European Forum

Turkey investigates new “anti-government plot”

On Tuesday (16 June) Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had a special meeting with the country's military chief General Ilker Basbug to discuss an alleged plot to discredit the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) Party and destabilise the government.

PM Erdogan urged civilian and military investigators to find out who was behind the plan. Subsequently, Deputy parliamentary group leader of the AKP party Bekir Bozdag, and the party's general secretary, Idris Naim Sahin, submitted late Tuesday a petition requesting a probe into the allegation and legal action against anyone involved to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office. "Illegal efforts to eliminate a political party that is protected by law and its government are unacceptable in a state of law and cannot be left without punishment," the petition said. Erdogan told reporters that "the printed document includes an initiative that aims to destroy democracy”. “As the ruling party of the country, we could not remain silent and launched the process with the prosecutors," Erdogan added.

Turkish media reported last week that a senior naval officer, Dursun Cicek, is accused of having drawn up the four-page anti-AKP document in April. The document sets out ways to combat fundamentalist Islam. It also aims to end the activities of religious movements that are accused of trying to undermine Turkey’s secular order and establish an Islamic state - particularly the ruling AKP party and the Muslim brotherhood movement led by a cleric, Fethullah Gulen. The military denied it has such a plan, promising to remove any soldiers from duty who fail to respect democracy and said it was investigating whether the reported anti-AKP plan is genuine. Army chief Ilker Basbug himself did not comment on his talks with Mr Erdogan on Tuesday. No statement was made following the meeting.

The military is seen as a stronghold of Turkish secularism and there are long-running tensions between officers and members of the ruling AKP. In the so-called "Ergenekon" investigation, several retired generals have been arrested, along with politicians, journalists and academics. They are suspected of belonging to an ultra-nationalist network that sought to trigger a military coup against Mr Erdogan's government.


Sources: Turkish daily; BBC