Türkiye's army reaffirmed its commitment to the country's secular order on Monday, with the land forces commander, General Ilker Basbug, telling a military academy audience that Islamist influence had risen to concerning levels.
Basbug pushed back against criticism that the armed forces overstep their bounds, insisting the military has always stood as a defender of the nation's secular and unitary character. He accused unnamed "circles" of chipping away at the secularist legacy of republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and warned that banned religious brotherhoods were increasingly driving anti-secularist activity. He called for removing religious influence from the education system.
His remarks came days after the European Commission's representative in Ankara, Hansjoerg Kretschmer, stated that Türkiye's security forces fail to respect the country's legal and institutional framework.
The military has shaped Türkiye's political landscape for decades, staging coups in 1960, 1971, and 1980, and pressing out the first Islamist-led government in 1997. Many members of the current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had ties to that ousted government.
Türkiye opened EU membership negotiations the previous year and has since pursued a range of democratic reforms, several of which were designed to reduce the military's influence in civilian affairs.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.