Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Pushes To Change Law That Allows Turkey's Military To Get Involved In Political Regimes

I guess Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, fresh off an embarassing tirade against the Israelis over the flotilla incident, is sensing that a military coup might be on the horizon for him so he's decided to go to work on stripping current laws that allow the military to step in when a government, well....like Erdogan's, goes off the rails towards something like....umm, well perhaps an islamic theocratic regime.

From the story at Breitbart:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he was ready to take up an opposition call to change a key article in a law that allows the armed forces to meddle in domestic politics.
Speaking at a rally in eastern Turkey, Erdogan urged the main opposition party to work together with his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to amend the article that formed the basis of the army's justification for a coup 30 years ago.

"Let us set up a commission and discuss the issue in all aspects. Let's have the commission do its work. If need be we will convene parliament in an extraordinary session," Erdogan said in a televised speech in the city of Bingol.

"Or we can put the amendment on the agenda at the start of the new legislative year" when parliament returns from summer recess on October 1, he added.

If the opposition shies away from reaching a consensus with the government, "we will do it ourselves when the time comes," Erdogan said.

Well, the elephant in the room is just that - that Erdogan's radical islamic party in Turkey IS off the rails and is busy trying to dismantle the secular nature of Turkey's government which is written into its laws. Not only has the islamist regime in Turkey totally pissed off the Israelis but they have also damaged the relationship with NATO and also the European Union.

But hey, the ruling Turkish party is hellbent on creating a mirror image of Iran's mullah-run regime. I predict a day when Turkey is viewed by western countries with the same disdain and distrust as is now reserved for Iran, North Korea and Syria. Well PM Erdogan, if you wish to plunge your country into the depths of isolation, if you want to be on a terror watch with most countries, if you want your people to experience the economic catastrophe the Iranians feel and if you want to never get another night's sleep wondering if the Israelis are close by...then go right ahead dude. And if that is the case, I'd say it's high time that western countries step up and start supporting the Kurds one hundred percent.

Turkish PM ready to work on military law change

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he was ready to take up an opposition call to change a key article in a law that allows the armed forces to meddle in domestic politics.
Speaking at a rally in eastern Turkey, Erdogan urged the main opposition party to work together with his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to amend the article that formed the basis of the army's justification for a coup 30 years ago.

"Let us set up a commission and discuss the issue in all aspects. Let's have the commission do its work. If need be we will convene parliament in an extraordinary session," Erdogan said in a televised speech in the city of Bingol.

"Or we can put the amendment on the agenda at the start of the new legislative year" when parliament returns from summer recess on October 1, he added.

If the opposition shies away from reaching a consensus with the government, "we will do it ourselves when the time comes," Erdogan said.

The said article in the Turkish Armed Forces' internal service law says that the army's "duty is to protect and keep watch over the Turkish homeland and Turkish Republic".

It was the military's main justification for seizing power on September 12, 1980 at a time of severe political tensions and street violence between left- and right-wing militants.

In a newspaper interview on Thursday, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said that the government should change the article if it is sincere in its aim of wiping out the spirit of the 1980 coup from Turkey.

Earlier this year, the AKP, which has its roots in a banned Islamist movement, introduced a package of amendments to the constitution -- a legacy of the 1980 coup -- that it says will improve democracy and boost the country's bid for European Union membership.

Opposition parties charge that the package, which opens the way for military commanders to be tried in civilian courts and gives parliament a say in appointing judges, was designed to increase the Islamist-rooted government's power over the judiciary.

The changes are to be put to a referendum on September 12, the 30th anniversary of the 1980 coup.

The Turkish army, which has unseated four governments since 1960, has seen its clout wane under EU-inspired reforms introduced by the AKP in recent years.

Since 2007, dozens of officers have been charged over a series of alleged plots to destabilise and oust the AKP.