The 1960 Turkish Coup D'état

Background to the Unrest

The Turkish Democrat Party (DP) first came to power in the wake of cratering opinion of the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the late 1940's. Riding the economic boom brought on by the Marshall Plan and post-war rebuilding, the DP continued further integration with the West, joining NATO and beginning the privatization of many state industries. Continuing economic success kept the DP popular, and their leader - Adnan Menderes - in control of the growing nation.

The 1954 elections were again overwhelmingly won by the DP and Menderes remained Prime Minister. However, by 1955, Marshall Plan aid was beginning to run out, and the DP's popularity started to slip. To distract citizens from the economy, xenophobia was employed against the remaining Greeks of Turkey in the Istanbul Pogrom. The economic policies pursued under the DP rule had led to high inflation rates, shortages of critical goods, and poor economic development. In an attempt to combat this growing unpopularity, the DP government began showing a deeply authoritarian streak. This took multiple forms, including suppressing opposition within their own party, reducing the ability of opposition parties to operate freely, and stifling unflattering articles in the press. Menderes even began personally reaching out to the Soviet Union to try and secure economic assistance, believing that no further loans could be gained from the United States after the end of the Marshall Plan.

The 1957 Elections

The 1957 elections were held in a very combative atmosphere. By making legal arrangements before the elections, the DP prevented the opposition parties from joining the elections as a united front. According to CHP's claims, CHP voters were not registered and in some places the election results were even changed at the ballot boxes. Demonstrations and fights took place in Kayseri, Giresun, Çanakkale and Samsun. In Gaziantep, the radio and newspapers first announced the victory of the CHP, but later the election result was changed to victory for the DP when additional "votes from the village" were counted. The CHP contested the results, and the ballot papers were brought to the Gaziantep Courthouse to be recounted, but the Gaziantep Courthouse burned down before the recount could begin and all ballots were lost. İsmet İnönü, leader of the CHP, named these irregularities as "Billet Tricks" and labeled the Minister of Interior, Namık Gedik, as the "Minister of Logs". The DP government banned the publication of any reports of this incident.

Despite a number of irregularities such as these, opposition parties to the DP won a majority of the popular vote across the country. But the first-past-the-post voting system utilized in Turkey meant that 424 of the 541 National Assembly deputies were still won by the DP. This vast separation between the national opinion and the election outcomes would continue to feed the increasingly hostile political environment that would eventually boil over in the next few years.

The Unrest of 1959-1960

As popularity for the DP continued to plummet, violence began to break out between DP and CHP supporters. İsmet İnönü was assaulted with stones by DP supporters during a visit to Uşak, suffering a head injury. Defiantly continuing his political tour anyway, İnönü was attacked a second time by DP supporters upon his return to Istanbul, with police refusing to intervene until an army major stepped in to save İnönü's life. Newspapers were banned from printing any articles about these and other similar incidents, which eventually became so numerous that papers would be printed with entire blank pages in defiance.

In response to these and other pushbacks against the administration, the DP created a committee of the National Assembly to examine and report the "destructive, illegitimate and illegal" activities of newspapers and magazines. Within weeks, this committee banned all publications related to the parliament and National Assembly. Speeches by members of the CHP against these actions continued to circulate despite a ban on publication, with the DP labeling them "Declarations of Revolution." Multiple CHP members of the National Assembly were forcefully removed after making speeches and other forms of protest against the committee.

These protests were not limited to government, however. On April 28th, 1960, students across Istanbul began a coordinated protest against what they called "dictatorial" actions by the DP government. Shouting slogans of "Down with the dictators" and "We want freedom", over a thousand university students walked down streets and in front of government buildings. Police forces organized to try and disperse the crowds, actions that eventually turned violent with one student, Turan Emeksiz, dying of a gunshot wound. These harsh reprisals only inspired further protests in other provinces, causing the government to declare martial law.

On May 3rd, PM Menderes attempted to return order to some of these provinces, and ordered General Cemal Gürsel - leader of the Turkish Land Forces - to send in the army and enforce martial law. In response, General Gürsel tendered his resignation, claiming he "refused to serve under a regime that would use the Turkish people to silence the Turkish people." Menderes publicly labeled him a "traitor", and began to blame university professors for inspiring the student protests, calling them "Black Robes". The resignation of Gürsel, and Menderes' immediate turn on him, truly began to put the wheels in motion for the events of the end of the month.

