ANKARA - Turkey's armed forces chose political rather than military intervention at the weekend to fight off what they see as an Islamic fundamentalist threat to the secular republic.
After weeks of speculation about a fourth military coup since 1960, Turkish newspapers reported yesterday that a 20 point plan to combat Islamic extremism had been presented. A nine hour national "security council meeting three times its normal length ended with a statement early on "Saturday saying measures were being taken against anti secular activities.