Turkish Supreme Military Council starts 4-day meeting

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) convened Thursday, Aug 1, under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Turkish capital of Ankara, according to Today’s Zaman.

The meetings will last four days.

YAŞ is expected to retire 16 generals and admirals who are suspects or have been convicted in the Sledgehammer, the Feb 28, 1997 post-modern coup and Ergenekon coup plot trials since they would have completed their four-year term as generals by Aug 1.

Their retirement will be in line with last year's YAŞ decisions in which 40 other generals and admirals under suspicion were discharged from the military through retirement.

In previous YAŞ decisions, the military extended the terms in office for coup plot suspect generals for another year despite the fact that their four-year term as stipulated by law had expired.

At the time the Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) practice of extending the term of duty of generals in custody sparked a bitter row between the government, President Abdullah Gül and the military.

YAŞ meets twice a year, in August and in December, under the chairmanship of the PM, whose presence used to be symbolic until 2010, when the political authority began exerting the power granted it by law, to a certain extent, over YAŞ decisions concerning the promotion and retirement of generals.

During the August meetings, YAŞ decides on the promotions and retirements of generals and service commanders as well as the promotion of colonels to the rank of general. In December, the council makes decisions about 10-year-long arms-procurement plans that are revised every two years. In both meetings, YAŞ also elaborates on the general security situation in Turkey and around it.