ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Police arrested two navy officers yesterday on suspicion of conspiring to overthrow Turkey’s Islamist-rooted government and three retired military commanders testified in an investigation into a separate plot.
The military, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, had been seen as virtually untouchable and the appearance of high-ranking officers in a civilian court would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
The officers were released after 10 hours of questioning by prosecutors over what they knew about a plot to oust the ruling AK Party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
Istanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Turan Colakkadi said after the testimony that the commanders were treated as suspects.
What they said may have serious political ramifications if it implicates top brass and if their testimony is leaked.
That could bring the armed forces closer to a confrontation with Erdogan’s government.
About 200 people, including military officers and politicians, are already standing trial over their alleged part in the so-called “Ergenekon” network, the name given to a shadowy group of ultra-nationalists.
Turkey’s secular elite, which includes senior members of the military and judiciary, fears the AK Party aims to roll back the secular state envisioned by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern Turkey, in order to push its own Islamic agenda.
Turkish financial markets have suffered several bouts of jitters since the Ergenekon affair first surfaced in 2007.
Turkey is bidding to join the European Union and EU officials are closely following the case to see how its democratic institutions stand up to the test.
The military says no one in its ranks had plans to topple the government.
