Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bertilvidet (talk | contribs) at 10:43, 1 April 2006 (internal link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Turkish military coup of 1980 was a military coup made by General Kenan Evren, chief of Counter-Guerrilla, the Turkish branch of Gladio, on September 12, 1980.

Following bloody years of turmoil and a deliberate strategy of tension followed by Counter-Guerrilla and the Grey Wolves, the military took power claiming to end anarchy. Thousands of people were imprisoned after the coup, generally from the intellectual strata of the community. After having used the Grey Wolves, Kenan Evren also decided to emprison hundreds of them for their role during the strategy of tension; however, many of them were later released in exchange for their fight against the PKK during the 1980s.

The people suffered heavily under strict leadership. Under the generals' leadership's guidance a new constitution was established diminishing civil liberties, and increasing the role of the National Security Council. In 1983 new elections were held, relinquishing the power to civilian rule. According to the aknowledged Turkish scholar Ergun Özbudun "The 1983 Turkish transition is almost a textbook example of the degree to which a departing military regime can dictate the conditions of its departure (…)" (Özbudun, Ergun: Contemporary Turkish Politics: Challenges to Democratic Consolidation, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000; p. 117).

See also

• Operation Gladio

This article about politics is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• History of Turkey
• Politics stubs