According to Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) tradition, if Kalyoncu had been appointed as the new head of the Land Forces Command during the YAŞ meeting, he would be appointed the new chief of the General Staff in 2015, replacing Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel.
The results of the three-day YAŞ meeting were made public after the decisions were presented to President Abdullah Gül on Saturday. According to the decisions, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar has been appointed as the new Land Forces commander while Kalyoncu was forced to retire. Akar is expected to replace Özel in 2015.
Air Training Commander Lt. Gen. Akın Öztürk replaced Gen. Mehmet Erten as the new Air Forces commander. Head of the Education and Doctrine Command (EDOK) Servet Yörük replaced Gen. Kalyoncu while new Naval Forces Commander will be Vice Adm. Bülent Bostanoğlu.
Incumbent Chief of General Staff Gen. Özel, who is known for respecting civilian supremacy, will remain in his post until his retirement in 2015.
There has been speculation that the civilian wing of the council was opposed to Kalyoncu’s appointment as the Land Forces commander due to critical remarks he made about Turkey's settlement process with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), launched by the Turkish government in October last year, and his anti-government stance during a security summit in 2006.
The possible candidates to be appointed as the new gendarmerie commander are EDOK Head Gen. Yörük, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Akar and 1st Army Commander Gen. Ataman. However, as Gen. Yörük faced charges in an indictment regarding the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, the government doesn't allegedly support the promotion of Yörük.
YAŞ meets twice a year, in August and December, under the chairmanship of the prime minister, whose presence was symbolic until 2010, when the civilian government began, to a certain extent, exerting its legal powers over YAŞ decisions concerning the promotion and retirement of generals.
During the August meetings, YAŞ decides on promotions and retirements of generals and service commanders as well as the promotion of colonels to the rank of general. In December, the council makes decisions about 10-year arms-procurement plans, which are revised every two years. In both meetings, YAŞ also discusses the general security situation in and around Turkey.
The Turkish General Staff said in a statement released on Saturday that 34 admirals and generals were promoted to a higher rank, 50 colonels were appointed to ranks of general and admiral and terms of 33 generals and admirals were extended during this year’s YAŞ meeting. http://www.todayszaman.com
3/8/13
--
-
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Major sweep of Turkish top brass by the government ...
ReplyDeleteThe Turkish government has removed from office all four force commanders of the army, including the Chief of Gendarmerie Forces General Bekir Kalyoncu, who was expected to be appointed to replace the current chief of the Land Forces according to customary practice.
The Supreme Military Council’s (YAŞ) appointments shaping the commandment echelon of the army which was announced Aug. 3 following President Abdullah Gül’s approval, assigned Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Hulusi Akar as the new Land Forces Commander replacing General HayriKıvrıkoğlu, who was consigned to retirement.
The post is considered to be key as the Land Forces Commander is customarily the next in line to replace the current Chief of General Staff General Necdet Özel, who will be keeping his post until August 2015.
Speculation had grown during the three-day Supreme Military Council meetings that Kalyoncu was not approved of by the government as his name was mentioned in testimonies by defendants in the Ergenekon case as a figure involved in operations aiming to organize a coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
Air Forces Commander Mehmet Erten was replaced by General Akın Öztürk, Naval Forces Commander Murat Bilgel was replaced by Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu and General Kalyoncu was replaced by General Servet Yörük as the new Chief of Gendarmerie Forces.
Admiral Bilgel was also put sent into retirement, along with Generals Kıvrıkoğlu and Kalyoncu.
Meanwhile, General Erten was appointed as a member of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ). The decision has been interpreted behind the scenes as a “polite way of forcing a resignation,” daily Hürriyet reported. Erten is expected to ask for his retirement within six months, the report added.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/major-sweep-of-turkish-top-brass-by-the-government-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51959&NewsCatID=338
3/8/13
Turkey appoints new military commanders as government asserts control...
ReplyDeleteTurkey appointed new military commanders on Saturday in an overhaul of its top ranks that underlined the government's control over armed forces which once dominated political life.
NATO's second largest army is facing multiple challenges as conflict in neighbouring Syria spills across the border and a peace process with Kurdish militants looks increasingly fragile.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who chaired the Supreme Military Council meeting, has eroded the army's power since his Islamist-rooted AK Party first came to power in 2002. The secularist military staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pushed the first Islamist-led government out of office in 1997.
The council decides on promotions and retirements of top officers every year at its three-day August meeting and had been expected to make major changes at this week's gathering.
