Turkish PM calls on army to stay out of politics

FE Team | Published: August 22, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Tayyip Erdogan

ANKARA, Aug 21 (Reuters): Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has called on the army to stay out of politics following months of tensions between the Islamist-rooted government and the staunchly secular military.
"Let us not mix the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) up with politics. Let it stay in its place. Because all our institutions conduct their duties in line with what is set out in the constitution," Erdogan told Kanal D late Monday.
"If you draw them into politics, then why are we here?" Erdogan asked in the interview. "For us the armed forces are sacred. They have a special place."
The army, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, has voiced its opposition to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becoming president because of his Islamist past.
Gul won most votes in the first round of a presidential election in parliament Monday but fell just short of securing the two-thirds majority needed to become the European Union-applicant country's next head of state immediately.
The secular elite, which includes army generals, blocked Gul's first bid to become president in April, triggering a parliamentary election in July, which was intended to defuse the crisis over the presidency.
The ruling AK Party won a landslide victory on July 22.
Analysts say the credibility of the presidential vote was boosted by the participation of opposition parties, apart from the largest and secularist Republican People's Party.
"(The) probability of the army's meddling in the presidential election is decidedly lower following the AKP's election victory and broad-based participation in the first round of voting (for the president)," Turkey's Finansbank said.
"Market focus is currently on continuing global uncertainties rather than domestic politics."
The lira currency traded weaker against the dollar at 1.3660 while Istanbul's main share index was off almost two percent.
The army has not directly commented on Gul's latest bid for the presidency, although the chief of General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, said in late July the president should be secular not just in words but also in deeds.
On Tuesday the army rejected media reports that a secret deal had been struck between Buyukanit and Gul to allow the foreign minister to take the post under certain conditions.
"There is no question of the Turkish Armed Forces bargaining over any issue with any person or institution," the General Staff said in a statement.
Gul is expected to defeat his two nationalist and leftist rivals in a third round of voting in parliament on August 28 when he would need just a simple majority to secure the presidency.
The pro-business AK Party, which has roots in political Islam, is aggressively lobbying opposition parliamentarians to secure the extra seats needed to be able to clear the two-thirds hurdle in a vote on August 24.
The presidency has traditionally been held by the secular elite and a former Islamist has never been elected president. Victory for Gul, 56, would complete the AK Party's capture of all key posts in Turkey's political hierarchy.