[A-List] Turkey: internal struggles over EU membership?

["Michael Keaney" <michael011@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Senior general 'stoked Kurdish conflict to keep Turkey out of EU'
By Pelin Turgut in Istanbul
The Independent: 08 March 2006

One of Turkey's most powerful generals has been accused of setting up
rogue units in the south-east of the country to provoke clashes between
Kurdish separatists and security forces. The accusations, made by a
prosecutor in the eastern city of Van, against General Yasar Buyukanit,
the head of Turkey's land forces, have rattled the politically powerful
military. It is thought the alleged activities are part of an effort to
derail Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

General Buyukanit , who was chief commander in the region from
1997-2000, is due to become chief of staff in August. The separatist
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched an armed struggle for a homeland
in the region in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

The charges were part of an indictment of two soldiers and a Kurdish
informer over the bombing of a bookshop in November in the south-eastern
town of Semdinli, on the Iraqi border. The general cannot be prosecuted
by civil courts.

The blast, which killed one man, made headlines when a tale was revealed
of shadowy rogue elements within the security forces. Local people
chased and caught three men suspected of planting the bomb only to find
out that two were non-commissioned officers, part of a paramilitary
intelligence unit, and the third, a Kurdish rebel turned informer. Their
car was registered to the local gendarmerie and contained a list of 105
potential targets, including the bookshop owner.

In his 100-page indictment of the three suspected bombers, a prosecutor,
Ferhat Sarikaya, reportedly accused General Buyukanit and other senior
officers of setting up an illegal force to create unrest among the Kurds
that would undermine Turkey's application to join the EU. Mr Sarikaya
alleged that the bombing in November was part of a series of similar
attacks intended to provoke the security forces into a clampdown on the
restive Kurdish region that would then unleash European criticism and
jeopardise Turkey's hopes of joining the EU.

Turkey's army says it backs Ankara's mission to join the EU, but some
officers fear that EU-required reforms would reduce the armed forces'
influence, encourage Kurdish separatism and strengthen the Islamist
movement.

For many, the Semdinli bombing brought back memories of the 1990s - the
peak years of the conflict - when rogue elements in the security forces
were accused of summary executions, extortion and kidnappings. Turks
refer to those elements as a hidden "deep state". That murky era has yet
to be investigated. General Buyukanit said last year that one of the
three suspects, who had served under him, was "a good chap". In the
indictment, General Buyukanit was accused of seeking to influence the
judiciary by supporting the suspect. The three may be jailed for life if
convicted.

Turkey's generals are widely seen as guardians of the pro-Western,
secular system introduced by the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal
Ataturk. Their powers have been scaled back recently in keeping with EU
reforms, but the military still has influence over domestic and foreign
policy.

Under Turkish law, members of the armed forces cannot be tried in
civilian courts. General Buyukanit and other officers could only be
tried if a military prosecutor decided to take up the investigation. The
general staff has accused the Van prosecutor of overstepping the limits
of his authority.


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