The May Coup

Early on the morning of May 27th, a simple message was radioed to a number of military bases around Ankara - "Dündar Seyhan's son has passed his classes." This was the codephrase agreed upon by conspirators to begin the coup, and the pre-planned actions began accordingly. By 3:15am, the 28th Infantry Division under Major General Selahattin Kaplan and the 43rd Cavalry regiment under Cavalry Lieutenant Colonel Reşit Çölok departed for the capital; by 3:30am the tanks of the Ankara Armored Training Center had joined them. Within an hour, the coup forces had seized control of the city, with Colonel Alparslan Türkeş announcing the operation to the nation and the world at 4:36am:

Dear Citizens! Today, the Turkish Armed Forces have taken over the administration of the country in order to prevent the rise of fratricidal strife due to the recent tragedies and crisis of democracy our nation has fallen victim to. In the course of this operation, which was accomplished without bloodshed, the Armed Forces have taken over the administration of the country under the supervision and arbitration of an impartial administration, and to save our political parties from the disreputable situation they are in. We intend to hold fair and free elections as soon as possible, where we will hand over the administration to the winners of the elections, regardless of which party they belong to.

 

This operation has not been taken against any individual or group; our administration will not allow any unlawful violations against anyone, nor will it ever tolerate it. Regardless of who they are and which party they belong to, every citizen will be treated in accordance with the laws and principles of the laws of our nation. It is considered essential for all citizens to treat each other with respect and understanding, remembering that they are descendants of the same nation above the parties, and without prejudice, for the relief of our suffering and the well-being of our national existence.

 

We ask the cabinet members to take shelter with the Turkish Armed Forces. Their personal safety is guaranteed by law. To all citizens, please remain in your homes and do not go out into the streets, regardless of your official title.

 

We appeal to our allies, our neighbors and the world. Our aim is to fully comply with the United Nations Constitution and human rights principles, principles which we believe to have been violated by the previous administration. The great Atatürk's 'Peace at home, peace in the world' principle remains our goal.

 

We are faithful to all our alliances and commitments. We believe in and are committed to NATO and CENTO. Our only thought is the assertion of 'Peace at home, peace in the world'.

The first true chaos of the coup began shortly after. The first sweep of high-level individuals went as planned, with Brigadier General Yusuf Demirdağ, General Suat Kuyaş (acting commander of the land forces), and Refik Koraltan (speaker of the National Assembly) being arrested and held at the military academy. However, when forces arrived at the mansion of President Celal Bayar to arrest him and a number of military officers gathered there, Bayar was able to pull the pistol in his jacket and shoot himself in the head, dying by suicide. In a confused panic, coup forces began pulling their own weapons, and inadvertently shot Artillery Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Tardu, a wound that was fortunately not fatal.

Things would only get worse from there. After being arrested and brought to the Military Academy for internment, multiple government officials, including Prime Ministry Undersecretary Ahmet Salih Korur, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Prime Minister Menderes, and Speaker Koraltan were battered by academy students, with Korur requiring hospitalization from his injuries. Interior Minister Namık Gedik - the "Minister of Logs" himself - died by suicide after jumping out the window of the room where he was detained, though rumors persist that he was in fact thrown from the window by a group of students.

By 10am, General Ragıp Gümüşpala - Commander of the 3rd Army - reached out to Colonel Türkeş in a fury. From what he could tell, every member of the coup force was a low- to mid-ranking member of the army, a situation that Gümüşpala found unacceptable. The General declared that if the coup was not being lead by an officer more senior than he, who could legally give him an order to stand down, that he would march to the capital and arrest the coup force as rebels. In a panic, Türkeş lied and told the General that Cemal Gürsel was in fact in charge of the coup forces, when in fact he was not only unaware of the coup plot, but in fact asleep at the time. Fortunately for Türkeş, Gümüşpala bought the lie, giving time for members of the coup movement to rush over to İzmir and convince Commander Gürsel to agree to lead the group. After some encouragement he accepted, and by 11:30am he was on a plane to Ankara; by 4pm he was on the radio giving a speech.

In his speech, Gürsel declared the nation to be under the control of what he called the National Unity Committee, a group made up of the 38 officer leaders of the coup movement. "The Turkish Army," he declared, "is once again faced with a historical task. This duty, their duty, is to save the country from the hands of ambitious politicians who want to drag the country into depression and disaster." He repeated Türkeş' earlier commitments to NATO, the west, and democracy, and promised that power would be returned to elected individuals as soon as "necessary reforms" were able to be implemented to prevent the "tyrrany" of the DP from occurring again. Until that time, all political activity was to be banned, including any and all demonstrations, protests, marches, and meetings. Those blamed for the attempted destruction of Turkish democracy at the hands of the DP, including PM Menderes and others, were to be detained in Yassıada until a proper trial for treason could be organized and given.

The coming months would show if the National Unity Committee could live up to its promises, how the Turkish people would take these actions, and how the rest of the world would view the first major coup in Turkey since the Turkish National Revolution. But until then, the military would run the show, so long as it could agree on what that show would look like, of course...