General Staff says attendance in Parliament has no special meaning

Senior members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), including Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, were present at Thursday's opening ceremony after a long absence, a move widely interpreted by the Turkish media as a sign of the commanders' support for the government's ambitious Kurdish initiative.

Since the July 22, 2007 general election, when the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) emerged victorious and the Democratic Society Party (DTP), Turkey's largest pro-Kurdish party, entered Parliament, senior TSK officials have not participated in ceremonies in Parliament in a boycott protesting the DTP. Heretofore, the only exception was when US President Barack Obama addressed Parliament during a visit to Ankara in April.

The top military chiefs' presence in Parliament on Thursday for a speech by President Abdullah Gül emphasizing diversity within a unitary state structure, which was interrupted frequently by applause from AK Party and DTP deputies, was interpreted by media commentators as the TSK showing its support for the government's democratic initiative, which is expecting to involve extending democratic rights to the Kurdish citizens of the country.

However, Ferit Güler, head of the General Staff's communication department, stressed that these speculations are neither accurate nor beneficial for either the military or the government.

The government's democratic initiative has been criticized by opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputies, who chose not to applaud the president during his speech.

On the other hand, when asked about the generals' attendance, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday evening at a reception following Parliament's opening session: “This is what needed to be done. They did what needs to be done.”

Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin said that he was quite pleased to see the top commanders in Parliament.

“They were not able to participate in the ceremonies in Parliament, possibly because they had some pre-planned programs,” he said, adding that senior military members have always had great respect for Parliament.

“I don't think it is right to make comments like, ‘They did not participate at one time, but they are participating now.' I am so glad, as parliament speaker, that they were at Parliament,” Şahin said.

‘TSK wouldn't support threats’

Güler also said, “The Turkish public would evaluate everything in the best way,” referring to the recent criminal complaint against Gen. Başbuğ over statements he made during a visit to the southeastern province of Mardin on Sept. 21-22, when he expressed his views about Turkey's Kurdish problem and the government's democratization initiative, which aims to solve it.

The complaint was submitted to the İstanbul Courthouse in Sultanahmet on Sept. 28 by independent deputy Ufuk Uras. The deputy expressed the opinion that Başbuğ had overstepped his authority with his statements in Mardin because he had entered the political arena. The complaint was undersigned by intellectuals such as Baskın Oran, a professor of international relations; journalist Ahmet İnsel; Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a former chairman of the Diyarbakır Bar Association; author Oya Baydar; and jurist Mithat Sancar.

Uras had said that their complaint was the first of its kind as civilians had never filed a criminal complaint against a chief of general staff before.

When asked by reporters about threats against those who filed the complaint, Güler said the TSK would never approve of such hostile attitudes.

Başbuğ was in the region to visit military outposts when he shared his views about the essence of the Kurdish question in remarks that were found by most observers to be too political for an army officer.

Additionally, Güler said the TSK does not approve of the hostility shown against Diyarbakırspor players and fans by Bursaspor fans, who accused them of being "separatists.”