Thursday 16 September 2021

Turkish Coups Since 1960

 Well....the first was the 1960 coup d'etat, which took all of one single day, and revolved around 30 to 40 young officers.  Chief reason given?  Well....the PM was working up a 'deal' with Moscow.  In this episode, roughly 230-odd Generals were 'retired' along with 3,000 odd military officers.  Around 500 prosecutors and judges were also 'let go'.

Summer of 1962 attempted coup d'etat?  Failed.  This was an attempt to just say the military ran things better, and they wanted the politicians totally out of the picture.  The guy who lead this attempt?  Basically 'let go' and told to go home.

May of 1963 attempted coup d'etat?  Well....led by the same clown as the year prior.  This failed as well.  This time, the government brought the guy in....sentenced him to death, and was hung in 1964 after a court episode.

Spring of 1971 Military 'note' coup?  Well....the military generated a letter and basically said they were in charge.  It was felt this way would be bloodless (note, several hundred individuals were executed or killed in this coup by the end).

September of 1980 coup?  Well....it was decided by the military that the country was politically out of control.  The chief of staff of the military took charge....running the country for 3 years.

The supposed 1993 coup?  This is argued a good bit.  There are probably a dozen events that occurred, which lead one to imagine a coup was underway but then other events suggest otherwise.  One element here....peace talks between the gov't and the PKK....which the military did not approve of.

The 1997 coup?  Well....the parliament was not sent home, so some folks argue this was not a real coup.  The actual government bosses?  They were sent home.  Anyone killed?  Most folks say 'no'.  

2016 Erdogan coup?  Well....this is the most unusual coup of all time.  There are elements of the military which had a planned coup in place....ready to go, and suddenly President Erdogan shocks everyone by knowing the entire plan.  Thousands of military arrested/detained, and coup ends in one single day.  Why no coup has occurred since then?  Mostly because people believe that Erdogan has certain people in place and report on activities of the military each single day.  

The attitude of the military in Turkey?  Politicians are a waste of time.....you need real authority without talking.  It would appear since 2016....that attitude has finally ended.  

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