Turkish turmoil

Turkey's embattled prime minister has clearly decided that fighting on two fronts is not for him. On Monday Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a dramatic U-turn, announced that the government, currently enmired in a swathe of corruption allegations, will assist in the process of getting a retrial for hundreds of military officers convicted of plotting against it. Parliament can abolish the special courts which tried the officers by simple majority and free them in the process.

The surprise move is being read as an attempt by Erdogan to make peace with his old foes in the army as the PM prepares to take on the newer enemy, the allies , many of them in his own party, of the Hizmet – "service" – movement inspired by the influential US-exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The latter’s supporters are believed to have considerable influence in the police and judiciary and control some 900 schools. Many believe they were largely responsible, admittedly with Erdogan’s tacit approval, for the controversial army trials, the largest of which were known as Ergenekon and Sledgehammer, and which have embroiled up to 400 officers. An appeals court in October upheld the convictions of 237 officers, including ex-air force chief Halil Ibrahim Firtina, former navy chief Ozden Ornek and General Cetin Dogan. The military last week filed a criminal complaint over the court cases, saying evidence had been fabricated.

The new corruption inquiry, which involves probes into government procurement practices, has forced the resignation and/or replacement of 10 cabinet ministers since last month, while the government has dismissed and reassigned hundreds of police officials in retaliation. Public servants are also in the firing line. Erdogan is likely to pay a political price in this year’s elections, but the uncertainty is also affecting the Turkish economy which has seen a 7.5 per cent fall in the value of the lira against the dollar since mid-December amid fears that investors may be frightened off.