Turkey’s military yesterday rejected a prosecutor’s call to investigate a top general over allegations of abusing his position and setting up an illegal group, saying the request was politically motivated. The prosecutor in eastern Van province had accused Gen. Yasar Buyukanit this month of trying to foment unrest in the mainly Kurdish southeast and harm Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.The allegations angered the military and embarrassed the government, which distanced itself from the claims and defended Buyukanit — No. 2 in Turkey’s military hierarchy. “The General Staff decided there was no need to open an investigation,” the military said in a statement on its website.
“Parts of this indictment went too far and had a more political than legal content, targeting some (military) personnel with the aim of eroding the general staff and weakening its will in the battle against terror,” it said. The Justice Ministry has said it was investigating the prosecutor, Ferhat Sarikaya. Some media have said elements within the ruling Justice and Development Party, which has Islamist roots, secretly support the prosecutor’s claims because they want to undermine the staunchly secularist Buyukanit.