Military coup in Turkey in 1980

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The 1980 military coup in Turkey was the third military coup in Turkish history . It was conducted on September 12, 1980 under the direction of the Chief of Staff, Kenan Evren .

prehistory

In 1975 the chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Bülent Ecevit , was replaced by the chairman of the Justice Party (AP), Süleyman Demirel , in the post of Prime Minister . Demirel formed a three-party coalition of the “National Front” with the Islamist-oriented National Salvation Party (MSP) and the nationalist Party of the Nationalist Movement (MHP). In the new elections in 1977, neither the CHP nor the AP were able to prevail. First, Demirel was able to continue his "National Front". In 1978 Ecevit, now strengthened by party changes, succeeded in overthrowing the coalition and forming a coalition government itself. In 1979 Demirel came to power again.

Life in the Republic of Turkey at the end of the 1970s was characterized by a lack of political stability, unresolved economic and social problems, strikes and violence by left and right-wing extremist groups. In the economy, there was a trade deficit of around $ 5 billion. At the end of 1980 Turkey had a foreign debt of 20.9 billion US dollars, the inflation rate rose to over 100%, and the unemployment rate was around 15 percent. Most of the agricultural products (cotton, tobacco, grain, fruits) found lower sales on the world market. Much of the foreign currency came through remittances from foreign workers and amounted to around 1.9 billion US dollars in 1980 (1979: 1.7 billion US dollars).

Politicians and security forces seemed unable to curb the violence in the country. More than 5,000 people fell victim to the struggles between “left” and “right”, but also within left groups that took on civil war-like features. Various sources provide the following information: According to the Turkish intelligence service MIT , 70% of the murders are said to have been committed by the left and 30% of the murders by the right. The military also blamed left-wing organizations for the violence. In the central case against the organization Devrimci Yol ( Revolutionary Way ) before the military court in Ankara, the defendants gave more precise figures in their defense: According to this, 5,388 political murders were committed. Among the victims were 1,296 "right-wing" and 2,109 "left wing", as well as 281 security officers. The other murders could not be clearly assigned. The journalist Uğur Mumcu presented figures for the start of the conflict, finding 23 left and 7 right among 31 victims in 1975 and 60 left and 27 right among 87 victims in 1976.

On December 27, 1979, the General Staff gave the President a memorandum . In it, the parties were admonished to take joint measures and emphasized that the armed forces were obliged to defend the republic.

In a greeting on a public holiday, Chief of Staff Kenan Evren castigated anarchist actions:

“The traitors to the fatherland [...] who want to destroy the democratic order and unity of the fatherland will receive their deserved punishment. Much like those who dared to raise their heads earlier in our history, they will be crushed under the crushing fist of the Turkish armed forces and drown in the sins of the shed fraternal blood. The sublime Turkish nation will continue to celebrate many holidays happily for all eternity under the security that the Turkish Armed Forces, which sprung from their lap, have created. "

Significant events before the coup

On February 11, 1980, government soldiers and gendarmerie were used against militant workers who had occupied them for a month on a factory site in Çiğli in the province of Izmir. Then 1,500 workers are arrested. On February 16, 1980, seven police officers were killed and five injured in clashes with left-wing extremists in the village of giltepe . There are 266 arrests. On February 28, 1980, General Nevzat Bölügiray declared that there was "an undeclared civil war in Turkey". On March 1, 1980, 1,500 workers in an illegally occupied textile factory in Istanbul were arrested by the security forces in protest at the dismissal of 500 employees. On March 28, 1980, a supporter of the Marxist militant Devrimci Sol killed the MIT intelligence officer Ahmet Öztürk in the Feriköy district of Istanbul. On May 27, 1980, the former minister and MHP politician Gün Sazak was shot dead in Ankara by members of the Devrimci Sol . On July 19, 1980, former Prime Minister Nihat Erim was killed in an attack in Istanbul. On July 4, 1980, radical Sunni Muslims carried out a massacre against the Alevis in Çorum province ( Çorum pogrom ). 57 people are killed and more than 200 injured. On July 22, 1980, Kemal Türkler , the first president of the trade union federation Türkiye Devrimci İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu ( DİSK ) and also one of the founders of the Turkish Workers' Party (Türkiye İşçi Partisi, TİP) was shot in the Merter district of Istanbul .

Coup

On September 12, 1980, the military seized power for the third time. At 11:00 p.m. the coup began as part of an "Operation to protect and secure the Republic" under Article 35 of the "Internal Service Law of the Turkish Armed Forces" on the duty of the armed forces to protect and secure the Turkish homeland and the Republic of Turkey, as stated in the constitution. The armed forces began sending tanks and troop transports to the capital, Ankara, and occupied key positions. The national television and radio building was occupied. Guards were posted in front of the party buildings of the political parties. At 3:15 a.m., former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit announced by phone that his house was surrounded by military vehicles. At 4:15 a.m., the coup leader's chief of staff, Kenan Evren, announced the dismissal of Suleyman Demirel's government , declared martial law on the country and banned all political parties.

