Military coup in Turkey in 1960
| May 27 revolution / military coup in Turkey 1960 | |
|---|---|
| date | May 27, 1960 |
| location | Turkey |
| reasons | Politics and political views of the DP, repressive politics of the DP, relationship between DP and army, relationship between DP and Republican People's Party (CHP), establishment of a commission of inquiry, events of April 28th and 29th, economic problems |
| goals | Overthrow the Democratic Party (DP), restore democracy, clean up the political atmosphere |
| method | Military coup |
| follow | Adnan Menderes (Prime Minister), Fatin Rüştü Zorlu (Foreign Minister) and Hasan Polatkan (Finance Minister) were executed
|
The military coup of May 27, 1960 or the May 27 revolution in Turkey was a reaction to protests against the increasingly authoritarian government under Adnan Menderes . It was the first coup since the founding of the republic. The coup did not take place within the chain of command, but was carried out by 38 low-ranking officers. First the command level of the army was neutralized, then the members of the Council of Ministers and the President of the Republic were arrested. 235 generals and 3,500 officers were discharged and retired from the army. 147 university lecturers were fired and some universities were closed. The judiciary was brought under control and 520 judges were dismissed.
The National Unity Committee, led by Cemal Gürsel, took over the government. On the morning of May 27, 1960, this group of officers of the Turkish Armed Forces took power and declared that they had to restore democracy and prevent a civil war, after the Democratic Party had recently ruled the country in a very authoritarian and repressive manner and there were clashes between protesting students and security forces came. The revolutionaries eliminated martial law, dissolved the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and repealed the constitution.
The May 27 Revolution led to the drafting and entry into force of the Turkish Constitution of 1961 , which is still considered to be the most liberal and democratic constitution Turkey has ever had. (As of April 25, 2020)
prehistory
One-party state and reforms
The story began with the end of the Turkish Liberation War, the abolition of the Sultanate (1922), the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which established the borders of the new Turkey, the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923 and the abolition of the Caliphate (1924) of modern Turkey. Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk , the first President of the Republic of Turkey, numerous reforms were carried out that transformed Turkey into a modern, Europe-oriented state. He relied on his party, the CHP , the military and a well-educated elite. The reform years under Ataturk from 1923 to 1938 produced a Kemalist elite that had set itself the goal of implementing and later maintaining the Kemalist reforms. Ataturk ruled very authoritarian. From 1924/1925 opposition parties were banned. Another attempt to introduce the multiparty system in 1930 failed because Ataturk feared that the opposition could come to power in the 1931 parliamentary elections . During these years there were repeated Kurdish uprisings (1925, 1930 and 1937/1938). With Ataturk's death in 1938, the period of radical change ended. His successor İsmet İnönü continued the reforms. On the one hand, he promoted the training of young clergymen, but at the same time reinforced the Turkish variant of secularism by further restricting the influence of religion on the state and expanding the influence of the state on religion. By clever tactics he managed to keep Turkey out of the fighting of the Second World War.
Democratization
The Cold War followed immediately after the end of World War II . Here Turkey became part of the western camp, which was dominated by the USA. Given this fact, the political system of the Republic of Turkey had to be democratized. Although the system was already liberalized to a certain extent during the Second World War, in which independent members of parliament were admitted, real democratization did not begin until the post-war period. After the end of the Second World War, the President of the Republic and the CHP chairman İsmet İnönü, who could not be removed according to the statutes, announced a stronger implementation of democratic principles in public life, without specifying any more details. After Inönü had announced the end of the one-party system on November 19, 1945, and the multi-party system was thus approved, former members of the Republican People's Party (CHP), which had ruled up to that time, founded on January 7, 1946, among others. Adnan Menderes and Celal Bayar , the Democratic Party (DP). In the early parliamentary elections in July 1946 , the CHP won the most votes and was able to continue to form a sole government.
Change of government
In the parliamentary elections in 1950 , the DP received 54% of the vote, and therefore 415 of the 487 parliamentary seats because of the majority vote . The law for this was drawn up by the CHP under Ataturk . With the slogan »Enough! Now the nation speaks! ”Won the election, also by promising to give religious Muslims more freedom. On the evening of the election, circles in the military had expressed concern that the DP might win and offered İsmet İnönü, who had been "demoted" to opposition leader, to put a coup against the new government. İnönü refused, so there was no coup. The Republican party leader assured that his party would bow to any free election, no matter how it turned out. The military feared that the new government might act against the principles of Kemalism or attempt to eliminate them. The relationship between the DP government and the army was characterized by mutual distrust, so that the DP government replaced the army command immediately after taking office. After the DP government applied for NATO membership in 1950, Turkey joined NATO together with Greece on February 18, 1952 .