The forced retirement of paramilitary gendarmerie force commander General Bekir Kalyoncu, who had been the leading candidate to take over land forces, was the most unexpected of the Council's decisions.
Media reports said Ankara was opposed to Kalyoncu leading the country's land forces as he was regarded as a government critic and his name had cropped up in testimony in the trial of the alleged Ergenekon conspiracy against Erdogan's government. A verdict on that trial is scheduled for Monday.
Instead, General Hulusi Akar was given the job and, according to custom, would be expected to replace General Necdet Ozel as overall armed forces head in 2015.....Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-03/226179-turkey-appoints-new-military-commanders-as-government-asserts-control.ashx#ixzz2av9Zxmjn
3/8/13
Αλλαγές στην ηγεσία του στρατού στην Τουρκία...
ReplyDeleteΜε την απρόσμενη αποστράτευση του στρατηγού Μπεκίρ Καλίοντζου, του αρχηγού της Γενικής Διεύθυνσης Χωροφυλακής που θεωρείτο βασικός υποψήφιος να αναλάβει επικεφαλής του στρατού ξηράς, ολοκληρώθηκαν οι κρίσεις των τουρκικών ενόπλων δυνάμεων.
Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες των τουρκικών μέσων ενημέρωσης, η κυβέρνηση ήταν αντίθετη στην αναβάθμιση του Καλίοντζου γιατί το όνομά του είχε ακουστεί στις καταθέσεις μαρτύρων στη δίκη για την υπόθεση της Εργκενεκόν. Η απόφαση του δικαστηρίου για την υπόθεση αυτή αναμένεται να ανακοινωθεί την Δευτέρα.
Το Ανώτατο Στρατιωτικό Συμβούλιο διόρισε νέο αρχηγό του στρατού ξηράς τον στρατηγό Χουλουσί Ακάρ ο οποίος, όπως συνηθίζεται και εκτός απροόπτου, θα αντικαταστήσει τον στρατηγό Νετσντέτ Οζέλ και θα αναλάβει αρχηγός του Γενικού Επιτελείου Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων στις κρίσεις του 2015.
Στην ιστοσελίδα του το Γενικό Επιτελείο ανακοίνωσε επίσης ότι διοικητής του ναυτικού αναλαμβάνει ο αντιναύαρχος Μπουλέντ Μποστάνογλου, επικεφαλής της αεροπορίας ο αντιπτέραρχος Ακίν Οζτούρκ και επικεφαλής της χωροφυλακής ο στρατηγός Σερβέτ Γιορούκ.
Οι διορισμοί αυτοί έχουν ήδη εγκριθεί από τον πρόεδρο της Τουρκίας Αμπντουλάχ Γκιουλ.
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news-room.el&id=378610
3/8/13
Time for verdict arrives in Turkey's major coup plot trial....
ReplyDeleteTurkey’s most important legal battle comes to an end as the Aug. 5 verdict trial closes the curtain on the Ergenekon coup case, with one final hearing to decide the fate of its 275 suspects.
The curtain is set to finally come down on Turkey’s most-important trial in recent memory, as judges are expected to give their verdict against 275 suspects in the five-year-long Ergenekon case today at the Silivri Courthouse amid massive security precautions.
The case, which began in 2007 with the discovery of 27 hand grenades in a house in Istanbul, has seen some of the country’s most prominent figures detained and arrested, including the likes of former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay and journalists Tuncay Özkan and İlhan Selçuk. A series of high-ranking army personnel, including retired generals Veli Küçük, Hasan Iğsız, Hurşit Tolon and Şener Eruygur, have also been jailed.
The case began with the testimonies of the owners of the house where the explosives were discovered, and the initial indictment, running nearly 3,000 pages, accused the suspects of running a mafia-like terrorist organization that aimed to “push the country back to chaos, darkness and insecurity” in a bid to provoke a military coup against the Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP). A second indictment was accepted in 2009, after which even more high-level public figures were detained, prompting authorities to construct a new courtroom in Istanbul’s Silivri district because the original hall was too small to allow in the suspects, lawyers and members of the gallery.
One of the biggest moments of the trial period came with the detention of Başbuğ, who was arrested on Jan. 6, 2012, after being interrogated and sent to court to face charges related to running a terrorist organization and attempting to “destroy the Turkish government or to attempt to partially or completely prevent its functioning.”
Başbuğ’s indictment called for the former army chief to be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. Başbuğ has so far attended eight hearings.....http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/time-for-verdict-arrives-in-turkeys-major-coup-plot-trial.aspx?pageID=238&nID=52014&NewsCatID=339
5/8/13