1980 Turkish coup d'état: Difference between revisions

| caption = Daily newspaper ''[[Hürriyet]] newspaper''{{'}}s headline on September 12, September 1980: "The army has seized the government."

| combatant1 = * [[National Security Council (Turkey, 1980)|National Security Council]]

** [[Turkish Armed Forces]]

| combatant2 = * [[Government of Turkey]] <br/>

* [[Opposition (politics)|Opposition of Turkey]]

| commander1 = *[[Kenan Evren]] <br/> [[Nurettin Ersin]] <br/> [[Tahsin Şahinkaya]] <br/> [[Nejat Tümer]]<br/> [[Sedat Celasun]]

The '''1980 Turkish coup d'état''' ({{lang-tr|12 Eylül Darbesi|lit=September 12 coup d'état}}), headed by [[Chief of the Turkish General Staff|Chief of the General Staff]] [[Kenan Evren|General Kenan Evren]], was the third [[coup d'état]] in the [[history of the Republic of Turkey]], the previous having been the [[1960 Turkish coup d'état|1960 coup]] and the [[1971 Turkish military memorandum|1971 coup by memorandum]].

During the [[Cold War]] era, Turkey saw [[political violence in Turkey (1976–1980)|political violence (1976–1980)]] between the [[far-left politics|far-left]], the [[far-right politics|far-right]] ([[Grey Wolves (organization)|Grey Wolves]]), the [[Islamism in Turkey|Islamist]] militant groups, and the state.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zürcher|first=Erik J.|title=Turkey A Modern History, Revised Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qaC24BFy4JQC&pg=PA263|year=2004|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-85043-399-6|page=263}}</ref><ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Ganser|2005|p=235}}: Colonel Talat Turhan accused the United States for having fuelled the brutality from which Turkey suffered in the 1970s by setting up the Special Warfare Department, the Counter-Guerrilla secret army and the MIT and training them according to FM 30–31</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Hot Money and the Politics of Debt|year=2004|first=Robert T|last=Naylor|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|isbn=978-0-7735-2743-0|edition=3E|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78UhNfUIFC8C&pg=PA94|quote=The fact that militias of all political tendencies seemed to be buying their arsenals from the same sources pointed to the possibility of a deliberate orchestration of the violence – of the sort P2 had attempted in Italy a few years earlier – to prepare the psychological climate for a military coup.|page=94| access-date= 10 June 2010 }}</ref> The violence saw a sharp downturn for a period after the coup, which was welcomed by some for restoring order<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.stargazete.com/gazete/yazar/savci-ergenekon-u-kenan-evren-e-sormali-asil-113287.htm|access-date=21 October 2008|title=Savcı, Ergenekon'u Kenan Evren'e sormalı asıl!|work=Star Gazetesi|first=Aziz|last=Ustel|date=14 July 2008|language=tr|quote=Ve 13 Eylül 1980’de Türkiye’yi on yıla yakın bir süredir kasıp kavuran terör ve adam öldürmeler bıçakla kesilir gibi kesildi.}}</ref> by quickly executing 50 people and arresting 500,000, of which hundreds would die in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2013/02/02/erdogan-and-his-generals|title=Turkey and its army: Erdogan and his generals|publisher=The Economist|date=2 February 2013}}</ref>

For the next three years the [[Turkish Armed Forces]] ruled the country through the [[National Security Council (Turkey)|National Security Council]], before democracy was restored with the [[1983 Turkish general election]].<ref name="AI">[[Amnesty International]], ''Turkey: Human Rights Denied'', London, November 1988, AI Index: EUR/44/65/88, {{ISBN|978-0-86210-156-5}}, pg. 1.</ref> This period saw an intensification of the [[Turkish nationalism]] of the state, including banning the [[Kurdish language]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2017/07/10/turkey-s-kurdish-conflict-and-retreat-from-democracy-pub-71453|title = Turkey's Kurdish Conflict and Retreat from Democracy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/10/pkk.profile/index.html |title = PKK's decades of violent struggle - CNN.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/turkey-s-dtp-says-1980-coup-waged-cultural-genocide-on-kurds-10172187|title = Turkey's DTP says 1980 coup waged "cultural genocide" on Kurds| date=21 October 2008 }}</ref> Turkey partially returned to democracy in 1983 and fully in 1989.

Istanbul was served by three military mayors between 1980 and 1984. They renamed the leftist shantytowns changing names like "1 Mayıs Mahallesi" (Eng.: "[[Labour Day|1st of May]] Neighborhood") to "Mustafa Kemal Mahallesi" (Eng.: "Mustafa Kemal Neighborhood"), as a symbol of the military rule.<ref name=murat/>

One of the coup's most visible effects was on the economy. On the day of the coup, it was on the verge of collapse, with three triple-digit inflation. There was large-scale unemployment, and a chronic foreign trade deficit. The economic changes between 1980 and 1983 were credited to [[Turgut Özal]], whoIn was1979, Özal became an undersecretary in Demirel's minority government until the maincoup. personAs responsiblean undersecretary, he played a major role in developing economic reforms, known as the 24 January decisions, which paved the way for greater [[neoliberalism]] in the economicTurkish policyeconomy. byAfter the Demirelcoup, administrationhe sincewas 24appointed January[[Deputy 1980Prime Minister of Turkey]] responsible for the economy in Ulusu's government and continued to implement economic reforms. Özal supported the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], and to this end he forced the resignation of the director of the [[Central Bank (Turkey)|Central Bank]], İsmail Aydınoğlu, who opposed it.

