ISTANBUL: Police arrested two naval officers on Saturday on suspicion of conspiring to oust Turkey’s government, as three more retired military commanders testified in an investigation into a separate plot.
The military, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, had been seen as virtually untouchable, and the appearance of the commanders in a civilian court would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
They were being questioned by prosecutors over what they knew about a plot to oust the ruling AK Party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. It was unclear if they were being treated as witnesses or suspects, but if any of the three were to be taken into custody it would send shivers through Turkey as it could bring closer a confrontation between the military and the government.
Around 200 people are already standing trial over their alleged part in the so-called “Ergenekon” network, the name given to a shadowy group of ultra-nationalists.
Turkey’s secular elite, which includes senior members of the military and judiciary, fears the AK Party aims to roll back the secular state envisioned by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern Turkey, in order to push its own Islamic agenda.
Turkish financial markets have suffered several bouts of jitters since the “Ergenekon” affair first surfaced in 2007.
Turkey is bidding to join the European Union, and EU officials are closely following the case to see how the country’s democratic institutions stand up to the test.
The military says no one in its ranks had plans to topple the government. The three commanders were seen in their cars as they passed a cordon entering the courthouse in central Istanbul, and as darkness fell several hours later they had still not emerged.
They were expected to respond to the testimony given earlier by a former military chief of staff. While his evidence had been conducted in camera, the chief later told newspapers he had told the prosecutors he had known of the existence of plans to topple the government.
Media outlets have also published alleged excerpts of a diary of former Naval Commander Ozden Ornek from 2004, which referred to the coup.
Ornek was one of the three commanders called to give testimony on Saturday. He served as Naval Commander from 2003 to 2005.
Also being questioned were former Land Forces Commander Aytac Yalman, who served from 2002 to 2004 and former Air Force Commander Ibrahim Firtina who served from 2003 to 2005.
A naval colonel and lieutenant were arrested after being questioned in the same courthouse on Saturday. Their arrests were also under the umbrella of the “Ergenekon” investigation, but they were implicated in a separate plot, police said.
Two retired generals have already been arrested in the “Ergenekon” investigation, and are being tried though they are not in custody.
The European Union has called the trial a test for Turkish democracy, but critics accuse the government of using the investigation to carry out a witch hunt, and to settle scores with opponents unconnected to the ultra-nationalists.
