TÜRK SİYASETİ - Deneme Sınavı - 6

The February 28 military memorandum created a big trauma in large segments of society. For example, thousands of girls were forced to leave their schools because they were veiling. Vocational high school students were exposed to discrimination through the coefficient system; so many students could not enter faculties for many years. A large number of people were judged and sent to prison with the accusation of their reactionary activities. Some people lost their jobs and professions. On February 28, the military did not make a usual coup. However, politicians were forced to act in the direction of the army’s demands. They changed the elected government and intervened directly into politics without directly taking control of the country. For this reason, the February 28th Process was called the “postmodern coup”. Therefore, the correct option is B.

One of the most significant changes made in the military field was the abolition of the Janissary corps in 1829. Sultan Mahmud II wanted to make a drastic reform in the military area. The Sultan explained that he would build a new army to be trained and organized in the direction of modern techniques. Mahmud II declared that he would not remove the Janissary corps, but that the janissaries would be present in the new army with a certain amount of troops. When this decision was announced, the janissaries launched a great rebellion. The military units affiliated with the palace who took advantage of the new war technology opened fire on the janissaries. Many janissaries lost their lives in this attempt of rebellion, and the rest of them surrendered or fled. This event, known as Vakayı Hayriye, enabled the Ottoman Empire to get rid of the last traces of the traditional military system (Lewis, 1998, p. 81). A new army was established by Sultan Mahmud II under the name of Asakar-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. Thus, the Ottoman state formed a completely “modern” army system.

The Karakol Society Also known as Sentinel Association was a secret and unofficial intelligence organization established after the occupation of İstanbul. Talat Pasha ordered the establishment of the organization. Its founders were Kara Kemal Bey and Kara Vasıf Bey. The society was called “kara-kol”; because the nicknames of both founders are “kara”. Karakol organized the soldiers and secretly carried weapons in Anatolia during the War of Independence. In addition, the members of the Karakol Society organized the first resistance organizations in different parts of Anatolia. This society is regarded as one of the constituents of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı-MİT).

After the Second World War, the world was divided into two political poles. One of the poles consisted of liberal-capitalist countries led by the United States while the other block composed of communist countries led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). That time, Turkey preferred to develop close relations with the Western world. Turkey, for example, became a member of the newly established United Nations. As a result of this preference, Turkey’s transition to multiparty politics was required. For this reason, in 1945, the establishment of new parties was allowed. The most powerful party established during this period was the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti-DP). The four founders of the party, Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes, Refik Koraltan and Fuat Köprülü, were members of the Parliament as the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi-CHP) deputies. In other words, the opposition was born in the CHP itself.

The 1950 elections were held in accordance with universal standards. The 1950 elections were much more democratic than the previous one. According to the election results, the opposition party DP reached the majority of the seats in parliament. Thus, for the first time after the establishment of the Republic, a party apart from the CHP formed the government.

Although there were a large number of young officers in the coup, their positions were not clear. Because the coup was not achieved in a chain of command, a serious confusion arose on managing the post-coup period. For this reason, the architects of the coup formed a commission which was called the National Unity Committee (Milli Birlik Komitesi). The National Unity Committee consisted of 38 officers and most of them were colonels and lower ranking military officers. The National Unity Committee had the authority to make regulations through which the power was effectively centred in the committee. In a short time, the National Unity Committee banned all political activities within the country, and lots of people were arrested. After the coup, most of the high ranking military officers who had served in the DP government were retired. There were 235 generals and admirals among almost 5,000 military officers who were retired. Only twenty generals remained in the army (Özdağ, 1997, p. 307). This has also ruined the hierarchy in the army. It was mentioned that most of the National Unity Committee members were officers in lower ranks. These officers were ordering their commanders, who were at the higher ranks. Within a short period of time, disagreements emerged within the National Unity Committee. More precisely, conflicting political views of the committee members who had acted together to achieve the coup d’etat emerged. The National Unity Committee composed of officials who were predominantly pro-Republican People’s Party. These officers wanted to act with the CHP leader İsmet İnönü. On the contrary, another group consisting of 14 people had nationalist tendencies. This group which was led by Alparslan Türkeş was against not only the DP but also the CHP. The power struggle between these two groups resulted in the removal of these 14 officers one of whom was Türkeş. They were given foreign missions and, through this way were distanced from the country. Thus, the National Unity Committee could have a more homogeneous character.

The National Unity Committee began its attempts to draft a new constitution on the grounds that the current 1924 Constitution did not fit the needs of the country. To this end, a “constitutional commission” was established by the National Unity Committee in March 1961, the Commission issued a draft constitution immediately. The Constitution was presented to the people on July 9, 1961, after being adopted by the constituent assembly. The 1961 Constitution was accepted by 38.3% of “no” votes vs. 61.7% of “yes” votes.

