May 27, 1960 was a milestone in modern Turkish history. It was the day when military interventions in Turkish domestic politics became a rule rather than an oddity.
The military overthrew the popularly elected government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and eventually hanged him and two other ministers, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Hasan Polatkan.
President Celal Bayar and several other ranking state officials barely avoided the gallows due to old age… After May 27 the stage was set for more military interventions like the coup by communiqué of 1971, the military takeover of September 1980 and the Feb. 28, 1997 post modern coup. After that there is the failed military coup attempts of 2004 that led to the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer convictions and the 2007 "e-coup" to prevent the election of Abdullah Gül as president. Last but not least we are now confronted with a new type of coup that is civilian instigated and aimed to topple Erdoğan through the use of the police force and some prosecutors.
In the 1960 coup the junta was applauded by certain circles in Turkey. The same circles rejoiced the 1971 coup as well. They were back applauding the coup leaders in 1980. All the coups set the clocks back for Turkey several decades and the losses for our country was massive. Yet, the West only applauded the coups and paid lip service to the coup leaders.
But the will of the Turkish people always pushed the coup leaders to return power to civilians but in a semidemocratic environment which led the Western press to label our system a military democracy.
In 2002 the Turkish people said "enough is enough" and brought the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to power in a silent people's revolution and then never allowed the military or anyone else to play the "coup" card again. But it was and still is a tough struggle.
Those who are used to the old system of plunder and the rule of the elite simply do not want to give up and some circles in the West who feel Erdoğan is "too much to handle" are supporting them. Even today we are seeing this struggle in process with Erdoğan holding on with the often repeated mandates given to him by the Turkish people.
It is hard but still necessary that Erdoğan and his people maintain their calm and handle this struggle with great sensitivity without blowing their tops off. Erdoğan owes this to the Turkish masses who have and still display great affection for him.
Turks should never forget what coups and juntas have done to our country and should never forgive those who have actually and actively participated in moves to topple Erdoğan since 2002. That includes the perpetrators of the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer plots.
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.