The military junta named the reasons for the coup: protecting the unity of the country, securing national unity and community, preventing civil war and fratricide, and restoring state authority. The armed forces feared a similar development in the country as the Islamic Revolution in Iran or a civil war like in Lebanon . The government was removed from office, trade unions, associations and foundations were banned and their officials were brought to justice.

National Security Council

With the takeover of power, a military junta from the General Staff took the lead in the state as the National Security Council (NSR). In addition to Chief of Staff Kenan Evren as chairman, General Nurettin Ersin ( Army ), General Tahsin Şahinkaya ( Air Force ), Admiral Nejat Tümer ( Navy ) and General Sedat Celasun ( Gendarmerie ) belonged to it. General Secretary of the NSC and the Presidential Office (Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanlığı Genel Sekreterleri) was General Ali Haydar Saltık .

The National Security Council declared that the 1961 constitution was only valid in those parts to which the NSR did not provide any contrary provisions (decrees, edicts).

New government 1980

On September 20, 1980, the former naval commander, Admiral Bülend Ulusu , was appointed the new head of government. His deputy was Turgut Özal , who was responsible for the country's economy. In a government program, constitutional reform, the restoration of law and order, the fight against terrorism and a reduction in inflation were announced as domestic political goals.

Constitutional amendment through referendum in 1982

With Law 2485 of June 29, 1981, a Consultative Assembly (Danışma Meclisi) was established. 40 members were directly appointed by the NSC and the other 120 members were proposed by governors, but were again appointed by the NSC. The primary task of the Consultative Assembly was to draw up a constitution. The NSR was able to overrule proposals from the assembly.

The decisive measures for the period after the military dictatorship included 15 so-called transitional articles in the constitution, some of which remained in force for decades. On the one hand, with the vote on the constitution, the junta leader Kenan Evren was appointed president with enhanced rights for the next seven years . Politicians who had been active before the coup were banned from active political activity for a period of five or ten years, depending on the level of activity. The old parties were also not allowed to be re-established. The laws passed under the military dictatorship could not be challenged as unconstitutional, and the members of the junta could not be charged for their practices. However, the latter was changed in the constitution through a referendum in September 2010 .

On November 7, 1982, the new constitution presented by the military was passed in a referendum with around 91% of the votes, whereby voting was mandatory and prior discussion was prohibited. Kenan Evren was named president on November 9, 1982.

At the later constitutional referendum in 2010 , around 57% of voters spoke out in favor of far-reaching constitutional reform, which, among other things, should further restrict the power of the military. At the suggestion of the opposition CHP, paragraphs in the constitution that guaranteed the coup plotters immunity were also deleted. Since the Erdogan government refused to change the statute of limitations, it is unclear what will become of numerous reports against the coup plotters. No one has yet been arrested or charged with the coup. The numerous arrests of Turkish officers before and after the referendum are related to recent allegations and have nothing to do with the coup or the referendum. The European Union praised the referendum as a step in the right direction.

First parliamentary elections after the coup

The military intervened decisively in the establishment of new parties. The Great Turkey Party , which was apparently intended to be a continuation of Suleyman Demirel's AP, was banned shortly after it was founded and 16 politicians were sent into exile in Çanakkale . Of the 73 founders of the Great Task Party , 62 were vetoed. In doing so, it missed the norm of 30 founders and could not even be founded. The Populist Party under Necdet Calp later united with the Sosyal Demokrasi Partisi ( Party of Social Democracy , SODEP). The politicians around Demirel founded the Doğru Yol Partisi ( Party of the Right Path , DYP).

The greatest prospects were given to the Nationalist Democracy Party founded by the generals under the retired General Turgut Sunalp , but then the Anavatan Partisi ( Motherland Party , ANAP) under Turgut Özal , which included technocrats , conservatives and also Islamist circles, made in the parliamentary election on November 6, 1983 the race. The largest opposition party was the newly founded Kemalist Halkçı Parti (Populist Party).

Consequences of the coup

Wave of arrests, death sentences, torture

In March 1981 the Constitutional Court published a report according to which around 45,000 people had been arrested since September 12, 1980. Of these, 13,000 people were charged and 18 death sentences passed. In a military court case against 587 members and sympathizers of the Millî Selamet Partisi (MSP), the military prosecutor demanded the death penalty for 250 accused in early May 1981 .

