Arrests of top-rank military officers under way in TurkeyMay 31, 2011 - 14:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A top Turkish general has been jailed pending trial over an alleged plot to overthrow the government in 2003. Commander General Bilgin Balanli was arrested as a suspect in the ongoing Sledgehammer case. He is the highest ranking active-duty military figure among 160 serving and retired officers charged with plotting a coup. The case has exacerbated strains between Turkey’s secularist military and the ruling party with its Islamist roots ahead of the June 12 election. In a separate development, a probe has been launched into the man who lead the 1980 military coup, former general and one time president, Kenan Evren. Although now 93, he is to be questioned under reforms to the constitution. It now means those involved in Turkey’s bloodiest period in history can be prosecuted. After the coup, 650,000 Turks were arrested. Some 500 received the death penalty and hundreds more died in jail having been tortured, Euronews reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |