Crisis maker: Erdogan strips Turkish army of its identity (Part 1)

Mahmoud al-Batakoushi

The Turkish army is paying the price of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policies after its classification fell to the thirteenth place, according to the statistics of the independent Global Fire Power Foundation to classify armies for the year 2020, due to the exclusionary policies pursued by the Turkish regime to transform the army into a docile tool in Erdogan’s hand to restore the glories of the Ottoman Empire.

Through the “Crisis maker” series, the Reference discusses the Turkish president’s role in creating crises within the Turkish state.

Observers of Turkish affairs confirm that Erdogan is shuddering at the army’s moves for fear of a repeat of Necmettin Erbakan’s scenario with him, which ended with his isolation, the marginalization of his party and the seizure of Turkey’s rule. Therefore, Erdogan is keen to satisfy the army so that it does not rise up against him or attack his government. To this end, he took a number of steps, foremost of which was reducing the number of soldiers within the National Security Council to five compared to nine civilians, and making the decisions of the National Security Council non-binding. The Secretary-General of the Council also became a civilian and reports to the Prime Minister. Erdogan also subjected the actions of the army to parliament’s monitoring.

Erdogan has distracted the army in various wars. The Syrian crisis and the alleged coup were a gift to his government in order to extend his rule to the farthest extent, and he used that to amend the constitution for the presidential system instead of the parliamentary one, as well as suppressing and crushing the Hizmet movement, claiming that he is preserving the values ​​of secularism in front of a social Islamic movement that was a former ally. He instigated the deep state to win over the secular forces, and it was his instrument to unite the army and limit its influence.

It is not surprising that Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar admitted dismissing 17,498 members of the armed forces in the context of combating the Hizmet movement led by the opposition preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused of masterminding the scripted July 2016 coup.

Operation Euphrates Shield represented a good cover for the Islamization of the Turkish state and the reduction of the influence of the military in political life, such as allowing the veil of civilian workers in hospitals within military institutions and the promotion of many soldiers whose debts could be bought, taking advantage of the army’s interest in the war in Syria from its interest in protecting the state’s Kemalist principles of secularism, especially after the large-scale campaign in the army and police establishment and the arrest of its leaders.

The matter was also exploited by Erdogan in Operation Olive Branch, which was an electoral card for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to obtain the parliamentary majority, in order not to repeat the losses that happened in the June 2015 elections. The real goal was to neutralize the military establishment before the elections to prevent any comments on the practices of the ruling party.

With Operation Peace Spring, Erdogan tried to disintegrate the Turkish army and disperse its capabilities through foreign wars, before which the Turkish president decided to get rid of the opposition officers.

The AKP government sought to strip the Turkish army of its secular character by recruiting imam officers again after this was banned following the military coup on May 27, 1960, although the imam officers were allowed to participate in the Turkish incursion into Cyprus in 1974 for the last time.

The Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit said that the duties of the imam officer are explained on the Air Force website as giving spiritual guidance so that employee morale, social care and happiness reach the required level, dealing with religious education, worship activities and religious ceremonies, and coordinating the relevant authorities to meet the needs related to places of worship and the administration of religious affairs. Thus, Erdogan dealt a fatal blow to the identity of the Turkish army.