Erdogan reins in the military

Hürriyet reports on what it terms "a new seating plan" introduced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyp Erdogan at the meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), which followed by the 29 July resignation of most of Turkey’s top brass. Four senior officers tendered their resignation in protest against the arrest in recent weeks of a number of military officials accused of plotting against the government.

On its front page, Hürriyet publishes a photograph of the 1 August meeting, showing Erdogan chairing the YAŞ, which it compares it with a similar picture from last November, when he was flanked by the chief of general staff — a change that implies that "the army now appears to be subservient to political power as it is in democratic countries." For editorialist Cengiz Çandar, the situation "will give free reign to Erdogan, who will no longer be able to blame the ‘military factor’ when justifying his refusal to adopt a progressive interior policy. The road is now open to the Prime Minister to introduce the civil and democratic constitution" that he promised in his campaign for the elections of last June.