Turkish ex-generals nabbed as rift widens between gov't, secular opponents

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Turkish police have arrested two retired generals on suspicion of plotting against the Islamic-leaning government as the rift between the prime minister and the defenders of the country's secular principles widened. Just after Tuesday's arrests, Turkey's top prosecutor laid out his case in court that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan party has undermined the secularism enshrined in the constitution and should be disbanded. Erdogan's government has been locked for years in a power struggle with secular groups supported by the military and other state institutions, including the judiciary. He has faced a secularist backlash over suspicions that the government has an Islamic agenda and is trying to dilute the Western lifestyle of many Turks. The pressure on the government has mounted since 2007 when thousands of secularists took to the streets to protest.