Removal of Gen. Başbuğ could open Pandora’s box for Turkey

Contrary to established practice in many democratic countries, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) generally determines many years beforehand who the new head of the armed forces will be. Such a determination is believed to prevent a junta wing from taking full control of the military but has failed to curb the strength of pro-coup and anti-democratic members of the armed forces. The junta wing is known to have worked in recent years to have its candidate appointed as the chief of General Staff rather than fight a democratically elected government.

Calls on the AK Party government to remove Gen. Başbuğ from office have intensified, particularly after yet another suspected military plot to overthrow the government was exposed in January. Called the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Security Operation Plan, the plot was a subversive military plan to get rid of the AK Party government through violent acts. Since then, many civil society organizations, intellectuals and even leaders of opposition parties have called on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to dismiss Gen. Başbuğ.

Erdoğan, however, has remained cautious thus far, emphasizing the harmony between his government and the TSK. What lies behind the prime minister’s caution is most probably his suspicions about the loyalty and respect for democracy and the rule of law of the candidates to replace Gen. Başbuğ.

In 1997, a colonel was killed by a bullet from an unidentified assailant during a military ceremony in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). Later, many alleged that the true target of the bullet was Gen. Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu, then-commander of the land forces. The planned assassination was to prevent the general from becoming the new chief of General Staff. Such a move would have enabled Gen. Çevik Bir, then-deputy chairman of the General Staff, to be appointed as chief of General Staff. However, the plan failed, and Gen. Kıvrıkoğlu ascended to the top spot.

Only a few months before Gen. Kıvrıkoğlu completed his term in office, the government, led by former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, asked him to remain in office for an extra year. The general, however, did not accept the proposal, which was aimed to prevent Gen. Hilmi Özkök from being appointed as the new chief of General Staff. After Gen. Özkök became chief, he blocked several TSK attempts to overthrow democratic governments.

Why did Baykal ask the PM to dismiss Gen. Başbuğ?

Deniz Baykal, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is one of the fervent supporters of removing Gen. Başbuğ from office. In June 2009, Baykal publicly asked Prime Minister Erdoğan to take action against the pro-coup wing within the armed forces and dismiss the chief of General Staff.

The CHP leader’s call came shortly after a Turkish daily exposed a coup plan titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism. The plan was drafted by a colonel on active duty and sought to undermine the power of the AK Party government and the faith-based Gülen movement.

Erdoğan, however, refused to comply with the call and told a Turkish news station that he did not “feel” the risk of any coup preparation at the TSK. “If I did feel such a thing, I would not just take my jacket and go as my precedents did. I would do what was necessary,” he noted.

The removal of Gen. Başbuğ last summer would have paved the path for now-retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, the then-commander of the 1st Army, to be appointed first as the land forces commander and later as the chief of General Staff. Saygun was known to have been a frequenter of seminars organized by retired Gen. Çetin Doğan at the Selimiye barracks, where senior members of the military discussed ways to get rid of the AK Party government. Gen. Saygun was detained on Monday as part of an investigation into the Sledgehammer plan.

Baykal reiterated his call to dismiss Gen. Başbuğ last month. The call was aimed to clear the obstacles for Gen. Hasan Iğsız, the commander of the 1st Army, to be appointed the next chief of General Staff. Gen. Iğsız will retire at the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting in August 2010.

A chief of General Staff has the right to appeal to the Supreme Military Administrative Court in the event of his dismissal; however, Turkey has never experienced such an incident. It is not certain what the outcome would be if a chief of General Staff sought legal redress after being removed from his position.

The Turkish Constitution, drafted under martial law after the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, does not allow the trial of a military chief. The AK Party included the trial of military chiefs in a draft constitution it prepared in 2008, but the draft has not been adopted. According to this bill, the chief of General Staff would be required to appear in court if he is removed from the military due to certain specified charges.

Army commanders dismissed during Özal’s term in office

Former President Turgut Özal left his mark on Turkish history when he removed two military commanders in 1987. Özal was prime minister at the time. Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Üruğ and Gen. Necdet Öztorun were removed after the two made a secret plan over who would be the next military chief.

The terms of office of both commanders were to expire in a few months, and Gen. Necip Torumtay was set to become the new chief of General Staff. However, Üruğ wanted Öztorun to take office as the new army chief when he left the position. The two struck a deal, and Üruğ petitioned to retire two months before his term in office expired. Frustrated by the move, Özal removed both Üruğ and Öztorun from office and appointed Torumtay as the new chief of General Staff. After his appointment as chief, Gen. Torumtay was forced by Özal to resign in 1990 due to his reluctance to comply with government directives.

Özal’s move was highly applauded at the time and was deemed a historic challenge to the armed forces.

After the retirement of Gen. Başbuğ and Gen. Iğsız at the YAŞ meeting next August, Gen. Işık Koşaner, the commander of the Gendarmerie General Command, is expected to be appointed as the new chief of General Staff. Koşaner will be replaced at the Gendarmerie General Command by Gen. Necdet Özel, the commander of the 2nd Army.

However, if Gen. Başbuğ is removed from office early, such a move will pave the was for Gen. Iğsız to replace him.