La Turquie sans les généraux

La Turquie sans les généraux

Le 29 juillet, les principaux chefs militaires turcs (le chef de l’état-major général et les chefs d’état-major des trois armes) ont démissionné d’une manière quasiment collective. Ce geste a évidemment une signification politique qui dépasse la seule situation des forces armées. Il ponctue un désaccord fondamental entre les forces armées et le pouvoir islamiste modéré du président Gul et du premier ministre Erdogan. Ce désaccord entre l'armée et les islamistes, qui est fondamental et porte sur la conception même de la Turquie, s’était exprimé pour la première fois de manière brutale en 1997, lorsque les militaires forcèrent un premier gouvernement islamiste à démissionner.

En un sens et selon l’analyse que relaie Aljazeera.net ce 30 juillet 2011, on est conduit à penser que cette démission sanctionne une défaite décisive des militaires. Alors qu’il y a 15 ans ils forçaient un gouvernement islamiste à démissionner, aujourd’hui ce sont eux qui démissionnent, laissant la place à de nouveaux officiers généraux que le pouvoir choisira plus proches de lui.

«General Isik Kosaner, the head of the Turkish armed forces, has quit along with the heads of the ground, naval and air forces. The country's state-run Anatolia news agency said on Friday that the military chiefs wanted to retire because of tensions with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the recently re-elected prime minister. Anatolia reported Kosaner as resigning “as he saw it as necessary”.

»In a written statement released after the news of the generals' retirement, Erdogan said that the armed forces would continue to do their duty in a spirit of unity. Erdogan also named General Necdet Ozel, head of the gendarmerie paramilitary force, as both the commander of the ground forces and acting chief of the armed forces. Abdullah Gul, the president, approved the appointment. Ozel was the only one among the top commanders not to ask for retirement. He was expected to be appointed as chief of the military's general staff in place of Kosaner, as tradition dictates only the ground forces head can take over the armed forces.

»Speaking to Al Jazeera, Yusuf Kanli, a columnist with Hurriyet, a Turkish daily newspaper, said that Kosaner was quitting his post as an act of protest against the court cases jailing military officers, which meant he could no longer defend the rights of his staff. “However, I do not think that this shows that there is a deepening rift between the government and the army because resignation means leaving the seat to the government. By resigning, they opened the door for the government to make the appointments they would like to make. And indeed, the government immediately stepped in and appointed new army commanders.” “It seems that, in the past, when the military expressed dissatisfaction with the government, the government would leave. Nowadays, when the government expresses displeasure to the top generals, the top generals are leaving. There is a change of rolls,” Kanli said.»

dedefensa.org