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| ==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| Yaşar Büyükanıt was born on ], ] in ]. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1961 as an infantry officer. After Graduating from the Infantry School in 1963, he served in different units of the Land Forces as Platoon and Commando Company Commander until 1970. His past duties have included the positions of Chief of Section at ] ] Headquarters in ], Commander of ], Commander of the Turkish Presidential Guard, Chief of Unit at ] in ], Secretary General to the ], Commander of the ], and Commander of the Army Corps based in ] for 3 years. His supporters describe him as a successful commander, easily mixing with the population and with a keen eye for the region's issues. <ref>[http://www.haberturk.com/news/205754.html</ref> | |||
| General Yaşar BÜYÜKANIT, the 25th Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, was born in İstanbul in 1940. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1961 as an infantry officer. After Graduating from the Infantry School in 1963, he served in different units of the Land Forces as Platoon and Commando Company Commander until 1970. | |||
| General Büyükanıt has been awarded the ], ], ], ], ] and the ] Medal of Nishan-e-Imtiaz. | |||
| Following his graduation from the Army Staff College in 1972, he served as the Chief of Operations at 6th Infantry Division, as an instructor at Army Staff College, as Intelligence Division Basic Intelligence Branch Forces and Systems Section Chief at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons/Belgium, as the Section and then Branch Chief of General-Admiral Branch at Turkish General Staff (TGS) Headquarters, as the Commander of Kuleli Military High School and of the Presidential Guard Regiment. | |||
| General Büyükanıt is married to Filiz Büyükanıt and has one child. He is also fluent in ]. | |||
| After graduating from NATO Defence College, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1988. He served as the 2nd Armored Brigade Commander and then as the Chief of Intelligence Department at AFSOUTH HQs in Naples, Italy. | |||
| ==Political and Ethnic Controversies== | |||
| General Yaşar Büyükanıt is considered as being tough on terrorism and sensitive about ] political currents. His tougher stance, particularly with respect to highly polarized political views about the role of ] in ], made his promotion to the post of the ] somewhat controversial. In the build up to the expected promotion, he was subjected to criticism from Islamists <ref>http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP113606</ref>. In early 2006, he was accused of "interfering in the judicial process", by describing one of the non-commissioned officers implicated in the Şemdinli bombings as a "good guy" <ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-turkey21mar21,1,5792763.story</ref> <ref>http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=37393</ref>. | |||
| Having been promoted to rank of Major General in 1992, General BÜYÜKANIT served as the Secretary General of Turkish General Staff and then as the Superintendent of the Turkish Army Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1996 and served as the 7th Army Corps Commander till 1998, after which he became the Chief of Operations of the TGS. | |||
| Similarly, through websites and text messages to ministers and opinion leaders, it was claimed that he was not a "pureblood" ], but a descendant of ] Jews <ref>http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP113606</ref>. | |||
| Following the allegations, he received support from the the then-Chief of Staff, the ] and the ]. The original nationalist-Islamist webpage that started this conspiracy, stated that Büyükanıt's father (Mehmet Sırrı Büyükanıt) and grandfathers (Mehmet Kamil Büyükanıt and Mehmet Yaşar Eryaşar) were named "Mehmet" according to a Sabbatian tradition as a tribute to ], a.k.a. ]) <ref>http://www.ulusalihanet.com/view_news.php?id=88&ax=1</ref>. Many politicians and journalists like ] reacted harshly to these claims, stating that he was a well-known ] and ], and a ] General who was extremely hard on ] and ]s. | |||
| In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of General and served as the Deputy Chief of TGS till 2003. Then he served as the Commander of the First Army. General BÜYÜKANIT was appointed as the Commander of the Land Forces in 2004. He assumed the Command of the Turkish Armed Forces in 30 August 2006. | |||
| Underlying issue behind these allegations was the fact that his grandfather's grave lies in the territory of today's ]. However, according to journalist ] of ] <ref>http://www.turkatak.gen.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=717&Itemid=2</ref>, this was simply because Mehmet Kamil Büyükanıt had died at the ] during the ] as an ] army officer. Due to technological and logistical limitations of the time, his body was buried without further ado in Israel, which was then the land of the ]. | |||
| His decorations include, Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Medal of Distinguished Service, TAF Medal of Distinguished Courage and Self-Sacrifice, TAF Medal of Honor, Italian Medal of Honor, USA Legion of Merit and Pakistani Nishan-ı Imtiaz. | |||
| ==Talk on October 2, 2006== | |||
| He is married to Mrs. Filiz BÜYÜKANIT and they have a daughter. General BÜYÜKANIT speaks English as a foreign language. | |||
| In his speech at the commencement of the academic year at the ] on October 2, which was interpreted as a "harsh salvo" in Turkish media <ref>http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2006/10/03/index.html</ref> <ref>http://www.aksam.com.tr/haberpop.asp?a=54547,4</ref>, Buyukanit showed his sensitivity on secular values and hard stance against the ]. | |||