Economic boom and authoritarian government
In the early years, the DP government benefited from the economic upswing, while the CHP opposition denounced the rising cost of living. Despite this, the DP won 57.5% of the vote in 1954 and now has 504 of 541 members in the Grand National Assembly. Approval for Adnan Menderes' government and the Democratic Party (DP) waned during the 1950s . In 1955, riots between Greeks and Turks on the island of Cyprus led to riots against the Greek minority in Istanbul. There were also riots in Ankara and Izmir. Also in 1955, the Freedom Party (HP) split off from the DP, as the DP ruled increasingly authoritarian and censored the press. In the October 1957 election , the DP only got 47.9%. The right to vote resulted in the DP receiving 69.5% of the seats (424 out of 610). As a result, there was criticism of Menderes' authoritarian style of government from well-known members within the DP. Party resignations were a consequence. The government also increasingly lost support among the population because only a few benefited from economic progress. The DP owed its electoral success to the rural population who had been largely neglected by the CHP. During the reign of Adnan Menderes, the DP began to increasingly suppress the opposition CHP. Before the 1957 election, the DP passed a law prohibiting the CHP from entering into an electoral alliance with other opposition parties. The HP joined the CHP in 1958.
The DP government, which once stood to democratize the Republic of Turkey, gradually evolved into an authoritarian government that used the same means that the CHP had used until the change of power after the parliamentary elections in 1950. The DP relied on state radio and used it as a propaganda tool, just as the CHP had done before. The DP's relations with the press deteriorated noticeably as the DP expanded press censorship. While the DP ruled more and more authoritarian over time, the CHP experienced a democratic turn in the opposition. The "Declaration of Primary Aims" was adopted at a CHP congress in 1959. It promised the repeal of anti-democratic laws and a new constitution should the CHP form a government. The constitution promised by the CHP in this declaration largely corresponds to the constitution of the Republic of Turkey from 1961 .
Uşak, Topkapı, Kayseri Events
In April 1959, CHP boss İsmet İnönü made a trip to western Turkey. His supporters described this as a "Great Attack" based on the Turkish War of Liberation. The Minister of Transport and the governors did everything possible to prevent İnönü from continuing their journey. The soldiers also stood in his way - on the orders of the government. When the cadets recognized İnönü, however, they let him travel on and saluted him. Clashes between the DP and the CHP occurred in many provinces. At the end of the 1950s, the censorship of the press increased, which is why newspapers appeared with white pages. The prisons were filled with detained journalists. The train from İsmet İnönü, which came to Kayseri on April 2, 1960, was stopped on the orders of Governor Ahmet Kınık. Major Selahattin Çetiner, who was ordered to stop the train with İnönü at Himmetdede station, said: "I prefer suicide rather than preventing you from going to Kayseri." He withdrew after the incident, but was reinstated with the decision of the State Council. 50,000 people greeted İsmet İnönü, who found it difficult to continue on his way. The then Minister of Transport was held responsible for this incident prior to the election. This event is cited as the reason for the inclusion in the 1961 Constitution of the Article on Ministers for Transport, Home Affairs and Justice (Art. 109).
"Declarations of Revolution"
The government reacted very irritably to criticism. In April 1960, the majority of the ruling party set up a committee in parliament that was allowed to censor the press, ban newspapers and impose prison terms. The relationship between the DP and the CHP became increasingly difficult and tougher after the investigative commission, made up only of Menderes Democrats, investigated the "destructive, illegitimate and illegal activities" of newspapers and magazines in April 1960 and banned all parliamentary publications. The speeches of the CHP MPs went from mouth to mouth without being reflected in the press. The DP called these speeches "declarations of revolution".
On April 18, 1960, CHP chairman İsmet İnönü declared in the Grand National Assembly: "We say a democratic regime has been established. It is dangerous to turn this democratic regime into a dictatorial regime. If you continue down this path, even I can help you not save. " "If the conditions are right, then revolution is a legitimate right for nations." "They think: the Turkish nation does not have as much dignity as the Korean nation."
İnönü condemned the commission of inquiry in parliament again on April 27, 1960, which is why the DP majority decided to expel him from parliament for 12 sessions. CHP MPs who protested were removed from parliament by police force.
Events of April 28 and 29, 1960
As a result, student protests began on April 28, 1960 in Istanbul and Ankara. This led to violent clashes between students and security forces; the government had declared martial law; the unrest was mainly limited to Istanbul and Ankara, but spilled over to Izmir in part as the students there joined the protests. The imposition of martial law brought no reassurance either, since the protests, which were also joined by cadets from the military academy in Ankara, did not end. Turan Emeksiz, a student, was killed in the riot. April 28, 1960 went down in Turkish history as "Bloody Thursday". However, there was solidarity between the students who sang "Death of all dictators", "We want freedom" and "Long live the Turkish army". The Commander-in-Chief Cemal Gürsel resigned on May 3, 1960 and was retired. The protests were supported by sections of the academically educated elite and members of the military below the general level. On May 21, 1960, there was a silent protest march by the students of the Military Academy in Ankara.
