Turkish president approves military court law

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday approved a bill allowing officers to be tried in civilian courts for certain crimes, but also called for urgent additional arrangements to dispel the army's concerns.

The law was pushed through parliament in a late-night session in June by the governing Islamist-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP), raising tensions with the armed forces and the secularist opposition.

Gul underlined that the law was a requirement under Turkey's bid to join the European Union and found the law "compatible with the existing law on military courts", a statement from his office said.

"However, it will be beneficial to undertake legal arrangements without delay to dispel concerns on legal guarantees and discipline in military service that might arise during the implementation of this law," the statement said.

The bill paves the way for civilian courts to try military personnel in times of peace for attempts to topple the government and offences related to national security and organised crime.

It also transfers to civilian courts the power to try civilians in peace time for offences outlined in the military penal code.

A source told AFP on Monday that the general staff had concerns over some aspects of the law and had conveyed its views to the presidency's legal department, but refused to give details.

The daily Milliyet newspaper reported at the weekend that the army believed the law to be unconstitutional and was concerned it would fringe on the inviolability of military areas and lead to rows between military and civilian prosecutors.

The secularist main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), announced Wednesday that it was planning to ask the constitutional court to annul the law which it argues to be technically flawed and unconstitutional.

"The president's approval was a wrong decision," the party's deputy chairman Onur Oymen told the Anatolia news agency.

The Turkish army, which has unseated four governments since 1960, has already seen its powers limited part of reforms in recent years to boost Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

The army has often clashed with the AKP government which came to power in 2002 as the offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement that many suspected harboured a secret agenda to install a religious regime in secular Turkey.

In 2007, it threatened that it was ready to defend the secular system when Gul, a former AKP member, put forward his candidacy for the presidency, forcing early general elections which the AKP won with a landslide.

The Turkish army has kept a low profile in the past two years, often emphasising respect for democracy.

But tensions rose again between the AKP and the army over a purported plan by members of the military to discredit the government, which was leaked to the media earlier this month.

The army has categorically rejected the paper as forgery while the AKP filed a formal complaint over the alleged scheme with civilian prosecutors.

Several retired generals are already among dozens of suspects currently on trial as part of a controversial probe into an alleged plot to plunge Turkey into political chaos and prompt a military coup against the AKP.