| Büyükanıt also has asserted that certain ] and ]-allied countries, consciously allowed terrorist organizations acting against Turkey, to base and run operations in their own territories, inconsistent with the philosophy of Turkey’s international alliance with those countries. He accused these countries of failing to prosecute these terrorists, implicitly assisting them to escape justice or return safely to their organizations for continuing their terrorist activities, and sometimes even openly taking sides with them under the banner of "freedom of speech"<ref>http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/5189959.asp?m=1&gid=112&srid=3428&oid=2</ref> <ref>http://www.tsk.mil.tr/bashalk/konusma_mesaj/2006/2006_2007harpakegitimogretimyiliaciliskonusmasi.htm</ref>. These allegations are the latest in a series of events that have led the Turkish authorities to doubt the good-will of certain allied countries, the latest example being Greece giving refuge to ], the leader of the Kurdish ], an organization that has been listed as terrorist by the EU and the US, and that aims to create a seperate country in Turkey using violence, by aiding him with his transportation before his capture by Turkish forces in May, 1999 while leaving the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/283189.stm</ref>. | |||
| ⚫ | ==External Link== | ||
| He was criticized and warned by several media figures for the talk had indicated an obvious military intervention in Turkish politics, stated as "army's role in politics." | |||
| <ref>http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2006/10/03/yazar/sazak.html</ref> | |||
| <ref>http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2006/10/03/yazar/dundar.html</ref> It should be noted that, for some<ref>http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/5189887.asp?yazarid=8</ref>, the speech was not as harsh as it was expected to be. | |||
| ], BBC's correspondent to Istanbul, says "the powerful military is making its position abundantly clear ahead of presidential elections next May, which it fears may be won by the current Prime Minister, ]."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5398842.stm</ref> | |||
| Former Turkish prime minister and president ] explained the pointview and functions of the Turkish military saying that "The armed forces' functions and recent declarations received support from the constitution and the laws, and therefore, their functions and talk should not be subjected to scepticism but rather be taken seriosly." {{fact}} | |||
| In response to General Yasar Buyukanit’s remarks, European Commissioner for Enlargement, ], said “The army is under civilian control in European democracies.”<ref>http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20061005&hn=37049</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==External |
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Revision as of 16:43, 5 October 2006
General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt is the 25th and current Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He has assumed his functions in August 28, 2006. The presidential decree with effect to his appointment was signed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on July 31, 2006. He succeeds General Hilmi Özkök in this post. His most likely successor per Turkish military tradition is İlker Başbuğ, the current Commander of the Turkish Army.
Biography
General Yaşar BÜYÜKANIT, the 25th Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, was born in İstanbul in 1940. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1961 as an infantry officer. After Graduating from the Infantry School in 1963, he served in different units of the Land Forces as Platoon and Commando Company Commander until 1970.
Following his graduation from the Army Staff College in 1972, he served as the Chief of Operations at 6th Infantry Division, as an instructor at Army Staff College, as Intelligence Division Basic Intelligence Branch Forces and Systems Section Chief at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons/Belgium, as the Section and then Branch Chief of General-Admiral Branch at Turkish General Staff (TGS) Headquarters, as the Commander of Kuleli Military High School and of the Presidential Guard Regiment.
After graduating from NATO Defence College, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1988. He served as the 2nd Armored Brigade Commander and then as the Chief of Intelligence Department at AFSOUTH HQs in Naples, Italy.
Having been promoted to rank of Major General in 1992, General BÜYÜKANIT served as the Secretary General of Turkish General Staff and then as the Superintendent of the Turkish Army Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1996 and served as the 7th Army Corps Commander till 1998, after which he became the Chief of Operations of the TGS.
In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of General and served as the Deputy Chief of TGS till 2003. Then he served as the Commander of the First Army. General BÜYÜKANIT was appointed as the Commander of the Land Forces in 2004. He assumed the Command of the Turkish Armed Forces in 30 August 2006.
His decorations include, Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Medal of Distinguished Service, TAF Medal of Distinguished Courage and Self-Sacrifice, TAF Medal of Honor, Italian Medal of Honor, USA Legion of Merit and Pakistani Nishan-ı Imtiaz.
He is married to Mrs. Filiz BÜYÜKANIT and they have a daughter. General BÜYÜKANIT speaks English as a foreign language.
External Link
Footnotes
- His second name, Yaşar, a popular Turkish name which literally means "he who lives on, he who lives through", is the one that is more commonly used, as is often the case in Turkey. His surname, a combination of the words "Büyük" (great, big) and "Anıt" (monument as in Anıtkabir or -idiomatically- deed) can be taken to mean "great deed".
| Preceded byHilmi Özkök | Chief of the General Staff of Turkey 2006–present |
Succeeded byincumbent |
