Democracy stronger than Turkish military

The uncovering of the "Operation Sledgehammer" coup plot in Turkey has made it clear that the Turkish army has lost the power to tumble or control governments it does not like, writes Der Standard: "This is a welcome development that shows that the army is increasingly coming under civilian control, that the judiciary is defending the constitutional state and that Turkey is drawing closer to democratic standards. The reaction of the judiciary to the conspiracy has, however, itself given rise to conspiracy theories. The arrest of the generals has been interpreted as a government witch-hunt against the opposition. The government has indeed managed to gradually decrease the influence of the military. ... This is very good, but at the same time the [ruling] Justice and Development Party restricts the freedoms of citizens with its clientelism and authoritarian tendencies: for example on alcohol or soap operas that represent non-Islamic values."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Turkey
All available articles from » Adelheid Wölfl

» To the complete press review of Friday, February 26, 2010