Two military officers were charged at the weekend over a coup plot, Turkish media said on Monday, part of a crackdown that has caused tension between the Islamist-rooted government and the secularist military. More than 30 officers, including two retired generals, face charges in connection with an alleged plot in 2003 to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government. A Muslim country with a secular constitution, NATO-member Turkey wants to strengthen its democratic credentials to support its bid to join the European Union. The detention of senior members of the armed forces has shaken markets in a country where the military has a long history of intervention in politics. However, the lira currency, stocks and bond prices strengthened in early trading on Monday, following through on a recovery begun on Friday. The state-run news agency Anatolian said Colonel Huseyin Ozcoban, commander of the paramilitary gendarmerie force in the city of Konya, and Lieutenant Colonel Yusuf Kelleli were charged late on Sunday in an Istanbul court. The two were detained in an unprecedented investigation last week that prompted an emergency meeting of political and military leaders. Erdogan held talks with the Chief of General Staff, General Ilker Basbug, in a meeting billed as an early session of their regular weekly consultations which usually take place on Thursday. Last Thursday, they and President Abdullah Gul met in an attempt to defuse tension over the coup investigation. History of coups The military has overthrown four governments in Turkey in the past 50 years but its power has diminished in the face of EU-inspired reforms. Despite Turkey's history of coups, most people believe the generals would not dare challenge the AK Party. Political analysts say politics appear to be increasingly polarised between secular, conservative nationalists who represent the old guard, and the AK Party which has won over investors with market-friendly reforms despite its roots in political Islam. The possibility of a confrontation emerged last month when the government threatened to call a referendum to push through constitutional changes to curb the power of judges, after the judicial establishment objected to the detention of a prosecutor accused of belonging to an ultra-rightist militant organisation. Erdogan said on Sunday he would present proposed constitutional reforms to parliament as soon as possible. The prime minister was chairing a cabinet meeting on Monday and the government could unveil some legal reform proposals later.
