Editing Turkish Armed Forces (section)

==Role of the military in Turkish politics==
{{See also|Deep state in Turkey}}

After the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] prohibited the political activities of officers in active service with the Military Penal Code numbered 1632 and dated 22 May 1930 (''{{ill|Askeri Ceza Kanunu|tr|s:Askeri Ceza Kanunu|vertical-align=sup}}'').<ref>[http://www.mevzuat.adalet.gov.tr/html/496.html Askeri Ceza Kanunu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515153417/http://www.mevzuat.adalet.gov.tr/html/496.html |date=15 May 2011 }}, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey, 22 May 1930.</ref><!--[[Bülent Ecevit]] said ''Asker politikaya karşımasın, demiştir kendisi de asker olup politikaya itilmiş olduğu halde... Bence Türkiye'de rejimin en demilitarize olduğu dönem Atatürk dönemidir...seçkin zümrede bir askere oynama alışkanlığı var. Onun için ben şunu söylerim. Eğer Türkiye'de rejimi demilitarize etmek istiyorsak, siviller kendi kafalarını demilitarize etmelidirler.''---> However, after the [[1960 Turkish coup d'état|1960 coup d'état]], the ''Millî Birlik Komitesi'' ([[National Unity Committee]]) established the Inner Service Act of the Turkish Armed Forces (''{{ill|Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri İç Hizmet Kanunu|tr|vertical-align=sup}}'') on 4 January 1961 to legitimize their military interventions in politics. In subsequent coups d'état and coup d'état attempts, they showed reasons to justify their political activities especially with the article 35 and 85 of this act.<ref>Fikret Bila, [http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/10/04/guncel/gun00.html "Çare ihtilal değil, komutanın konuşması"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019235124/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/10/04/guncel/gun00.html |date=19 October 2012 }}, ''[[Milliyet]]'', 4 October 2007.</ref>

The Turkish military perceived itself as the guardian of [[Kemalism]], the official state ideology, especially of its [[Secularism in Turkey|secular aspects]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Self-appointed guardians of secularism {{!}} D+C – Development + Cooperation |url=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/turkeys-military-self-appointed-guardians-secularism |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=www.dandc.eu |date=18 September 2008 |language=en}}</ref> The TAF still maintains an important degree of influence over the decision-making process regarding issues related to Turkish national security, albeit decreased in the past decades, via the [[National Security Council (Turkey)|National Security Council]].

The military had a record of intervening in politics, removing elected governments four times in the past. Indeed, it assumed power for several periods in the latter half of the 20th century. It executed three [[coup d'état|coups d'état]]: in 1960 ([[1960 Turkish coup d'état|27 May coup]]), in 1971 ([[1971 Turkish coup d'état|12 March coup]]), and in 1980 ([[1980 Turkish coup d'état|12 September coup]]). Following the 1960 coup d'état, the military executed the first democratically elected prime minister in Turkey, [[Adnan Menderes]], in 1961.<ref name="NYTIMES" /> Most recently, it maneuvered the removal of an [[Islamism|Islamist]] prime minister, [[Necmettin Erbakan]], in 1997 (known as the [[1997 military memorandum (Turkey)|28 February memorandum]]).<ref name="factbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/turkey/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110073821/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/turkey|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 January 2021|title=The World Factbook – Turkey|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=28 October 2010}}</ref> Contrary to outsider expectations, the Turkish populace was not uniformly averse to coups; many welcomed the ejection of governments they perceived as unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stormingmedia.us/31/3134/A313424.pdf|title=U.S.–Turkish Relations: The Road to Improving a Troubled Strategic Partnership|author=Lt. Col. Patrick F. Gillis|date=3 May 2004|publisher=[[U.S. Army War College]]|page=4|quote=In all of these 'coups' the majority of the Turkish public accepted the military's actions because they felt they were necessary for the well-being of the state and because the military did not seek to impose permanent military governance|access-date=15 October 2008|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215171331/http://www.stormingmedia.us/31/3134/A313424.pdf|url-status=dead}}<!-- back-up: http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA424313 --></ref>

On 27 April 2007, in advance of the 4 November 2007 presidential election, and in reaction to the politics of [[Abdullah Gül]], who has a past record of involvement in [[Islamist]] political movements and banned Islamist parties such as the [[Refah Partisi|Welfare Party]], the army issued a statement of its interests. It said that the army is a party to "arguments" regarding [[secularism]]; that [[Islamism]] ran counter to the secular nature of Turkey, and to the legacy of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]. The Army's statement ended with a clear warning that the TAF stood ready to intervene if the secular nature of the Turkish Constitution is compromised, stating that "the Turkish Armed Forces maintain their sound determination to carry out their duties stemming from laws to protect the unchangeable characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. Their loyalty to this determination is absolute."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6602775.stm|access-date=30 June 2008|work=[[BBC News]]|date=28 April 2007|title=Excerpts of Turkish army statement|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408101317/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6602775.stm|archive-date=8 April 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

Over a hundred people, including several generals, have been detained or questioned since July 2008 with respect to the so-called organisation [[Ergenekon (organization)|Ergenekon]], an alleged clandestine, [[Ultranationalism|ultra-nationalist]] organization with ties to members of the country's military and [[Law enforcement in Turkey|security]] forces. The group is accused of terrorism in Turkey. These accusing claims are reported, even while the trials are going on, mostly in the counter-secular and Islamist media organs.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

