An unarmed war is taking place in Turkey. Commentators who fear a return to the days of military coups are holding their breath. Much hinges on whether the country can find a judiciary that the governing Islamist Justice and Development Party and the Kemalist armed forces can agree is impartial. Are the allegations about preparations for a military coup – culminating in the arrest of senior military figures, including four admirals, a general and two colonels – true or has the evidence been fabricated by radical Muslims who want to undermine the military?
There has never been much love lost between the generals and the ruling AKP, which came to power eight years ago, and which the generals believe wants to subvert the secular state. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks the military is standing in the way of democratic reforms he believes are essential if the country is to join the European Union.
In modern Turkey, where politicians are often seen as at best self-serving and at worst corrupt, the armed forces have traditionally been trusted to safeguard the constitution.
The coup, it is said, would have involved the bombing of a mosque and the shooting down of a fighter plane in order to create a crisis with the Greeks. But the question now is which judges will get to evaluate the evidence coming to light. There is turmoil in the capital over the question of who will try these men, especially as the AKP is seeking to alter the judicial procedures in an attempt to break the hold over the judiciary that the military has traditionally enjoyed.
At the same time, supporters of the armed forces are questioning the impartiality of the nominees the AKP is putting forward. In a desperate attempt to mediate between the warring parties, President Abdullah Gul is in talks with the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors to try to find a way to satisfy both sides. He is, belatedly, talking about reform of the judicial system along European lines.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Deniz Baykal, conscious of approaching elections, is demanding to know why it is only now that these allegations have come to light.
