But in Turkey, even the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which put its stamp on major military and civilian reforms several years ago, has so far been timid in taking further legal measures to ensure that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) should return to its barracks and concentrate on professionalizing the institution, which has about 850,000 military personnel but lacks a lethal strike force.
There have been numerous incidents that have been disclosed in the last few years concerning military-led coup plots currently subject to court hearings, as well as military internal memos designed to discredit certain segments of society such as journalists, businessmen and academics critical of the TSK.
In addition, Turkey has witnessed five different sorts of military interventions in politics, from the 1960 military coup to the April 27 e-memo released in 2007.
The recent disclosure of the authenticity of an action plan, allegedly prepared by the TSK outlining measures to unseat the political authority, shows that the government, without wasting time, should retire Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and top commanders over their negligence in countering an increasingly alarming polarization within the armed forces. Polarization and division within the armed forces pose a threat to nation's ability to defend its borders against outside enemies.
The opposition parties, as well as Parliament as a whole, also bear serious responsibilities over not making the legal changes both within the Constitution and within the related laws to ensure that the TSK will not intervene in politics, a situation that plays a major role in the ongoing instability in the country.
What is absent and lacking in Turkish politics in taking the necessary steps to end the TSK's role in politics is courage.
Ümit Kardaş, a retired military prosecutor, believes that all the coups since the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup have taken place upon decisions made at top commandership level. Therefore, he says, it is not possible to talk about the existence of a junta within the TSK acting independently from the top commanders since the September 1980 coup was followed by the Feb. 28, 1997 post-modern coup as well as the April 27, 2007 e-memo.
The 1960 coup as well as the March 12, 1971 memorandum had been the work of juntas within the TSK. This had prompted the political authorities to make changes in the law to prevent coups staged by lower level officers. Changes in the law have strengthened the position of the Turkish General Staff while ending the tradition of the subordination of the chief of general staff to the minister of national defense, affiliating the chief of general staff to the prime minister.
Ironically, says Kardaş, the General Staff has gained an autonomous status through changes in the law made by politicians. Since then, he recalls, all the military coups have taken place by orders given from the top. In other words, politicians themselves paved the way for the coups to take place by orders given from the top commanders. It is worth recalling that former Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt admitted during a CNN Türk interview this year that it was he who had written the April 2007 e-memo released against the government.
The TSK gained its current autonomous and therefore unaccountable and nontransparent status through laws made by the politicians themselves. Now the political authority in particular, and Parliament in general have a duty to correct past mistakes and make the necessary changes both in the law and the Constitution that will enable the TSK to return to its barracks.
In addition, Kardaş says, the prime minister and the president should retire Gen. Başbuğ as well as other top commanders and initiate legal proceedings in reaction to the ongoing unconstitutional acts, such as coup plots.
The government should also take the initiative to ensure that the TSK is transformed into a professional army to meet changing threat perceptions.
The roadmap is there to end the TSK's role in politics. What is required are courageous steps that should be taken by both the government and Parliament to ensure that Turkey has a strong professional armed force ready at all times to defend the nation.
None of the democratic initiatives that include Kurdish reforms and normalizing relations with Armenia can take place if the political authorities do not take the necessary legal steps in ending the country's dual power status.
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