Turkey’s Supreme Armed Forces Council drove all of the forty generals and admirals who are presently under apprehension as part of coup investigationsin progress to retire in its yearly decisions declared on Saturday.
The YAŞ assembling completed on Friday and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan adjoined with President Abdullah Gül, along with YAŞ members, on Friday evening and handed him the YAŞ decisions for approving. Gül sanctioned the decisions on Saturday.
According to the decisions, a total number of fifty-five admirals and generals were drove to retire due to “lack of empty seats in their positions.” Among them were forty admirals and generals currently under apprehension on coup plotting and terrorism charges.
There are 68 active duty generals and admirals under arrest. 40 of them were anticipating to be promoted at this year’s YAŞ meeting. 21 of them, whose service was broadened in 2010 and 2011, have already hit the four-year limit, and they needed to be called for the retirement, according to military custom. The tenure of the remaining nineteen officers could have been extended but the council denied to do so.
The sixty-eight generals and admirals are suspects in coup plotting and terrorism-related cases, including those related the Ergenekon terrorist network, the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot and an Internet campaign to disbelieve Turkey’s ruling party. Among the jailed generals and admirals are Lt. Gens. İsmail Hakkı Pekin, Nejat Bek and Yurdaer Olcan; Maj. Gens. Gürbüz Kaya, Ahmet Yavuz, İhsan Balaballı and Berkay Turgut, and Vice Adms. Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu and Kadir Sağdıç.
YAŞ meetings in recent years have been occasions on which civilian will has arise against the Turkish military in efforts to make it abandon its anti-democratic attempts and accede to the will of the people.
According to the YAŞ decisions announced on Saturday, 47 colonels have been promoted as generals and admirals.
