Turkey arrests former military chief
Turkey has arrested and imprisoned its former army chief, in one of the most dramatic moves in the decade-long struggle between the country’s Islamist-rooted government and the once unassailable military. - Prosecutors allege that Ilker Basbug, who retired as chief of staff in August 2010, led a terrorist organisation and plotted to overthrow the government. High quality global journalism requires investment. At the heart of the accusations are claims that Mr Basbug ordered the army to operate a series of websites issuing anti-government and anti-Islamist propaganda as part of a self-styled “Action Plan Against Reactionary Forces”. Mr Basbug dismissed the allegations as “tragicomic”. In a court appearance before his overnight incarceration, he added: “Accusing a Chief of the General Staff of setting up an armed terrorist organisation is the greatest punishment that could be given to me.”His detention pending trial is perhaps the most striking indication to date of the decline of the army’s power since the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, came to power in 2002. Until now no former chief of the country’s military had been arrested.