The Press SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1973 Turkey’s watchful generals

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33147, 10 February 1973, Page 14

The Press SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1973 Turkey’s watchful generals

Early last November, when the split in Turkey's Republican People’s Party was brought plainly into the open, it was expected that the ensuing political confusion would last only a few days. It has lasted for three months, without any sign of the emergence of the " strong and credible ” government demanded by the Army leaders. The new leader of the R.P.P., Mr Bulent Ecevit. had withdrawn the party from the coalition led by Mr Ferit Melen, alleging that it had moved too far to the Right and was using harshly repressive measures against Left-wing intellectuals associated with the R.P.P. Mr Ecevit thought that by wrecking the coalition he could win wider support from liberal elements in his party, and even from others with Marxist sympathies. It did not work out that way. Mr Melen, heading the larger National Reliance Party, was asked by the Army chiefs to stay on as Prime Minister, governing in association with the Justice Party. The latter is still led by Mr Suleyman Demirel, a former Prime Minister whom the Army forced out of office. Mr Ecevit’s major miscalculation was his misreading of the influence, within the R.P.P. and throughout the country, of the veteran Mr Ismet Inonu. The latter. ’’ retiring ” once more at 88, took some 50 party members with him. His great age notwithstanding, he may be aspiring to another term as President; if the Army does not soon make a move to fill the vacancy. Mr Inonu might yet announce his candidature. President Sunay’s seven-year term will expire in March, and he has said he will not again be available. He could not run again, indeed, without amending the Constitution, which prohibits a Presidential incumbent from seeking a second successive term. In the meantime the waiting game between the political leaders and the Army chiefs must be causing concern throughout the electorate, especially as a General Election is due next October. Uncertainty about the Presidency will not help to create an atmosphere conducive to an orderly election campaign. It had been widely supposed that, as in the past, another ranking officer would succeed General Sunay as President. But the military leaders are obviously not in a hurry to show their hand, even with the Presidential election only a few weeks away. What seems certain is that Army influence at the top will continue until the Chiefs of Staff get the type of government that they think Turkey needs. It is also reasonably certain that the incoming President will be the Army’s nominee, whether or not he has military status.