The Turkish military appears to be taking a hands-off approach to the country's toxic political environment, refusing to get stuck between the president's impassioned followers and fervent foes.
In recent years, Turks had come to believe that the word “coup” had been discarded from the lexicon of the civilian-military relationship and that the news media had forgone using the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as a tool for shaping perceptions among the public. The virulence of the current political atmosphere is evident in recent speculation and media commentary that the military might once again intervene in politics. Efforts by both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition to benefit from this situation will only erode confidence in civilian politics.
The TSK high command evidently have had enough of the allegations about it and felt compelled to share its uneasiness with the public in a rare political statement issued March 31. “Discipline, absolute obedience and firm chain of command are the basic elements of the TSK,” the General Staff remarked in a post on its official website. “It is inconceivable to think that the TSK would tolerate any illegal phenomenon or action that would digress from the chain of command. We have initiated legal action against those who spread such news and comments, which have absolutely no legal and logical basis and which contravene media ethics.” The statement continued, “News and comments in some media organs without any foundation naturally negatively affect the morale and motivation of our personnel.”
Of interest, the Turkish media have split over the identify of the intended recipient of the generals' message. Some believe it was a stern response to a March 27 article, “Operations Targeting Turkey and Erdogan,” by Rasim Ozan Kutahyali in the daily Sabah, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the article, Kutahyali claims that the Russian plane shot down on Nov. 24 was intentionally targeted by Gulenist pilots in the Turkish air force, and he said 50% of F-16 pilots are pro-Gulenist. Kutahyali added that all such pilots will be dismissed from the TSK en masse in 2016, and if Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar resists the move, he will have to resign.
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