|
Security hawk seen taking over Turkish
military
31.7.2006
|
|
|
|
ANKARA, July 31
(Reuters) - Turkey is widely expected this week to
confirm General Yasar Buyukanit, a blunt-speaking
hawk, as head of its powerful military, increasing
the chances of a heavier crackdown on Kurdish
separatist rebels.
He would replace General Hilmi Ozkok, who has helped
keep the armed forces quiescent during a period of
sensitive liberal reforms, including curbs on the
military, that are aimed at preparing Turkey for
European Union membership.
Turkey's Supreme Military Council, chaired by Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan, will approve Ozkok's
replacement and other key personnel changes at a
meeting on Aug 1-4. Ozkok retires on Aug. 30 and has
ruled out suggestions he might stay on another year.
"This appointment is important because the Turkish
armed forces are still largely autonomous, despite
EU reforms trimming their powers," said Lale
Sariibrahimoglu, Turkey correspondent of the
respected British-based Jane's Defence Weekly.
"Many in (Erdogan's ruling) AK Party would have
liked to see Ozkok stay on for another year.
Buyukanit is from the old school, against the full
civilian control of the military, while Ozkok is
more of a democrat," she said.
Diplomats credit Ozkok with helping to smooth out
friction between the army and the Islamist-rooted AK
Party, which is under EU pressure to rein in the
military still further.
The military views itself as the ultimate guardian
of Turkey's secular order. It ousted an elected
government it saw as too Islamist-oriented as
recently as 1997.
KURDISH PROBLEM
Buyukanit raised eyebrows this year by praising a
soldier subsequently jailed for a bombing believed
to be aimed at stirring up unrest in the mainly
Kurdish southeast. The bombing triggered riots in
the region and a parliamentary inquiry.
A regional prosecutor accused Buyukanit of
organising an illegal group to plan the bombing,
claims the General Staff strongly denied. The
prosecutor was then sacked from his post in a move
the EU said raised questions about judicial
independence.
Analysts say Buyukanit's no-nonsense views have been
shaped by the time he spent in the southeast during
the 1990s, heyday of the separatist Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) which is now seen as weakened
but far from defeated.
"Buyukanit is more pro-American, more
security-minded than Ozkok. He is not against the
Europeanisation of Turkey but he is more influenced
by nationalist tendencies," said Huseyin Bagci of
Ankara's Middle East Technical University.
"He will be much tougher in the fight against the
PKK."
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than
30,000 people since the group launched its armed
campaign in 1984.
Buyukanit's likely promotion coincides with renewed
turmoil in Turkey's Middle East backyard, in Iraq
and Lebanon. Ankara has said it may provide troops
for an international peacekeeping force in southern
Lebanon if the conditions are right.
Bagci said the EU might not complain too loudly
about a more assertive Turkish military -- the
second biggest in NATO after the United States -- if
it is contributing actively to security in the
eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
Analysts were sanguine about relations between the
military and the AK Party, noting that Erdogan had
hardened his stance on the PKK and introduced a
tough new anti-terrorism law.
"Erdogan has been backpedalling on EU reforms and he
does not want tensions with the military," said
Sariibrahimoglu.
Reuters
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 