Hours after the country’s entire military echelon, including the Chief of the General Staff, resigned from their posts in a reaction to civilian rulers, the government appointed Gendarmerie Forces Commander Gen. Necdet Özel late Friday as the land forces commander, Hurriyet reports. Özel is likely to become the country’s top soldier over the weekend as well.
Özel was the only commander who did not accompany Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner in his resignation. After Koşaner and the land, air and navy commanders quit their posts Friday afternoon, Özel met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Prime Ministry. After the meeting, the pair went to the Presidency to meet with President Abdullah Gül to discuss the developments and formulate a solution to the crisis.
As Hurriyet Daily News reported earlier, the chief of General Staff and the commanders of the Land Forces, Air Forces and Naval Forces quit their posts days before the Supreme Military Council. Turkey’s military command echelon resigned late Friday from their posts amid an ongoing spat with the government over the growing number of arrested generals. The mass resignations, which marked a first in the country’s history, immediately caused a state crisis. The resignations came hours after a prosecutor demanded the arrest of a top military official, Gen. Hüseyin Nusret Taşdeler, the commander of the Aegean Army. Sources said disagreements over promotions and the arrests of numerous generals peaked to an unacceptable level following the legal action against Taşdeler.
Tensions between the military and the government have been high in recent years as hundreds of high-ranking officers were put behind bars in the ongoing “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) and Ergenekon coup-plot cases.
