Turkey Approves New Army Chiefs

[GUNNER]

Turkey Approves New Army Chiefs

ANKARA, Aug 9, 2010 (AFP) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul has approved the nominations of the new top army chiefs, putting an end to the latest power struggle between the government and the military, a news report said Monday.

Gul late Sunday signed off on General Isik Kosaner, the current commander of land forces, as the new army chief of staff replacing general Ilker Basbug who is retiring, the Anatolia news agency said.

The new head of land forces will be General Erdal Ceylanoglu, the agency said.

Turkey had been expected to announce a new army chief and land forces' commander on Wednesday at the end of a four-day meeting of the Supreme Military Council, but the two posts were left vacant in the final list of promotions.

Media reports said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vetoed the military's inital choice for land forces commander, General Hasan Igsiz, because he was implicated in an alleged campaign to discredit the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Earlier Sunday Erdogan said the Turkish government and the military had reached a deal on the appointments although he did not name the new lands forces chief.

The government's rejection of the initial candidate was largely seen as a mark of the ebbing power of the once-untouchable army and a boost to efforts to strengthen civilian power.

The military, which sees itself as the guardian of Turkey's secular system, has been locked in a test of strength with the AKP, the moderate offshoot of a banned Islamist movement which came to power in 2002.

The clout of the army, which has ousted four governments since 1960, has waned in recent years under reforms by the AKP to boost the country's bid to join the European Union.

Since 2007, dozens of retired and active duty soldiers have been charged under a series of investigations into alleged plots to detabilize the country and topple the AKP.

The probes have sharply divided the public: Proponents hail them as a boost to democracy while opponents accuse the government of using the investigations to chip away at the army's power in order to realize its alleged plan to introduce religious rule.

The AKP denies charges it has designs against the secular system.

 

[Jigs]

Koşaner graduated from the Turkish Army Academy in 1965 and the Infantry School in 1966. Until 1976 he served in several contingents of the Turkish Army as a Platoon and Company Commander, as an instructor at the Mountain Commando School & Training Center Command in Eğirdir, and as a Platoon Commander within the Turkish Commando Brigade during Operation Atilla in 1974 which aimed to protect the Turkish Cypriots from the attacks of the EOKA-B paramilitary organization and to prevent the annexation of Cyprus by Greece under the Enosis plan. He was later appointed as the Commander of the Special Operations Forces at the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. Koşaner graduated from the Turkish Army Staff College in 1978 and served as a command officer at the Special Warfare Department Command of the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. After graduating from the NATO Defence College, he served as a command officer at NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) Headquarters in Naples, Italy. Koşaner later served at the Planning and Coordination Department of the Logistics Command within the Turkish 3rd Army. After graduating from the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London, United Kingdom, Koşaner served as the head of the Strategy Division within the Strategy and Forces Planning Department of the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. As a Colonel he commanded the 131st Infantry Regiment at the 8th Infantry Division of the Turkish Army before being appointed as the Commander of the Special Operations Command at the Turkish General Staff Headquarters in Ankara. In 1992 Koşaner was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and was appointed with the command of the Logistic Planning Department and later the 1st Commando Brigade of the Turkish Army. Koşaner was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1996 and was appointed with the command of the Turkish Army Academy. In 2000 Koşaner was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and served as the Undersecretary of the Turkish Ministry of Defense and later as the Commander of the Turkish Peacekeeping Forces in Northern Cyprus. Koşaner was promoted to the rank of General in 2004 and served as the Commander of the Turkish Aegean Army and later as the Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff.

On August 4, 2006, General Koşaner was appointed as the Commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie. He was followed by General Avni Atila Işık as the Gendarmerie commander, when he took over the command of Turkish Army on 30 August, 2008.

wiki

 

[Al-zakir]

^^^
So can we expect General Isik Kosaner(Is he Muslim) as somewhat Islam friendly General. I would like to believe that Turkey is finding it's Islamic root once again.

 

[LegionnairE]

^^^
So can we expect General Isik Kosaner(Is he Muslim) as somewhat Islam friendly General. I would like to believe that Turkey is finding it's Islamic root once again.

I cant understand this, why religion is that important? Of course he is muslim but he is certainly not an imam, he's a general and he have nothing to do with religion...