Hardliner new Turkish chief of staff

The Daily Star - Politics - Ankara picks hard-line general to replace armed forces’ outgoing chief of staff

Turkey on Monday appointed a general who is expected to adopt a tougher line toward EU negotiations to replace the head the country’s powerful military, who was widely considered a moderate. The change in leadership, which was widely anticipated, comes as Turkey is insisting that Washington do more to crack down on Turkish Kurdish rebels operating out of bases in northern Iraq…

Buyukanit raised eyebrows this year by praising a soldier subsequently jailed for a bombing believed to be aimed at stirring up unrest in the mainly Kurdish southeast. The bombing triggered riots in the region and a parliamentary inquiry.

Analysts say Buyukanit’s no-nonsense views have been shaped by the time he spent in the southeast during the 1990s, heyday of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is now seen as weakened but far from defeated.

“Buyukanit is more pro-American, more security-minded than Ozkok. He is not against the Europeanization of Turkey but he is more influenced by nationalist tendencies,” said Hussein Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“He will be much tougher in the fight against the PKK.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 at 7:51 am and is filed under A Few Euros More, The CIS and South Eastern Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

1. David Weman Says:
   August 2nd, 2006 at 8:01 am

   Is this thing on?

2. Oliver Says:
   August 26th, 2006 at 12:11 pm

   As nobody dares ask, I’ll bite. Is there any hope that Turkey will react in an acceptable manner, if Iraqi Kurdistan becomes independant, no matter who is in charge?