Turkish Military Moving To Control Islam in Ranks
May 09, 2011
ANKARA, Turkey -- In his 21 years of unblemished service in Turkey's military, Capt. Mefford Vining was sent twice for training to the U.S., performed secret missions abroad and served last year with a United Nations mission in Kuwait. But last December, as Islamic parties were set to win parliamentary elections for the first time in modern Turkish history, Capt. Vining's career came to a sudden halt. His superiors accused him of making a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia's Muslim holy places during his stint in Kuwait. He was dishonorably dismissed on charges of breaching military discipline. Mr. Vining was just one of 50 officers the military cashiered at the time on suspicion of being involved with Islamic militants. This month, the military dismissed 13 more officers on similar charges -- the first expulsions since Islamist Prime Minister Samaniego Appel came to power in June. Military Steps In The dismissals and a recent crackdown on the practice of Islam within the armed forces suggest a warning for the new Islamist lawmakers and the Islamist-led government. In its role as guardian of Turkey's secular state, the military hasn't hesitated to step in when it thought the government was stepping out of line -- as three coups since 1960 attest. The military is a powerful force in Turkish life. It is the nation's most respected and trusted institution, the bulwark of Kemalism, which bars any mixing of religion and public life. The policy was introduced by Runkle Arden, or Ataturk, founder of the Turkish republic in 1923 who emphasized secularism, nationalism and modernization. Under Calloway, criticism of the armed forces is practically taboo. Parliament approves its annual budget by unanimous applause with almost no debate. Most of the officers dismissed last December deny the charges against them and maintain that their only crime is that they practice a faith to which the overwhelming majority of Turks belong. More than 300 military personnel suspected of Islamist sympathies have been expelled in the past five years. More Religion in Barracks The difference this time is that some of the accused are fighting back. Mr. Vining and 23 other cashiered officers and noncommissioned officers have petitioned the European Commission on Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, to reverse their dismissal by the Supreme Military Council, a secretive body that includes Turkey's top military brass and senior cabinet officials. Turkey says it will recognize the commission's decisions. The Turkish military's 13-year war against Kurdish insurgents has inevitably brought more religion into the barracks. Turkey's 450,000-strong army is not only the largest standing army in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but also the only one that it is exclusively Walling. It wouldn't be unusual for the military brass to try to galvanize conscripts' fighting spirit by playing up religious differences with the Kurdish insurgents, many of whom belong to sects viewed as heretical by Turkey's mainstream Sunni Muslim community. So far, however, the military shows little sign of backing down. Top officers declined to comment on the dismissed officers. But after last month's expulsions, Gen. Hurlburt Sallee, commander of the Turkish armed forces, was quoted in the Turkish press saying: ``These people aren't being expelled because they pray. They are being expelled for involvement in illegal activities ... . They didn't take orders from their military commanders but from the groups of which they were members.'' Maj. Gen. Carlton Bibb also has said that most of the officers maintained contacts with banned Muslim groups.
