Turkey's leader tightens control over military

TURKEY has selected four new generals to lead its armed forces, in a shake-up seen as consolidating civilian control of the military after the previous four quit last week in protest at the jailing of officers in coup conspiracy cases.

General Necdet Ozel, previously head of the paramilitary gendarmerie, was yesterday named as new chief of general staff for the second-largest armed force in Nato.

The shock departure last Friday of Gen Ozel's predecessor, Isik Kosaner, and the heads of the ground forces, navy and air force, brought to the surface years of tension between the secularist military and a prime minister whose party emerged from a banned Islamist party more than a decade ago.

Prime minister Tayyip Erdogan visited military headquarters to formalise the promotions, seen as enabling him to tighten control over a military which once had the last word in Turkish politics.

Mr Erdogan's government adamantly opposed promoting generals implicated in the alleged coup plots, prompting the resignations of the top brass who said the officers were being punished before a court verdict and that the military was being portrayed as a "criminal" institution.

The staunchly secular military has overthrown three governments since 1960.