Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Coast Guard is responsible for maintaining law and order in the Turkish territorial waters.
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Role of the military in Turkish politics
Since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the modern secular Republic of Turkey in 1923, the Turkish military has perceived itself as the guardian of Kemalism, the official state ideology, even though Atatürk himself insisted on separating the military from politics. The TAF still maintains an important degree of influence over Turkish politics and the decision making process regarding issues related to Turkish national security, albeit decreased in the past decades, via the National Security Council.
The military has had a record of intervening in politics. Indeed, it assumed power for several periods in the latter half of the 20th century. It executed coups d'etat in 1960, 1971, and 1980. Most recently, it maneuvered the removal of an Islamic-oriented prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, in 1997.[13]
In April 27, 2007, in advance of the November 4, 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 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 the Turkish Republic, and to the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The Army's statement ended with a clear warning that the Turkish Armed Forces 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." [14]
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Humanitarian relief
Turkish Armed Forces can perform "Disaster Relief Operations" as in the 1999 İzmit earthquake in the Marmara region of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces can conduct peace-support operations anywhere in the world with a task force of four battalions.
Apart from contributing to NATO, the Turkish Navy is also available for the Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR), which was created in early 2001 by Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine for search and rescue and other humanitarian operations in the Black Sea.
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See also
- Military of the Ottoman Empire
- Conscription in Turkey
- List of the Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff
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References and notes
- ^ a b CIA Factbook Turkey
- ^ a b NATO-Russia Compendium on Financial and Economic Data Relating to Defense, December 18, 2006
- ^ Economist Intelligence Unit: Turkey 2005 p.23
- ^ NATO official website: "My country & NATO: Turkey"
- ^ The Economist: "Turkey, America and Europe: Who is losing Turkey?"
- ^ a b Turkish army crucial to EU power hopes - World - www.theage.com.au
- ^ Cyprus Intercommunal Violence
- ^ Cyprus - Intercommunal Violence
- ^ NATO official website: "My country & NATO: Turkey"
- ^ The Economist: "Turkey, America and Europe: Who is losing Turkey?"
- ^ Capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces
- ^ Capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Turkey
- ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Excerpts of Turkish army statement
- This article contains information from the Turkish Armed Forces website, in the public domain.
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External links
- Turkish Armed Forces Website
- Turkish Military History (in Turkish)
- Turkish defence products
- World defence industry files
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