TSK’s attitude towards religious values found insincere

Such claims are unjust,” said an angry Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, while responding to allegations about a recently unearthed military plot against the government.

The plot, named the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan, revealed by the Taraf daily earlier this month, included plans, among other things, of bombing heavily frequented mosques in İstanbul to foment chaos in the country with the ultimate goal of a military takeover. The subversive plot has led to a nationwide outcry, with many calling on the General Staff to shed light on the controversy surrounding the plot.

The fact that such reference to religion and Allah was made by the commander of Turkey’s most secular institution, the TSK, which considers itself the guardian of the secular regime, and that it has meddled in politics many times for “creeping religious fundamentalism” in Turkey and has dismissed hundreds of its staff because of religion has made many question the TSK’s attitude toward religious values.

Başbuğ’s emphasis on the TSK’s respect for religious values was a good attempt to win the public’s support, said Rıdvan Kaya, head of the Freedom Association (Özgür-Der), but he cautioned those who know the real attitude of the TSK towards religious values, those who are able to detect that his statements are a contradiction and aimed at deceiving the public.

“Everyone who knows the history of the TSK knows very well that officers were discharged from the military just because they prayed or their wives wore headscarves,” he said.

Kaya explained that the military’s dislike of religious values became more apparent during the Feb. 28, 1997 intervention when masjids, or Muslim places of worship, in military barracks were closed and the language used in TSK literature was completely secularized.  “When the TSK has such a background, Başbuğ’s statement seems nothing more than an attempt at deceit,” he added.

The Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military coup, which was dubbed a “post-modern coup,” led to the overthrow of a coalition government led by the Islamist-leaning Welfare Party (RP). Pressure on religious people dramatically increased during this period.

Kaya also noted that it was natural for soldiers to chant Allah’s name when they were attacking an enemy because it was otherwise impossible to send anyone to death.

Dozens of soldiers are killed every year in Turkey during clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a bloody war in the country’s Southeast since 1984. The General Staff refers to slain soldiers as “martyrs” and praises martyrdom, which is an Islamic concept.

Retired Brig. Gen. Adnan Tanrıverdi, head of the Defenders of Justice Association (ASDER), complained about the TSK’s treatment of its pious staff since dozens of TSK members are discharged from their posts on the grounds that they are engaged in anti-secular activities.

Officers discharged from the military do not have an opportunity to appeal or demand a review of the decision for dismissal.

In the latest Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting held in December 2009, two military officers were dismissed from the institution over charges of involvement in anti-secular activities.

It is estimated that around 1,600 officers have been dismissed from the military since 1995.

The details of the Sledgehammer plot revealed that a pro-coup wing within the TSK had hoped to discharge 823 active members of the military on charges of engaging in acts of “reactionaryism” after staging the coup d’état based on the plot devised in 2003.

In addition to these, Tanrıverdi said around 10,000 military officers have been either made to resign or retire from their posts since 1995 either because they were praying or their wives were wearing headscarves.

In an incident that took place in the western province of Manisa last year, headscarf-wearing mothers below the age of 40 were not allowed to enter the military headquarters to see the swearing-in ceremonies of their sons. They were made to watch the ceremony from behind the fences. The TSK drew widespread criticism over the case.

The retired general suggested that the TSK give up seeing religious values as a threat and diversify its personnel to represent the structure of the Turkish society  where there are both religious and non-religious people. “This change of attitude will make the TSK reconcile with the values of the public and increase the public’s confidence in it,” he added.

The TSK needs to show that religious values are important for it not only during troubled times but all the time, said Professor Nevzat Tarhan, a psychiatrist and retired colonel.

According to Tarhan, the sincerity of the TSK’s attitude toward religious values will be understood through its actions and its treatment of religious staff from now on.

Public respect for TSK out of fear

About the respect the nation feels for the TSK, Kaya called on the people to be more realistic and stop idealizing the institution.

“Our society likes to be deceived. There is a culture of obedience in our society. Although the coups staged by the military in Turkey so far have not achieved their goals, the military has been very successful in suppressing and scaring the people. So they can be easily deceived by the TSK,” he said. Tarhan agreed and said society’s respect of the military was a result of the Turkish military’s authoritarian structure -- a feeling of respect that comes along with fear.