After the [[2010 Turkish constitutional referendum|2010 constitutional referendum]], an investigation was started regarding the coup, and in June 2011, the Specially Authorized Ankara Deputy Prosecutor's Office asked ex-prosecutor {{ill|Sacit Kayasu|tr}} to forward a copy of an indictment he had prepared for Kenan Evren. Kayasu had previously been fired for trying to indict Evren in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Today's Zaman]] |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-245967-ankara-prosecutors-to-examine-kayasus-indictment-against-coup-leader-evren.html |title=Ankara prosecutors to examine Kayasu's indictment against coup leader Evren |access-date=12 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609002014/http://www.todayszaman.com/news-245967-ankara-prosecutors-to-examine-kayasus-indictment-against-coup-leader-evren.html |archive-date=9 June 2011 }}</ref>

==Allegations of USthe U.S. involvement==

MichaelThere Butterhave arguedbeen that outside of some anecdotes, there was no proofallegations of American involvement.<ref>{{Cite bookin |last=Butterthe |first=Michael |url=https://bookscoup.google.com/books?id=F5IBEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT60 |title=The Nature of Conspiracy Theories |date=2020-10-06 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-5095-4083-9 |pages=60 |language=en}}</ref> The involvementInvolvement was alleged to have been acknowledged by the CIA Ankara [[station chief]] [[Paul B. Henze]]. In his 1986 book "''12 Eylül: saat 04.00"'' journalist [[Mehmet Ali Birand]] wrote that after the government was overthrown, Henze cabled Washington, saying, "our boys did it."<ref>{{Cite book|title=12 eylül: saat 04.00|last=Birand|first=Mehmet Ali|pages=1}}</ref> On a June 2003 interview to Zaman, Henze denied American involvement stating "I did not say to Carter "'Our boys did it."' It is totally a tale, a myth, Itit is something Birand fabricated. He knows it, too. I talked to him about it".<ref>“''Başkan Carter’a 'Bizim çocuklar bu işi başardı' demedim. Bu tümüyle bir efsane, bir mit. Gazeteci Mehmet Ali Birand’ın uydurmuş olduğu bir şey. O da biliyor bunu. Bu konuda kendisiyle de konuştum zaten''.” – '''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090614055702/http://arsiv.zaman.com.tr/2003/06/12/politika/h1.htm Paul Henze: ‘Bizim çocuklar işi başardı’ sözünü Birand uydurdu]''' – by Ibrahim Balta. [[Zaman (newspaper)|Zaman]] 12 June 2003</ref> Two days later Birand replied on [[CNN Türk]]'s ''Manşet'' by saying "It is impossible for me to have fabricated it, the American support to the coup and the atmosphere in Washington was in the same direction. Henze narrated me these words despite he now denies it"<ref>"''Mehmet Ali Birand, bu sözlere ‘'Bu şekilde uydurmama imkan yok. 12 Eylül'e ABD'nin verdiği destek ve Washington'daki hava da aynı yöndeydi. Sonradan reddetmesine rağmen Henze bana bu sözleri söyledi'’ diye karşılık verdi.''" – [http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/paul-henze-bizim-cocuklar-yapti-demis-153106 Paul Henze ‘Bizim çocuklar yaptı’ demiş] – [[Hürriyet]], 14 June 2003.</ref> and presented the footage of an interview with Henze recorded in 1997 according to which another diplomat rather than Henze informed the president, saying "Boys in Ankara did it."<ref name=":1">"''Kasete göre, Başkan Carter’a Ankara’daki darbeyi haber veren Henze değil, başka bir diplomat. Ancak olayı Birand’a anlatan Henze, "Ankara’daki çocuklar başardı". şeklindeki mesajın Carter’a iletildiğini anlatıyor''." – [https://web.archive.org/web/20060511070609/http://arsiv.zaman.com.tr/2003/06/14/haberler/h2.htm "'''Birand’dan Paul Henze’ye ‘sesli–görüntülü’ yalanlama'''" Zaman gazetesi 14.06.2003 İbrahim Balta]</ref> However, according to the same interview, Henze, the CIA and the Pentagon did not know about the coup beforehand.<ref name=":1" /> Some Turkish media sources reported it as "Henze indeed said Our boys did it",<ref>[http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/paul-henze-bizim-cocuklar-yapti-demis-153106 Paul Henze ‘Bizim çocuklar yaptı’ demiş] – [[Hürriyet]] 14 June 2013</ref> while others simply called the statement an [[urban legend]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering an Atatürkist coup |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/mustafa-akyol/remembering-an-ataturkist-coup-29898 |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |date=11 September 2012 |language=en}}</ref>

* 1998 – ''{{ill|Gülün Bittiği Yer|tr}}'' ({{ill|İsmail Güneş (director)|lt=İsmail Güneş|hy|Իսմայիլ Գյունեշ|ru|Гюнеш, Исмаил|tr|İsmail Güneş (yönetmen)}})

* 2007 – ''[[:tr:{{ill|Zincirbozan (film)|lt=Zincirbozan]]|tr}}'' <!-- name conflict with [[Zincirbozan]] --> ([[Atıl İnaç]])

* 2010 – ''[[September 12 (film)|September 12]]'' (Özlem Sulak)

* 2015 – ''{{ill|Bizim Hikaye (film)|lt=Bizim Hikaye|tr|Bizim Hikaye (film)}}''

* [[Sexen]], [[Censored Inc. (Album, 2009)]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20100606085726/http://www.censoredinc.com/ Listen]

[[Category:1980 crimes in Turkey|Coup d'etat]]

[[Category:September 1980 events in EuropeAsia]]

[[Category:MassacresMilitary inhistory Turkeyof Ankara]]