The 1971 Memorandum did not provide political stability in Turkey. On the contrary, it caused many political crises. The Nihat Erim government resigned in about nine months. President Cevdet Sunay gave Nihat Erim the task of establishing a new government. However, the life of this government was also about four months. Then, Sunay gave Suat Hayri Ürgüplü the duty to establish a new government. However, the president did not approve the list of the Council of Ministers presented by Ürgüplü. Ferit Melen was then assigned as the prime minister. So, in Turkey, a process in which politically neutral governments were at work. But these governments were actually acting under the influence of the soldiers. The soldiers have thought that politicians were applying “populist policies”. According to them, such policies would harm the principles of the Republic and cause “reactionism”.

In 1980 many politicians were “banned” from politics. Only three parties had the right to enter the elections. These were the Motherland Party (Anavatan Partisi-ANAP), the Populist Party (Halkçı Parti-HP) and the Nationalist Democracy Party (Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi-MDP). The leader of the ANAP was Turgut Özal who was the architect of the decisions of January 24. The MDP was led by the former soldier Turgut Sunalp. President Kenan Evren declared that he would vote for the MDP before the elections. This explanation was clearly aimed at directing the people’s votes to the MDP. However, the purpose of Evren was not materialized. People reacted negatively to this intervention to their free will. In the 1983 elections, The ANAP won the majority of the seats in the parliament and Turgut Özal’s first government was established under his prime ministry.

The February 28 military memorandum created a big trauma in large segments of society. For example, thousands of girls were forced to leave their schools because they were veiling. Vocational high school students were exposed to discrimination through the coefficient system; so many students could not enter faculties for many years. A large number of people were judged and sent to prison with the accusation of their reactionary activities. Some people lost their jobs and professions. On February 28, the military did not make a usual coup. However, politicians were forced to act ithe direction of the army’s demands. They changed the elected government and intervened directly into politics without directly taking control of the country. For this reason, the February 28th Process was called the “postmodern coup”.The developments in the process of February 28 caused political instability in Turkey. The country was exposed to two major economic crises in 1999 and 2001.

The February 28 military memorandum created a big trauma in large segments of society. For example, thousands of girls were forced to leave their schools because they were veiling. Vocational high school students were exposed to discrimination through the coefficient system; so many students could not enter faculties for many years. A large number of people were judged and sent to prison with the accusation of their reactionary activities. Some people lost their jobs and professions. On February 28, the military did not make a usual coup. However, politicians were forced to act in the direction of the army’s demands. They changed the elected government and intervened directly into politics without directly taking control of the country. For this reason, the February 28th Process was called the “postmodern coup”.

Mahmud II sent some men to the Western countries, such as England, France, Prussia, and Austria, to receive training to meet the state’s military needs.

The first coup attempt in the Ottoman period was the Kuleli Incident, which happened in 1859. Some soldiers and civilians planned a coup in cooperation in order to dethrone Sultan Abdulmecid and replace him with Abdulaziz.

The Progressive Republican Party was closed on the ground that it was associated with the rebels. The founders of the party were judged, and some former commanders such as Kazım (Karabekir) Pasha, Ali Fuat (Cebesoy) Pasha, Refet (Bele) Pasha and Rauf (Orbay) Bey were excluded from politics in this way.

Talat Aydemir and Fethi Gürcan, the leaders of the coup attempt, were sentenced to death and the parliament approved the death penalties. At the end, Aydemir and Gürcan were executed in 1964.

In the 1973 general elections, the CHP was the first party under the leadership of a new leader Bülent Ecevit. However, the CHP alone could not reach enough number of seats in the parliament to form a government. Thus, a coalition government was established between the CHP and the National Salvation Party (Millî Selamet Partisi-MSP).

In the 1973 general elections, the CHP was the first party under the leadership of a new leader Bülent Ecevit.

The September 12 Military Coup is significantly different from the May 27 military intervention. The May 27 coup was carried out by a junta in the army, so the Commander of Turkish Armed Forces and the other commanders were retired. However, all the elements of the Armed Forces were involved in the September 12.

“Milli Güvenlik Kurulu”, a constitutional institution established by the 1961 Constitution, continues its activities. This Council, under the chairmanship of the President, is composed of the Vice Presidents, the Ministers of Justice, National Defense, the Interior and Foreign Affairs, the Commanders of the Land, Naval and Air Forces and the Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

With the referendum held in 1987, the political rights of the politicians who were banned from politics after the September 12 coup d’etat were reinstated. Thus, Süleyman Demirel, Alparslan Türkeş, Bülent Ecevit, and Necmettin Erbakan have returned to the political arena.