Records of shame from May 27

This coup established a military tutelage, ignored the popular will and national sovereignty and traumatized the political culture and institutional structure of the country, thereby effectively nullifying democracy. Despite the 50 years that have passed since, its aftereffects are still visible in Turkey. The fact that during the 20 years between the May 27 coup that introduced a tradition of coups to the country and the military coup of Sept. 12, 1980 Turkey saw six coup attempts is clear proof that the greatest damage done by this coup was to the military itself, as it paved the way for dispensing with the established hierarchy within the military. Indeed, more than 300 high ranking officers, mostly generals, were purged from the military in the aftermath of the coup. The coup of May 27 dealt irreparable wounds to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in terms of order, regularity, hierarchy and discipline as sine qua non qualities of all armies around the world. It is an odd irony of fate that those who performed the post-modern coup of Feb. 28 in the late 1990s and the commanders who attempted to overthrow the government in the 2000s were known to have had their first experience with coups as lieutenants or low ranking officers during the coup of May 27. We also know that those lieutenants used their experience successfully in the recent coup attempts, namely Sledgehammer (Balyoz), Blond Girl (Sarıkız), Glove (Eldiven), Moonlight (Ayışığı) and Cage (Kafes).

Moreover, the coup of May 27 was also the beginning of the tradition of the CHP resorting to military intervention as a way of assuming office as they completely lost the hope of doing so through democratic means. In order to make sense of this tradition, which had the risk of marginalizing the military and even turning it into a sort of militia for the CHP, we need to have a look at the role İsmet İnönü played as the patron of coup generals with respect to May 27. When Cemal Gürsel, a general who was made president by the subversive generals, telephoned İnönü on the second day of the coup and said, “We are at your service for whatever you want, anytime,” İnönü replied: “You did a great job. It is I who will be at your service in order to help you achieve your goal.” Even this short conversation is sufficient to explain what I mean.

The coup of May 27 is a picture of disgrace and shame for the history of the republic, as it toppled a democratically elected government and executed the prime minister and two ministers It is the responsibility of all democrats in the country to ensure that the damage done to Turkish democracy by this heinous intervention is not forgotten, but transferred to future generations. In this respect, the photos, video and voice recordings which were brought to light by the Zaman newspaper in a serialized news story titled “Records of Shame from May 27” have historic importance. Thousands of previously unpublished photos and hours of video and voice records and images, brought to daylight by Abdullah Kılıç, a successful journalist and a good friend of mine, serve as evidence of how the coup and the so-called trial were so shamefully conducted. The entire trial process had been recorded, as video and audio and photos were submitted to Gürsel, the president after the coup. At that time, these images had even been aired in movie theaters for propaganda purposes before they were removed when they had the opposite effect. The scorn, derogatory treatment and insults by the judges and prosecutors targeting ousted Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and other defendants are clearly seen. These documents, which show evidence that the outcome of the trial was already known at the start, as the gallows were already set up, will certainly make their impact on history.

I must admit that what impressed me most from these records, which we will cover in detail in Sunday’s Zaman on Sunday, was the footage edited by the Foto Film Center to denigrate the defendants. Celal Bayar and Menderes were shown eating a meal specifically prepared for the scene. “Only caviar is missing on the table,” says the narrator. Menderes pretends to eat so that the filming can finish as soon as possible. “He cannot help but pose,” the narrator says. These degrading images led Bayar to attempt to kill himself.