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Turkish Prime Minister Mecmettin Erbakan has bowed down to the
demands of the Turkish service chiefs, and thereby avoided a
political crisis for now. Their demand was presented to him in the
National Security Council (MGK.)
He was warned by the service chiefs in an earlier meeting in March
that the policies of his government, of which his Islamic Welfare
Party is the dominant partner were steadily eroding the cherished
secular features of the Turkish constitution.
The service chiefs demanded that religious schools, which were
growing in number under Erbakan should be cut down and some of them
be converted into technical schools.
It was proposed that all children should have eight years of
schooling in secular schools, and the practice of diverting them
from secular schools into religious schools after five years should
be stopped.
The religious schools were to be told that the instruction should
be strictly confined to scriptures and they should not stray into
political, social and economic issues.
There were also accusations that the Islamic Welfare Party was
forming a militia and arming their cadres. The service chiefs felt
that rising Islamic fundamentalism posed a greater threat than
Kurdish secessionism.
The immediate cause for show down between the prime minister and
the service chiefs was the resignation of two ministers of the
junior partner in the coalition the True Path Party headed by Ms
Tonsu Ciller, the deputy prime minister and the foreign minister
who was previously prime minister.
The two ministers Yildirim Aktuna and Yalimerez resigned protesting
against the prime minister not fulfilling his promise of curbing
the rising Islamic extremism. The prime minister's capitulation
has averted an immediate crisis. Observers are not confident that
the truce will last.
Ms Ciller joined the present coalition 10 months back mainly to
escape a parliamentary investigation into corruption charges. Her
coalition partner, the Islamic Welfare Party voting along with her
party has quashed the move for the parliamentary probe.
According to the coalition agreement she is to take over as prime
minister in succession to Erbakan.
Two years ago when the elections resulted in the Islamic Welfare
Party emerging as the largest single party with 21 per cent of the
vote, the armed forces blocked the party from assuming power.
The next two parties, Motherland Party and True Path party formed a
coalition under the premiership of Mesut Yilmaz.
That coalition broke up since the Motherland Party voted for
investigation into the charge of corruption against Ms Ciller.
At that stage the Armed Forces agreed to the present coalition,
though reluctantly since Erbakan's credentials were always suspect
in the eyes of the secular Turkish armed forces.
Now one cannot rule out the possibility of Ms Ciller breaking the
present coalition and forcing fresh elections.
The Islamic Welfare Party has been cultivating its image of
commitment to Islamic values to improve its voting strength and
seats in the assembly.
While the middle and upper class Turks are secular and look upon
themselves as close to the Europeans, the poor in the Turkey are
loyal to Islamic values and consider themselves as part of Islamic
Ummah.
Turkey aspires to join the European Union. Any increase in the
strength of Islamic Welfare Party will raise questions about
Turkey's secular credentials in the eyes of the European nations.
As it is, the present situation, in which the elected government
should be read lessons on secularist foundations by the armed
forces, should be jarring to the European Union nations.
The Turkish armed forces have overthrown the government, on three
occasions in the last 37 years, and one cannot rule out their doing
so again.
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