Turkey grills top military officers for coup attempt

Prosecutors on Tuesday interrogated 51 Turkish military commanders,including former Air Force and Navy chiefs...

Prosecutors on Tuesday interrogated 51 Turkish military commanders,including former Air Force and Navy chiefs,over alleged plans to destabilise the country by blowing up mosques to trigger a coup and topple the Islamic-rooted government.

It was the highest profile crackdown ever on the Turkish military,which has ousted four governments since 1960. For decades Turkeys senior officers,self-appointed guardians of the countrys secular tradition,called the shots.

But the balance of power in the country appeared to have shifted Monday as police rounded up the 51 military commanders,following the gathering of evidence and discovery of an alleged secret coup plan,dubbed the sledgehammer, prepared when the commanders were on active duty between 2003 and 2005.

The nationwide sweep has dramatically deepened a power struggle between the secular establishment and the government,which has strong electoral backing and the EUs support. Turkeys elite military pashas were once deemed untouchable.

The most heavy sledgehammer to military custody, read headline of daily Taraf,which published leaked military documents that lead to the detentions. This is not a legal process. This is apparently a sheer process of political showdown, said Deniz Baykal,head of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party.

The suspects included former Air Force chief Gen. Ibrahim Firtina and Navy Chief Adm. Ozden Ornek,who allegedly chronicled some failed coup attempts,as well ex-deputy chief Gen. Ergin Saygun. Also detained were the former head of the Special Forces,Gen Engin Alan,and the former head of the 1st Army,Gen Cetin Dogan.

All suspects,including two dozen retired and active duty generals and admirals,face charges of attempting to topple the government,daily Milliyet said.