Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka
Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
January 14,2001
New Yorl~TImes
By DOUGLAS FRANTZ
_Military B_estridesTurkey's
~athto thJl_Eu[opean_UnioD
ISTANBUL, Jan. 13 - Turkey's powerful military, whose influence and economic reach are unparalleled in other
democracies, is facing its toughest fight yet - not on the battlefield, but in a struggle against those who want to
remodel the country to enter the European Union.
Of all the reforms Turkey is being asked to undertake to join the European club, none would transform it as deeply
as asserting civilian authority over the generals. The outcome of the fussle between the military and those who
demand change is-important to more than Turkey. It will affect the balance of power in a strategic area between
Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam. Turkey, a NATO and American ally, fields the region's strongest army
and is regarded as a bulwark against instability. .
Still, a senior European Union diplomat said, "in its present military- civilian configuration, Turkey would be
unacceptable to the E.U." "The Turks, " the diplomat added, "have to find a way to get the pashas out of politics."
That task confronts the generals with the prospect of losing their well- known dominance of civilian affairs and
their mu~ less publicized but no less influ~ntial role in the country's economy. Both are changes they are prepared
to reSISt. Modem Turkey was founded m 1923 by a general, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and his successors have
staged coups three times in four decades, returning to barracks only after deeming affairs sufficiently secure to
entrust to civilians. . ~
After ~e most recent coup, in 1980~it was the military-backed government that drew up the 1982 Constitution
~at ~~ gove~s Turkey. The document anointed the generals guardians of Turkey's secular government and ternto~Ial
mteg~ty, aman~ate that has. been interpreted broadly to cover almost any issue - from the IS-year war
agamst KurdIsh separatists to pushmg out an Islamic-led government in 1997.
This week, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer - whom opinion polls recently placed in the unusual position of being
more popular than the traditionally respected military - threw down the latest of several challenges to the generals,
calling for the Constitution to be rewritten.
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut YIlmaz has said that change in the role of the military is inevitable as the country
approaches European Union membership, though he carefully added that reforms would take time.
But the generals and their many supporters in government are resistingany' major realignment, arguing that the strategic
importance of Turkey in a rough neighborhood demands apowerful military. "The conflicts and relations in
the Balkans, Caucasus and Middle East require us to maintain strong armed forces with a deterrence capability,"
Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said in an interview.
European countries face far less hostility from their neighbors and do not understand the need for a powerful military
in Turkey, he said. ~
The potential for tension between politicians and the military was further illustrated this week when the army was
accused of meddling in government affairs through an investigation of corruption in the state energy department.
Mr. Yi1n\az, the deputy prime minister, remarked that government under the military would be more corrupt. Stung,
the general staff swiftly responded with a statement accusing Mr. YIlmaz of "the greatest slander." Turkish military
experts and Western diplomats said in interviews that Turkey's armed forces represent a stable and uncorrupted element
in a society whose politiciiIDS are often weak and where scandals are routine.
"Believe me, we are not happy to be involved in all kinds of problems of Turkey," said Atilla Kiyat, who retired 18
months ago as an admiral. "The lack of civilian authority is forcing us to be involved in those kinds of issues."
.In a coincidence seen by some as symbolic, the offices for the new bureaucracy created to guide Turkey's candidacy
for the European Union sit squarely in the shadow of the eight-story headquarters of the National Security Council
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