PM Erdoğan stands firm against illegal promotions during YAŞ

Although YAŞ decisions were scheduled to be announced before noon yesterday after being presented to President Abdullah Gül, the announcement was delayed, apparently due to the crisis that erupted over the proposed promotions of military officers who are suspected of connections to anti-democratic acts against the government. The crisis is thought to have been triggered by top military brass in the council who insisted on the promotions of the generals who have been allegedly involved in coup plots. Sources say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who chairs the council, strongly opposed the promotion of these generals, expressing determination that he will not put his signature under any decisions to promote the embattled generals.

YAŞ decisions must be approved by the president, prime minister and defense minister before going into effect. In previous years Erdoğan attended the conclusion meetings of YAŞ sessions and signed off on the decisions. It is not possible for the council to make decisions in the absence of the prime minister. The fact that Erdoğan did not attend the last sessions of this year’s YAŞ gathering indicated that Erdoğan was determined not to approve any promotions for generals suspected of involvement in coup plans. The council had still not announced its decisions when Today’s Zaman went to print yesterday and there was still uncertainty about the new command echelon, except for the new chief of General Staff. It is almost certain that Land Forces Commander Gen. Işık Koşaner will replace Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, who is due to retire.

In fact, experts emphasize that official Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) policy gives the government a decisive role in the appointment and promotions of officers, while the top military brass’ appointment list is ultimately only a suggestion. However, in Turkey there has long been a tradition of top commanders determining the command echelon of the military and the civilian body merely rubber-stamping it without any objection. Many think that the current government is for the first time using the rights granted to it by the law by opposing the promotion of officers who are implicated in coup plots against the government. “What we are discussing today is not the promotions of the generals in the military, we are discussing the individual rights of the 72 million citizens and what is important is the citizens’ rights,” political analyst Mümtaz’er Türköne said yesterday in televised remarks. Noting that the suspected criminal officers are accused of plotting against the government, which represents the nation’s will, Türköne says the government seems to have taken some steps to protect the rights of Turkish citizens by standing against the promotions.

Retired Col. Mesut Ülker also stresses that the government holds the decisive authority on YAŞ decisions and that he does not expect the top military brass to resist the government’s stance, adding that there is still time for a compromise until Aug. 30, when YAŞ decisions will go into effect. “If a compromise cannot be reached by then, it would be yet another deadlock, but the military would be responsible for that,” he told Today’s Zaman.

Ülker stresses that the signature of the prime minister, as the chairman of the council, is needed for the YAŞ decisions to go into effect. “The president’s approval is also needed. If the prime minister does not sign them and the president does not approve them, no appointment or promotion can be made,” he said.

Two main points of disagreement

This year’s YAŞ gathering was unprecedentedly critical, since it was held under the shadow of several civilian probes into illegal formations within the military that have allegedly been working to overthrow the government. The meeting began on Sunday, 10 days after a court decision ordering the arrest of 102 military officers, including 11 generals in line for promotions, as part of the Sledgehammer coup plot probe. A call by a civilian prosecutor for 1st Army Corps Commander Gen. Hasan Iğsız to testify as part of a probe into a criminal gang on the second day of the critical meeting raised the already high tensions during the meeting since Gen. Iğsız was also hoping to be promoted to land forces commander, in accordance with traditional military hierarchy. Gen. Iğsız, who is suspected of involvement with several websites set up by the General Staff to back TSK propaganda campaigns against civilian groups, has until tomorrow to provide testimony as a suspect in the probe into Ergenekon, a clandestine organization nested within the state and bureaucracy aiming to foment chaos in society, leading to a military takeover.

Prime Minister Erdoğan did not attend the fourth day of this year’s YAŞ meetings, when -- according to prior practice -- YAŞ decisions are finalized. The prime minister’s daily program was announced late Tuesday and it did not include the YAŞ meeting. Erdoğan met with Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin yesterday at the prime minister’s residence and later with National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and he is thought to have exchanged views with them on the YAŞ deadlock. The 11 generals are suspected to have contributed to the Sledgehammer plan, which included plans to crash Turkish jets and bomb large mosques during prayer times to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) administration in hopes of eventually toppling the government.

In addition to banning the promotion of military officers who are on trial, Article 65 of the Law on TSK Staff gives the defense minister the right to suspend officers who face more than five years’ imprisonment. But the Defense Ministry has so far avoided invoking this right, although dozens of military officers are being prosecuted in investigations carried out by civilian prosecutors.

Prime Minister Erdoğan is known to have expressed his opposition to the promotions of the embattled generals ahead of the YAŞ meeting to Gen. Başbuğ. With Erdoğan’s strict stance on the issue, it was inevitable that a crisis would erupt during the YAŞ gathering if Başbuğ still insisted on the promotion of the Sledgehammer suspects.

Erdoğan last week openly asked the military chief not to seek the promotions of the suspect generals. However, the chief of General Staff, in response, reportedly told the prime minister that it would lead to a great “injustice” if the military officers who have not been convicted in those cases were not promoted. The outgoing military chief became the center of strong criticism in various cases when he openly took the side of military officers in ongoing criminal cases. He was even mentioned in EU progress reports for his stance, which was seen as an attempt to influence ongoing judicial investigations. The European Union in April asked Turkish authorities whether any legal action had been taken against Gen. Başbuğ following his controversial remarks on ongoing investigations. No legal action was taken against the general, who is about to step down from his post.

President Gül is also standing firm in his opposition to the promotion of generals while they are on trial. In an extraordinary meeting he held with the Gen. Başbuğ over the weekend, Gül reportedly said these generals would appear privileged and protected in the face of the grave accusations being leveled against them in the court indictment if they are promoted.