TSK cannot defend PM wife's headscarf experience, top commander says

It is not possible to defend the fact that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s headscarf-wearing wife was denied access to a military hospital, Turkey’s top general has said.

“Let me put it clearly: This is a special case. Therefore, I believe it is more accurate to look that issue from a humanitarian perspective,” Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ told daily Hürriyet in an interview published Friday.

“I wish that incident had not taken place. I don’t want to accuse anyone; I wish it had not happened,” the top general said. “If we take a look at it from the humanitarian aspect, it is not possible for us to defend that today.”

In a recent televised interview, Erdoğan said his wife, Emine, had been denied entry to a military hospital, the Gülhane Military Medical Academy, or GATA, three years ago when she tried to visit actor Nejat Uygur because she wears a headscarf.

Başbuğ also expressed concerns over the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, figuring high on the country’s agenda. “Yes, we are continuously on the agenda of Turkey, for this or that reason, rightfully or not,” he said. “I would not say the TSK being on the agenda is always because of unfair reasons. Of course, we are concerned with the Armed Forces always topping Turkey’s agenda because that has an impact on the TSK.”

“I cannot deny that impact. Then how will we look at that issue?” he added. “I will ask once ask: Do I make a mistake, as the armed forces? Then what falls on us is to minimize the mistakes being made at the TSK.”

The general, however, also complained that mistakes made by individuals from the armed forces are being attributed to the TSK itself.

“There is such a perception and we cannot prevent that. Our public cannot accept the emergence of people from the armed forces who make mistakes,” he said.

Başbuğ also criticized the way a question was asked in a survey following the reporting of an alleged assassination plot against Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. The question asked in the survey was “Have the assignation claims reduced your trust in the military?”

“This is the question that attributes it to the institution [the TSK]. That is the problem,” the general said. “The TSK could continuously be kept on the agenda, of course, if there are rightful reasons.”

Asked what concerns the military most, Başbuğ said the military is concerned with its occupying the agenda of the media. “I think it would be appropriate if everyone would pay attention,” he said. “I don’t say the TSK will never be on the agenda, but we have been very much on the agenda since October.”

Commenting on civil-military relations, the commander said it was not correct for the TSK to be involved in politics, but that it is also not correct to be making politics over the Armed Forces.

In response to a question about the alleged “Sledgehammer” coup plans, the top commander said it appears it will take a long time than expected for the prosecutor to examine the documents, which comprise thousands of pages.

“We all need to have patience,” he said. “We’ll wait till the investigation ends. Then everything will be understood.”

Başbuğ’s statements were welcomed by the members of the government. “I evaluate the statements of the top officer very positive and very human,” deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters Friday. Hüseyin Çelik, spokesperson of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, said the statements were satisfactory.