Gül says MGSB not superior to Constitution, asks for revision

“The document is not superior to the Constitution but was sometimes deemed superior. This is totally wrong. It is not a law,” the president told journalists during a flight to India on Sunday. The MGSB, which is known as Turkey’s “secret constitution,” lies behind many military interventions as it enables the military to plot against governments. It is also dubbed the “Red Book.”

Religious reactionaryism, ethnic separatism and extreme leftist movements are listed as the three most dangerous threats to Turkey’s security in the MGSB. Nationalist and neo-nationalist organizations are also seen as domestic threats.

“Every big country has its own national security document. Like the United States or Russia, Turkey -- which deals with a number of important issues and which faces acts of terror stemming from its neighborhood and which spans a large territory -- also has a MGSB. But a new such document needs to be prepared in accordance with the realities of today. What is important is the extent to which it includes realistic analyses and correct policies,” Gül remarked.

The document has been under the spotlight since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a remark questioning its legitimacy last month. The government, which shortened the 110-page document to 25 pages in 2005 upon Erdoğan’s orders, will shorten the document further, and religious reactionaryism is also expected to be removed from the list of domestic threats.

Gül noted that he read and sometimes helped draft such documents in the past. “However, I know that the existing document is much different from its past versions,” he added.

Asked to comment on parliamentary efforts to prepare a new constitution, Gül said Parliament missed the opportunity to prepare one due to various reasons. “It would have been a major step if this Parliament drafted a new constitution. But this chance has been missed due to various reasons. I would not like to comment on efforts to partially amend the Constitution,” he noted.

The president also expressed distress over a recent fistfight in Parliament between the deputies of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). “Respectful politics will boost the power of Turkey, but such scenes [a fistfight] do not conform to the tone of Parliament,” he said.

Last week, MHP deputy Osman Durmuş drew the indignation of AK Party deputies when he made fun of news reports that the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) had refused to allow Prime Minister Erdoğan’s wife permission to enter the hospital and visit actor Nejat Uygur in 2007. He angered AK Party deputies when he said: “How dare you not allow the wife of a prime minister who is accepted as a prophet to enter GATA? Who do you think you are?” The incident led to a brawl between AK Party and MHP deputies.