result, if there is no paralysis over policy, tension is in the air.

Commentator Mehmet Ali Birand of the largest daily newspaper Posta says “the lack of dialogue” between the military and civilian authorities “is beginning to hurt the country” at a time when it faces a possible meltdown in its neighbour Iraq and has to deal with its own Kurdish rebels.

“In Turkey, it is impossible to establish any common policy due to the unfortunate rupture of dialogue between the civilians and the military,” he wrote. “Enough is enough,” he said, asking that “the government and the military come together to plan new policies, form a new vision and take precautions against all possibilities.”

Another commentator, Mustafa Akyol, in an “open letter to the Turkish military” published in the English language Daily News, wrote: “Dear Generals. I am proud to have a strong military that supports our nation against potential threats.” He questioned the military’s role in internal politics.

“The only way to avoid internal conflict is to appreciate our diversity,” the columnist noted. “Some citizens wear headscarves, others prefer mini skirts…I hope to see gestures from you nowadays which will show that you genuinely accept and respect our new President and the First Lady.”

“The military is still the guardian of our secular constitution,” Nermin Bezmen, a best-selling novelist and columnist told IPS. “But its role is changing. Whether it likes it or not, it has to deal with civilians who got close to 50 percent of votes. It can’t be as outspoken as before.

“Currently, the military and the civilians go only as far as being polite to each other. The crux will come when Parliament tries to amend the Constitution.”

The current Constitution, bestowing power to the military beyond that of defending the country against external threat, was drafted in 1982 in the wake of one of four military interventions overthrowing civil administrations since 1960. It is up for change and is set to be replaced by a “civilian” constitution restricting the role of the military, and broadening human rights and freedom of expression.

The drafting is at an early stage, but opponents are already warning against any effort to bring in religious values at the expense of secularism. Onur Oymen, a deputy leader of the main opposition Peoples’ Republican Party, CHP, has accused the ruling party of trying to impose “a regime change” taking advantage of its overwhelming parliamentary majority (340 seats in the 550-member chamber).

The military enjoys special prestige. Unlike the police, it is hardly criticised directly. Conscripts leaving to join the 500,000 plus military are sent off with fanfare. One of the first things they chant in unison when they reach their barracks is: “Every Turk is born a soldier. I sacrifice my life to the nation.”

The military brass also in effect sets its budget although the military falls under the authority of a civilian defence minister. Civilians have little say in military promotions, including that of the Chief of General Staff.

An uneasy truce continues because so far Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party members have abstained from criticising the military over its aloofness to civilian authorities.

President Gul may have been trained as an economist, but the former foreign minister has also shown he is a skilled diplomat.

His first visit since his election was to the Kurdish populated areas in the east and southeast. He spoke there of national unity, but ended the day’s Muslim fast with meal at the barracks.

His wife is yet to be seen at any state function, where headscarves have been taboo for over half a century.