Chief of Staff General Işık Koşaner and all of the force commanders of the Turkish Armed Forces resigned by 18:00 EET today (July 29, 2011).
This is considered as the biggest protest in Turkish republican military history and the first time that the Chief of Staff has resigned together with the commanders of the navy (Adm. Eşref Uğur Yiğit), land (Gen. Erdal Ceylanoğlu) and air force (Gen. Hasan Aksay). The Commander of the Gendarmerie Gen. Necdet Özel has not yet declared his resignation.
Resignations sent shock waves across the Turkish political scene; currently all of the Turkish TV and radio channels are unanimously covering this. Resignations come right before the highly anticipated Supreme Military Council meeting scheduled on Monday, August 1st, which will approve military promotions, including the next commanding officers as well as the Chief of Staff.
There are deep divisions between the Armed Forces and the government regarding the status and promotion of the arrested active duty generals, due to an alleged coup plan. Furthermore, deeper divisions remain regarding the future Force Commander candidates of the government and the military apparatus.
As it stands, the Supreme Military Council meeting on Monday will take place without the Chief of Staff and the commanding generals of the army, navy and the air force.
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