In further mass trials, negotiations against Kurds, communist trade unionists and 425 members of the Marxist-socialist Devrimci Sol are ongoing at the end of August 1981 .

The military tried to depoliticize Turkish society through purges in state institutions. 30,000 people are said to have been affected.

After the coup, thousands of political prisoners were tortured and sentenced to death. A message in Cumhuriyet September 12, 1990 speaks of 650,000 political arrests, 7,000 applied for, 571 penalties and 50 executions carried out death sentences and the proven death by torture in 171 cases. Amnesty International cites 47 documented deaths under torture (40 of which were admitted by the Turkish government at the time) and a further 159 cases in which the suspicion of torture as the cause of death could not be dispelled. The PKK had already partially withdrawn from eastern Turkey to Lebanon a year earlier , and after the coup all groups were called abroad. Turkish opposition groups also went into exile, most of them to Europe.

Stricter laws

During the period of the military dictatorship, officially known as a transitional regime, not only was a restrictive constitution passed, but an attempt to reorganize society was undertaken with a wealth of laws. In November 2005, Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek spoke of the need to change the 669 laws and 139 resolutions with legal force (KHK = Kanun Hükmünde Kararname) as part of the adaptation to the EU (see also the message in Zaman of 7 August 2005 ).

The main legislative changes between September 12, 1980 and December 6, 1983 include: the Political Parties Act, the Election Act with a ten percent hurdle, the Trade Union Act, the Association Act, the Law on Demonstrations and Rallies, the University Act and the Language Prohibition Act. Although this law, enacted on October 22, 1983, primarily against the use of the Kurdish language , was abolished in April 1991 with Act 3713 on Combating Terrorism (the so-called Anti-Terrorism Act), the Political Parties Act still contains (early 2007) Provisions that prohibit politicians from using the Kurdish language in their work.

The proceedings against the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK) alone had 1,477 defendants when the verdict was pronounced before the military court in Istanbul in 1986.

Balance of the coup

Source: Cumhuriyet September 12, 2000

  • The parliament was dissolved.
  • All political parties were banned and their assets were confiscated.
  • 650,000 people were arrested.
  • 1,683,000 people were registered with the police.
  • 230,000 people were brought to justice in 210,000 trials.
  • The death penalty was called for for 7,000 people . Of these, 517 people were sentenced to death. In 50 people this was carried out by hanging . These were 19 left-wing and 8 right-wing extremists convicted of the murder of civil servants, and 12 criminals accused of serious crimes without a political background.
  • 71,000 people were tried for offenses of opinion.
  • 98,404 people were tried as “supporters of illegal organizations”.
  • 388,000 people were denied passports.
  • 30,000 people have been fired for being "suspicious".
  • 14,000 people were released from citizenship.
  • 30,000 people fled abroad.
  • 300 people were murdered by unknown perpetrators.
  • 171 people died under torture.
  • 937 films were banned.
  • 23,677 clubs were closed.
  • 3,854 teachers, 120 university lecturers and 47 judges were fired.
  • The publication of the newspapers was prevented for a total of 300 days.
  • 13 major newspapers were tried 303 times.
  • 39 newspapers and magazines were burned.
  • 133,607 books were burned.
  • 299 people died in prison.
  • 14 people died on the death fast.
  • 160 people died under suspicious circumstances.
  • 95 people were shot in an exchange of fire.
  • 73 people died of natural causes in police custody.
  • 43 people committed suicide while in police custody.

Support from NATO and the USA

The thesis that the coup was supported by NATO and the USA is based on three arguments: Within the framework of the OECD , various NATO countries provided extensive military and economic aid to Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1979 and 1982, OECD countries raised $ 4 billion in economic aid. In addition, Turkey received extensive military aid before and after the military coup. The end of 1981 a Turkish-American Defense Council was established, with the United States the deployment of special forces rapid reaction force would particularly accelerate (Rapid Deployment Force = RDF) in eastern Anatolia. Above all, however, the thesis is based on the way in which US President Jimmy Carter is said to have received the message of the coup. In his book 12 Eylül - Saat 4 (September 12, 4 a.m.), Mehmet Ali Birand describes that Paul Henze (1924–2011), as advisor to the National Security Council in the USA and former chief of staff at the CIA branch in Ankara, was the president Carter brought the news of the coup with the words “Our boys did it!” (“Our boys (in Ankara) did it”). After the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016 , Can Dündar implicitly contradicted this story. According to this, a diplomat who informed CIA Turkey chief Paul Henze about the coup at the time is said to have said, assuming US participation: “Your boys have done it.” This sentence is “in Turkey will not be forgotten ”.

Significance for the Federal Republic of Germany

The following important information is missing from this article or section:
There are no effects on the German policy on foreigners, as well as German-Turkish relations after the coup
Help Wikipedia by researching and pasting it .

