"TURKEY: THE MILITARY, A PILLAR OF THE SECULAR TRADITION, FINDS ITSELF ON THE DEFENSIVE
Yigal Schleifer 10/23/08
Turkey’s military, long seen as the country’s most trusted institution and as the ultimate defender of the state, is suddenly facing fire from an unlikely source: the public.
The military’s image crisis is coinciding with a high-profile trial, in which a group of nationalist-secularist conspirators are accused of plotting the overthrow of the country’s moderate Islamist government. The trial of the so-called Ergenekon conspirators resumed October 23. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Some experts see the twin developments as a sign of a major shift in Turkey’s political tradition."
More:EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Turkey: The Military, a Pillar of the Secular Tradition, Finds Itself on the Defensive
