Turkey probes alleged coup plot
Source: Agencies |
February 24, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PROSECUTORS interrogated 51 Turkish military commanders yesterday over alleged plans to destabilize the country by blowing up mosques to trigger a coup and topple the Islamic-rooted government.
With the former chiefs of the Air Force and the Navy among those being questioned, it was the highest crackdown ever on the Turkish military, which has ousted four governments since 1960.
The sweep has dramatically deepened a power struggle between the secular establishment and the government, which has strong electoral backing and the European Union's support.
For decades Turkey's senior officers, self-appointed guardians of the country's secular tradition, have called the shots. Known as "pashas," - a title of respect harking back to Ottoman times - they were once deemed untouchable.
But the balance of power in this EU-candidate country shifted on Monday as police rounded up the 51 commanders following the gathering of wiretap evidence and the discovery of an alleged secret coup plan, dubbed "the sledgehammer," prepared when the commanders were on duty between 2003 and 2005.
Turkey was abuzz with speculation about whether recordings of the plotters, posted on Websites, were genuine.
With the former chiefs of the Air Force and the Navy among those being questioned, it was the highest crackdown ever on the Turkish military, which has ousted four governments since 1960.
The sweep has dramatically deepened a power struggle between the secular establishment and the government, which has strong electoral backing and the European Union's support.
For decades Turkey's senior officers, self-appointed guardians of the country's secular tradition, have called the shots. Known as "pashas," - a title of respect harking back to Ottoman times - they were once deemed untouchable.
But the balance of power in this EU-candidate country shifted on Monday as police rounded up the 51 commanders following the gathering of wiretap evidence and the discovery of an alleged secret coup plan, dubbed "the sledgehammer," prepared when the commanders were on duty between 2003 and 2005.
Turkey was abuzz with speculation about whether recordings of the plotters, posted on Websites, were genuine.
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