Turkey’s armed forces say a law under which army personnel will be tried in civilian courts in peacetime rather than military ones is unconstitutional, and they have told the president so.
The legislation, aimed at meeting European Union membership criteria, has fuelled tensions between the powerful secularist military and the Islamist-rooted AK Party government in predominantly Muslim Turkey.
“Politics will enter the barracks,” said a front-page headline in the liberal Milliyet newspaper yesterday, which detailed the General Staff’s objections to the law, which has still to be approved by President Abdullah Gul.
According to the military, the law infringes the inviolability of military areas and will lead to clashes between the military and civilian judiciary.
The military also voiced concern at the way the legislation was passed by parliament in a late-night session at the end of June after defence ministry officials had left the assembly.
The articles, also covered in Radikal newspaper, did not specify a source.
Mr Gul has been consulting with the government, military and judiciary on the law before deciding whether to approve it ahead of a July 10th deadline. – (Reuters)