President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey Replaces Top Military Chiefs – New York Times
The Supreme Military Council, which was once a secretive military body but now consists of senior military officers and cabinet ministers, made the appointments, said Ibrahim Kalin, a presidential spokesman. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim is the chairman of the military council.
Mr. Erdogan approved the appointments and met with the commanders later in the day, Turkish news agencies reported.
Murat Kelkitlioglu, editor in chief of a pro-government daily newspaper, Aksam, praised the new form of the military council in a message on Twitter. This is how a civilian Supreme Military Council happens! he wrote. Instead of 4 days, it take 4 hours! It does not keep busy for a week! If it is required, the top command can be changed!
A retired rear admiral, Semih Cetin, offered praise for three other senior naval appointments announced by the council on Wednesday, saying on Twitter that three colonels who had been targets in an earlier purge by opponents of Mr. Erdogan had been promoted to the rank of admiral.
Yet resistance to civilian control remains inside military circles. Nusret Guner, a vice admiral who resigned in 2013 to protest an earlier crackdown on the army, said in a Twitter message that the countrys military had now become totally intertwined with politics.
Turkeys done for, he added.
The military council selected Yasar Guler, currently commander of the gendarmerie, to take over command of the army. It also appointed Vice Adm. Adnan Ozbal to be commander of the navy, and Hasan Kucukakyuz will command the air force.
It is not clear if the departing commanders were scheduled for retirement or are being replaced early.
Mr. Erdogans government has been overseeing a large-scale purge of the army and other institutions since the attempted coup last year, when a renegade group of military officers tried to seize power, sending tanks into the streets and bombing the Parliament building.
In all, 249 people died during the uprising, for which the government has blamed followers of the Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was once allied with Mr. Erdogan but is now living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. He is being tried in absentia for the plot; he has denied the charges.
The government has discharged 169 generals and admirals, almost half of the senior ranks a year ago, and arrested 7,000 military personnel in a crackdown. Tens of thousands of civilians, including government workers, members of Parliament and journalists, have also been detained and charged with aiding the Gulenists.
A trial of nearly 500 people accused of being involved at the plots headquarters at the Akinci Air Base began on Tuesday at a court in a prison near Ankara, the capital. Among the defendants, in addition to Mr. Gulen, is a former commander of the air force, Akin Ozturk. The charges include murder, violating the Constitution and trying to kill the president.
A version of this article appears in print on August 3, 2017, on Page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Turkey Picks New Officers For Top Posts In the Military.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey Replaces Top Military Chiefs - New York Times
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