Başbuğ gave the first signals that he would be different from his predecessors when he visited the eastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Van and then invited representatives from some newspapers that were previously not accredited by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to a news conference on Tuesday. The messages he conveyed at this news conference on issues such as the fight against terrorism, Turkey's EU membership and military intervention in politics, along with many others, filled newspaper columns, with commentators trying to draw conclusions about the TSK's role and future position with Başbuğ. Star's Şamil Tayyar, who attended Tuesday's news conference, found Başbuğ's comments about his visit to Van -- "The citizens filled the streets in way that had never been seen before. This is not important. The important thing was the light in their eyes" -- to be very promising. Tayyar says he observed a different look on his face when uttering those words. "He closed his eyes slightly; it was like something got stuck in this throat, Başbuğ was experiencing an emotional moment," says Tayyar. He says this positive interaction between the military and the citizenry will make a contribution to the settlement of problems in the next term.
Bugün's Mehmet Metiner, commenting on the new period starting in the TSK with Başbuğ, says although there is an impression that the military is unchangeable, it is obvious that the TSK is changing itself by adopting a new discourse and understanding. "Does not the TSK's resistance to change in a world where everything is changing contradict its bid to be the pioneer of modernism and change? I heed Başbuğ's messages because they pave the way before this change," notes Metiner. In the wake of this, he appreciates Başbuğ easing accreditation restrictions for some media organs after taking over his post and believes each of Başbuğ's positive steps will be met with more positive steps and that prejudices will be eliminated thanks to democratic dialogue. Metiner finds Başbuğ's remarks calling on politicians to stop making politics over the military very important. "This message has a lot of significance in a country like Turkey, where some have a troubled understanding of democracy and call on the military to meddle in politics during political crises," he says. Nevertheless, Metiner thinks there is something which the military should pay attention to in order make this happen. "If the soldiers are uncomfortable about politicians' doing politics over the military, it should get rid of its image of intervening in politics. The only way for it to achieve this is to not mention its views about politics anywhere or anytime other than at National Security Council [MGK] meetings," suggests Metiner.
Hürriyet's Oktay Ekşi thinks Başbuğ has taken a significant step by easing accreditation restrictions and trying to improve the military's relations with the media, something he says could set an example for the Presidency, Prime Ministry and Interior Ministry for reviewing their relations with the media. Although Ekşi finds the perpetuation of accreditation restrictions for some newspapers such as the Zaman daily, which has a high rate of circulation, a shortcoming, he believes the General Staff will correct this as time goes by. "The General Staff displayed both self-confidence and an example of accountability, which is one of the fundamentals of democracy, with this move," writes Ekşi.
