Turkey will overcome 'coup probe crisis': president

ANKARA (AFP) - – Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Saturday he was sure Turkey would overcome a crisis triggered by a massive probe into an alleged 2003 military plot to overthrow a conservative Islamic government.

The investigation saw an Istanbul court charge late Friday two retired generals, including alleged plot leader Cetin Dogan, remanding them both in custody pending trial.

The number of suspects incarcerated by the court has reached 33 out of the 50 or so members of the military arrested up by police in a mass swoop on Monday.

Around 15 have been released, including former marine and air force commanders.

Another 18 soldiers, mostly junior offices, were rounded up Friday in a second wave of arrests and were due to appear before prosecutors in Istanbul over the weekend.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the army Friday that no-one was above the law and "those who make plans behind closed door to crush the people's will must see that from now on they will face justice."

Gul echoed that opinion in an interview published by the daily Hurriyet on Saturday. "If there are people who commit errors in our institutions (the army), they must be purged."

He added though that he was sure that Turkey would "totally get over" the crisis, and emphasized that the Turkish democracy's main aim was to meet European standards.

"Turkey must not shoot itself in the foot," at a time when it is trying to emerge from a recession, he said.

The standoff between the government and the army led the Istanbul stock exchange to plunge nearly seven percent last week and the Turkish lira to fall against the dollar.

The unprecedented probe has rattled Turkey, raising fears of a showdown between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) -- the offshoot of a banned Islamist movement -- and the army, the self-declared guardian of the country's secular system.

The Turkish army has traditionally wielded significant influence on politics, but has seen its clout wane under the AKP.

The alleged coup plan -- codenamed "Operation Sledgehammer" -- is said to have been drafted and discussed within the First Army in 2003, shortly after the AKP came to power amid fears that it would undermine the secular system.

The plot allegedly involved plans to bomb mosques and provoke tensions with Greece to force the downing of a Turkish jet, sparking political chaos and justifying a military takeover against the government.