 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
EU concerned about political influence of Turkish army
Brussels (AFP) Nov 5, 2008 Turkey's powerful military continues to wield political influence despite EU demands that control over the army be put firmly in the hands of the government, the European Commission said Wednesday. "The armed forces have continued to exercise significant political influence via formal and informal mechanisms," the European Union's executive body said in an annual report on Turkey's EU-oriented reform programme. "Senior members of the armed forces have expressed their opinion on domestic and foreign policy issues going beyond their remit, including on Cyprus, the South East, secularism, political parties and other non-military developments." The Turkish military has long seen itself as the guarantor of secularism in the mainly-Muslim country and has remained wary about the activities of the ruling Justice and Development Party, which has Islamist roots. The commission complained that no changes had been made to laws defining the role and duties of the military, or in improving civilian control over the paramilitary police, the gendarmerie. It said that a protocol allowing military operations to be carried out for internal security matters without a request from the civilian authorities had still not been changed. Brussels also expressed concern that an internal military memorandum had been leaked to the press, identifying non-governmental organisations that receive financial aid from foreign bodies, including the EU. "Overall, no progress has been made in ensuring full civilian supervisory functions over the military and parliamentary oversight of defence expenditure," the report said. Turkey began EU membership talks in October 2005, but its quest to join Europe's rich 27-nation club has been plagued with difficulties, and Ankara is unlikely to sign up for at least a decade. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links The Return of the European Empire
Poland's president insists on attending EU summit
Warsaw (AFP) Oct 14, 2008Poland's eurosceptic President Lech Kaczynski insisted Tuesday he would attend an EU summit over the objections of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and amid legal doubts over his right to do so. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook