FILE - In this June 8, 2013, file photo, Turkish protesters, mostly soccer fans of Besiktas who call themselves "Carsi" wave a poster of Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk as they celebrate in rain at the city's Kugulu Park in Ankara, Turkey. It was the height of Turkey’s summer of upheaval, and riot police were hammering protesters. The tear gas at Istanbul’s Taksim Square was so thick that doctors trying to treat the wounded in a makeshift clinic could barely breathe or see. So a group of them, all wearing white lab coats, set off to find relief in a nearby hospital. They turned into an alley and came face-to-face with police, just yards away. The officers took aim, lifted their guns and launched tear gas canisters straight at the medics.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)The Associated Press
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The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 24, 2010; 7:42 AM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s government has removed three high-ranking officers from duty pending the outcome of a trial in which a group of military officers are accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamic-oriented government.
The suspensions Wednesday were the first time the government removed officers from duty and came as another indication of the growing civilian authority over the military, which once shaped the country’s politics.
The three – two major generals and a rear admiral – are among nearly 200 retired and active duty officers who go on trial next month in an alleged 2003 plot to create chaos and trigger a military takeover.
The military had promoted the three to key positions despite objections by the government.