After the Turkish labor migration in the 1960s and 1970s, the coup brought about a second large wave of immigration in the Federal Republic of Germany, now numerous Turkish opponents of the regime. This immigration had a strong impact on the demographic structure of the Turks living in Germany. Political refugees now joined the large group of migrant workers to a far greater extent than in a military coup on March 12, 1971 . About 60,000 of them, including a large proportion Kurds (about two thirds), settled permanently in the Federal Republic.

Web links

English :

Turkish :

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amnesty international: Turkey - Die denied Menschenrechte, Bonn November 1988, ISBN 3-89290-016-7 , p. 9.
  2. ↑ M. Ali Birand. 12 Eylül. Saat 4:00 (September 12, 4:00 am). Istanbul 1984, p. 76.
  3. ↑ Kenan Evren'in Anıları (Memoirs of Kenan Evren). Istanbul 1990, pp. 311-319.
  4. ↑ Devrimci Yol Savunması (Defense of the Revolutionary Way). Ankara, January 1989, pp. 118-119.
  5. ↑ Cumhuriyet daily newspaper, September 14, 1990.
  6. ↑ Memorandum of the Armed Forces in Turkish , accessed on August 19, 2007.
  7. ^ General Evrens' greeting message on Victory Day in Turkish , accessed on August 19, 2007.
  8. ↑ aparchive.com
  9. ^ Metin Heper, Nur Bilge Criss: Historical Dictionary of Turkey . Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland 2009, ISBN 978-0-8108-6065-0 , pp. xxxix (American English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
  10. ↑ cumhuriyetarsivi.com
  11. ↑ kapsamhaber.com
  12. ↑ Nihat Erim (1912) - (July 19, 1980). Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Eski Başbakanı. In: byografi.net. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 (Turkish): "19 Temmuz 1980 tarihinde İstanbul'da silahlı saldırı sonucu öldürüldü."
  13. ↑ From Declaration No. 1: www.belgenet.com/12eylul/12091980_01.html
  14. ↑ Kemal Gözler , Türk Anayasa Hukuku (Turkish Constitutional Law), Bursa, Ekin Kitabevi Yayınları, 2000, pp. 93-103.
  15. ↑ ath: Brochure “Militaries in Power”, Herford, August 1, 1983, p. 21.
  16. ^ Constitutional reform in Turkey - Die Welt des General Evren , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, accessed on September 15, 2010.
  17. ↑ Christian Rumpf : The Turkish constitutional system: Introduction with the complete constitutional text . Harrassowitz , Wiesbaden 1996, ISBN 3-447-03831-4 , pp. 92 ( online at Google [accessed June 17, 2013]).
  18. ↑ Jan Keetman: Turkey: Attack on the last bastions of the Kemalists . In: The press . September 9, 2010.
  19. ↑ ath: Brochure “Militaries in Power”, Herford, August 1, 1983, p. 22.
  20. ↑ cf. Cumhuriyet, September 12, 1990, accessed from www.belgenet.com
  21. ↑ Amnesty International, TURKEY: TORTURE AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY, AI Index: EUR 44/38/89, April 18, 1989.
  22. ↑ Law No. 2932 of October 19, 1983 on publications in languages ​​other than Turkish, RG No. 18199 of October 22, 1983.
  23. ↑ Amnesty international: Turkey - Die denied Menschenrechte, Bonn November 1988, ISBN 3-89290-016-7 , p. 11.
  24. ↑ alternative turkey aid, the military in power, Herford, August 1983, p. 11.
  25. ↑ A list of the aid provided by the USA
  26. ↑ see: Ece Temelkuran : Euphoria and melancholy. Turkey in search of itself, Hamburg 2015.
  27. ↑ cf. Zaman . June 14, 2006.
  28. ^ Paul B. Henze, former CIA and national security specialist, dies at 86 , Washington Post, June 2, 2011.
  29. ↑ Nikolaus Brauns : The NATO Putsch , September 11, 2010.
  30. ↑ Can Dündar : Farewell to America , Die Zeit, August 6, 2016.
  31. ↑ Politics and teaching: “Turks with us” , Issue 3/2000, Ed .: LpB
  32. ↑ Nedim Hazar: "The Pages of the Saz in Germany". In: Aytaç Eryılmaz, Mathilde Jamin (Hrsg.): Foreign home: A history of immigration. Klartext, Essen / DOMiT , 1998, ISBN 3-88474-653-7 .
  33. ↑ Giyas Sayan: Kurdish immigration, especially to Berlin. In: Hassan Mohamed-Ali, Gülnür Polat, Ismet Topal u. a .: Kurds in Berlin . GNN-Verlag, Berlin 1999.