revolution
sequence
On May 27, 1960, the Committee of National Unity (MBK), which had formed within the Turkish Armed Forces , took power in Turkey. At 3:15 a.m., infantry and cavalry were moved, at 3:30 a.m. the tanks began to roll. First, senior military officials, including the chief of staff, were arrested. Subsequently, the government under Prime Minister Menderes was arrested, as was the President of the Republic Celal Bayar. At 4:36 a.m., Colonel Alparslan Türkeş announced the takeover of power by the army. Major General Cemal Madanoğlu exercised the real command during the revolution. General Cemal Gürsel took over the leadership of the Committee of National Unity (MBK), although it was already retired. In addition, the revolution threatened to fail because the general and later first chairman of the Justice Party (AP) Ragıp Gümüşpala announced that he would arrive with his 3rd Army in Ankara to end the coup if the leader did not hold a higher rank than himself Cemal Gürsel, who until then was still in Izmir, was flown to Ankara and took over the chairmanship of the Committee of National Unity.
follow
The MBK lifted the curfew as well as martial law, which led to great cheers and celebrations of the citizens in Istanbul and Ankara. The leader of the previous opposition in the Grand National Assembly İsmet İnönü described the military coup as a "legitimate revolution".
Among the 38 officers who overthrew Adnan Menderes, who would later be sentenced to death, was Colonel Alparslan Türkeş . However, he fell out with the Committee of National Unity and was expelled from the circle with 13 other officers, as he and his comrades-in-arms insisted that Turkey initially needed a four-year military government in order to be reformed. However, since the group around Cemal Madanoğlu was in the majority, who wanted to give power back to the civilian population as soon as possible, Cemal Gürsel ruled - encouraged by İsmet İnönü - with a coup in a coup and dismissed the 14 radicals.
During the coup, not only leading politicians and functionaries of the DP, but also the chief of staff were arrested by the putschists and brought to justice. A high court was established, the members of which were appointed by the MBK, and which carried out the Yassıada trials against a total of 592 people.
The junta government said the coup was due to the laws and practices passed by the Menderes government. They claimed the coup was carried out to prevent civil war and stop practices that violated the principle of secularism. In addition, some officers believed that the DP's power threatened the Kemalist and secular regime. So much so that it became clear in a speech by Menderes in the Democratic Party group: "You can even bring the caliphate back if you want". This made it clear that he intended to refer to the secular republic. Aside from these, there are sources claiming that the coup was carried out to give power to traditional elite power groups (army and political bureaucracy).
It is stated that the climate of an economic crisis, which can be counted in the initial stages, is one of the factors of the coup. One of the official reasons for the uprising was the accusation that the DP had campaigned for regionalism in favor of the Kurds through Kurdish tribal leaders and sheikhs in its ranks .
On September 29, 1960, the DP was decided by a court order, inter alia. banned on the grounds that she had violated her own party program.
With Law No. 1 of June 12, 1960, the military government was established in 1960/1961. Along with Law No. 157, it formed the basis for the military government in Turkey in 1960/1961. The 1924 constitution was repealed.
As a result, a new constitution was drawn up and passed, which is still considered the most democratic constitution in Turkey today, as it expressly committed itself to human rights. The new constitution followed the military's idea of a perfect constitutional state with a consistent separation of powers. This gave up the unity of power in the 1924 constitution. The judiciary became completely independent, as legislative interference in the judiciary was one of the triggers of the revolution. A constitutional court was also set up. The Constitutional Court Act was passed on April 22, 1962. This was the first time that laws were to be checked for their constitutionality. Legislative and executive branches were separated from each other and the executive branch was placed under the control of the legislature. The parliament was transformed into a bicameral system, consisting of the National Assembly (Millet Meclisi) and the Senate of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Senatosu). Furthermore, majority voting for the National Assembly was abolished and replaced by proportional representation. The Senate was elected according to the principle of majority voting. To ensure the independence of the judiciary, a High Council of Judges (Articles 143 and 144 of the Turkish Constitution of 1961) and a High Council of Prosecutors (Article 137 of the Turkish Constitution of 1961) were established.
The new constitution was adopted by referendum on July 9, 1961 and entered into force when it was promulgated in the Official Gazette on July 20, 1961. The first elections to the National Assembly and the Senate of the Republic were then held on October 15, 1961. The Republican People's Party (CHP) won a majority in the National Assembly and the Justice Party (AP) a majority in the Senate. Both parties then formed a coalition government with İsmet İnönü as prime minister. Cemal Gürsel was elected President on October 26th, 1961 after a group within the military had signed the "October 21st Protocol".
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] (Turkish), accessed April 24, 2020.
- ↑ [2] , accessed on March 2, 2020.
- ↑ [3] (Turkish), accessed April 24, 2020.
- ↑ [4] , accessed on February 28, 2020.
- ↑ [5] , accessed on March 2, 2020.
- ↑ [6] , accessed on March 6, 2020.
- ↑ Martin Strohmeier, Lale Yalçın-Heckmann: Die Kurden , CHBeck Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-406-42129-6 , p. 103.