ANKARA — Four retired generals and a serving military officer testified in an Ankara court on Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe into the forced resignation of an Islamic-leaning government in 1997.
Aslan Guner, former war academies commander, and Erdal Ceylanoglu, former land forces commander, were among the four generals giving evidence to prosecutors on the eve of the coup's 16-year anniversary, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Guner is known to have ordered scores of tanks to roll through the streets of Ankara in what was perceived as a show of power against the government of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who stepped down as a result.
The events of February 28, 1997 are widely referred to in Turkey as a "post-modern coup" since they involved no troops and the deposed cabinet was not replaced by a military administration.
Current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a disciple of Erbakan.
Tensions have been building for years between Erdogan's government and the military, which has authored four coups since the 1960s and considers itself the self-appointed guardian of Turkish secularism.
Hundreds of suspects, including army officers, journalists, academics and lawmakers, are being tried in separate cases over their alleged roles in plots to topple Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has sought to weaken the army's influence in politics.
In September, more than 300 retired and active military officers received prison sentences of up to 20 years after the court ruled that a military exercise dubbed "Sledgehammer" in 2003 was an undercover coup plot.
Pro-government circles have praised the investigations as a step toward democracy but critics have branded them witch-hunts aimed at stifling opposition.
Turkey's new constitution is expected to reduce the political influence of the military.
The four political parties represented in the 550-seat parliament have recently agreed to subordinate the army's top leadership, or General Staff, to the defense ministry in the new charter.
Under the existing constitution, drafted by the junta after the 1980 military takeover, the General Staff is directly tied to the prime ministry but is autonomous in exercising its legal powers and cannot be challenged by the defence ministry. — AFP
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