ANKARA — Gen. Necdet Ozel was expected to be formally appointed as Turkey's top military commander on Saturday, a day after the nation's military chiefs of staff all resigned. The unanticipated en masse resignations — a first in Turkey's history — came as a protest against the arrest of dozens of generals as suspects in an alleged plot to overthrow the country's Islamic-rooted government. Many have questioned whether such a plot ever existed and see the arrests as part of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long-standing campaign to establish civilian authority over Turkey's once powerful military. But the government has denied that allegation, saying it is working to improve democracy in Turkey but that the judiciary is acting independently... After Friday's resignations, Erdogan quickly chose Ozel, Turkey's commander of the military police, as the new senior military commander. Turkish media said the president is likely to finalize that appointment on Saturday. The government wants the process completed before a key military meeting that begins Monday. ‘Turkish military is not going to be left without a commander,' Egemen Bagis, the government's European Union minister and Turkey's chief negotiator with the bloc, said Saturday. ‘Everything is functioning according to laws and regulations.' Gen. Isik Kosaner resigned as the military's chief of staff along with the commanders of the navy, the army and the air force. The appointment of new commanders of those divisions is expected to be discussed during next week's high military council meeting. The resignations highlight the traditional rift in Turkey between staunchly secular circles and the growing power of the government with Islamic roots. They came after a court ordered the arrest of seven more active duty generals and admirals along with more than a dozen other officers on charges of carrying out an Internet campaign to undermine the government. Kosaner said in his farewell message that he was resigning because he could not protect the rights of his staff now that 250 officers, including several generals and admirals, are currently jailed. They include 173 active duty and 77 retired officers, he said. ‘As many law experts say, it is not possible to accept that the arrests comply with international rules of law, justice and values of conscience,' Kosaner said. The developments were not expected to cause short-term political or military instability in Turkey. The government has presided over the strengthening of civilian institutions as well as an economic boom, sidelining the military's political role and reducing the public's appetite for the intervention of the armed forces in nonmilitary matters. The military's operations on the ground, including Turkey's contribution to the NATO force in Afghanistan and its fight against Kurdish rebels, also are not expected to be affected.
