By Andrew L. Jaffee

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Despite the fact that Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and his Islamist AKP Party hold political power in Turkey, the country’s military has remained a secularist bastion since the time of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Not that I’m a big fan of uncontrolled military power, but in this case, I say, “Thank G#d for Turkey’s military.” From today’s BBC:

Turkey’s chief of staff has praised the demonstration held by thousands of Turks following the killing of a senior judge by an Islamist gunman.

General Hilmi Ozkok said the protests against Islamic militancy were admirable and urged compatriots to keep up their defence of the secular state. …

The general’s comments were the first from the military since the attack by the man who, calling himself “a soldier of Allah,” opened fire in a courtroom, wounding four judges and fatally hitting Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin.

Gen Ozkok condemned the shooting as an act of terror by extreme conservatives.

“The protests and the people’s sensitivity is truly hope-giving and admirable,” he said.

“But this reaction should not be limited to a single day, to a single event. It must gain continuity and it should be followed by everyone all the time.”

The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford, in Istanbul, says some may interpret that as a call for further protests.

The military, which has led three coups in the past, is seen in Turkey as the ultimate guarantor of a secular republic, she says. The entire military leadership turned out for the funeral on Thursday.