On 22 February 2010 more than 40 officers were arrested and then formally charged with attempting to overthrow the government with respect to the so-called [["Sledgehammer" plot]]. They include four admirals, a general and two colonels, some of them retired, including former commanders of the Turkish navy and air force (three days later, the former commanders of the navy and air force were released). Partially as a result, the [[Washington Post]] reported in April 2010 that the military's power had decreased.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/10/AR2010041002860.html?hpid=topnews | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Janine | last=Zacharia | title=In Turkey, military's power over secular democracy slips | date=11 April 2010 | access-date=30 October 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014054411/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/10/AR2010041002860.html?hpid=topnews | archive-date=14 October 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

On the eve of the Supreme Military Council of August 2011, the Chief of the General Staff, along with the Army, Navy, and Air Force commanders, requested their retirement, in protest of the mass arrests which they perceived as a deliberate and planned attack against the Kemalist and secular-minded officers of the Turkish Armed Forces by the Islamists in Turkey, who began to control key positions in the Turkish government, judiciary and police.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14346325|title=Turkey: Military chiefs resign en masse |access-date=17 July 2016|work=BBC News|date=29 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716104222/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14346325|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/world/europe/30turkey.html|title=Top Generals Quit in Group, Stunning Turks|date=30 July 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=17 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716134808/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/world/europe/30turkey.html|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/30/turkey-military-chiefs-resign-sledgehammer|title=Turkey military chiefs resign over Sledgehammer 'coup plot' arrests|first=Constanze|last=Letsch|date=30 July 2011|access-date=17 July 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716093206/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/30/turkey-military-chiefs-resign-sledgehammer|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The swift replacement of the force commanders in the Supreme Military Council meeting affirmed the government's control over the appointment of top-level commanders. However, promotions continue to be determined by the General Staff with limited civilian control. The [[European Commission]], in its 2011 regular yearly report on Turkey's progress towards [[Accession of Turkey to the European Union|EU accession]], stated that "further reforms on the composition and powers of the Supreme Military Council, particularly on the legal basis of promotions, still need to materialise."<ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web |date=12 Oct 2011 |title=Commission Staff Working Paper – Turkey 2011 Progress Report |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2011/package/tr_rapport_2011_en.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027084249/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2011/package/tr_rapport_2011_en.pdf |archive-date=27 October 2011 |access-date=2023-08-03 |page=13 |language=en}}</ref> The service branch commanders continue to report to the Prime Minister instead of the Defence Minister.
 
[[File:Joe Biden in Turkish Grand National Assembly Ankara 24 August 2016.jpg|thumb|Then-[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Joe Biden]] inspects damage to the [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Grand National Assembly]] during a visit to Ankara on 24 August 2016.]]
In July 2016, [[Gülen movement|a faction]] within the Turkish Armed Forces [[2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt|attempted to take over the government]], but Erdogan supporters and other loyal military units stopped the coup attempt.<ref name="july16">{{cite news|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/07/16/turkeys-opposition-parties-take-unified-stance-against-coup-attempt|title=Turkey's opposition parties take unified stance against coup attempt|date=16 July 2016|newspaper=Daily Sabah}}</ref> The [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|parliament house]], police headquarters, and some other buildings in Ankara were damaged by [[aerial bomb]]ing and [[attack helicopter]] gunfire. In Istanbul, the [[Bosphorus Bridge|Bosporus Bridge]] was blocked, a tank fired a shell, and soldiers shot at people.<ref name="sozcu.com.tr">{{Cite web |date=2020-07-15 |title=15 Temmuz ekonomiye nasıl bir zarar verdi? |url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2020/ekonomi/15-temmuz-ekonomiye-nasil-bir-zarar-verdi-5931984/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=www.sozcu.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Darbeciler Boğaz Köprüsü'nde halka top atışı yaptı | date=13 June 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOvDAqKWewE |access-date=2023-10-23 |language=en}}</ref> The incidents caused the death of hundreds and wounding of thousands of unarmed civilians. Following the failed coup attempt, thousands of military personnel were arrested and the structure of the armed forces was overhauled.<ref name="july16"/> The total toll of the damages to the economy amounted to US$14 billion.<ref name="sozcu.com.tr"/>

On August 30, 2024, which is celebrated as "Victory Day" in Turkey,<ref name="English">{{Cite web |last=English |first=Duvar |date=2024-08-09 |title=Erdoğan targets lieutenants for Atatürk chanting 8 days after incident |url=https://www.duvarenglish.com/erdogan-targets-lieutenants-for-ataturk-chanting-8-days-after-incident-news-64912 |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.duvarenglish.com |language=tr-TR}}</ref> a [[graduation ceremony]] was conducted for the academy's finishing class. During the ceremony, 960 graduates, led by [[valedictorian]] [[Ebru Eroğlu]], recited the military oath to defend Turkey.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Turkish president vows to 'purge' military graduates who took a pro-secular oath |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-president-vows-purge-military-graduates-pro-secular-113495943 |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> The event was attended by Turkish President [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Recep Tayyip Erdogan]].<ref name=":0" /> Approximately one hour following the graduation, Eroglu and 400 other graduates were recorded raising their swords and pledging allegiance to [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], the [[Secularity|secular]] founder of modern Turkey.<ref name=":0" /> The group subsequently took an oath to uphold "a secular, democratic Turkey."<ref name=":0" /> In response, eight days later, Erdogan announced the initiation of an investigation and declared that “the few impertinent individuals responsible will be purged.”<ref name=":0" /><ref name="English"/>