Turkey: 8 retired military officers arrested

Ankara, Feb 15 (AP) Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have arrested eight more retired officers over their alleged involvement in the ousting of an Islamic-led government in the late 1990s. Anadolu Agency reports say the eight, including seven retired generals, were detained on Wednesday and yesterday pending a trial over a military campaign that forced former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to resign. No trial date has been set. Anadolu, today said that authorities were also questioning six other generals, including a former Air Force commander. They had not been arrested. Several other officers have already been charged in Erbakan's ouster, which has been dubbed Turkey's "post-modern coup" because the military simply pressured the government to resign. Turkey has curtailed the military's powers and is making generals account for intervening in government affairs.(AP) ST NKP NKP 02151740 NNNN