Turkey also needs museums to confront its past

They argued that such a museum is critical for Turkey. They suggested different locations for such a museum, most often former prisons, but some suggested opening a museum just across the street from Parliament as a stark reminder of the vitality of civilian politics. Some of them suggested that a Turkish coup museum should include special departments devoted to the press and women during coup periods.

Şebnem Korur Fincancı, chairperson of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), recalled that in Chile perpetrators of the coup faced trials for their crimes and only after that was it possible to establish a museum.

“In Turkey, yes, of course, we need a museum like the one in Chile, but first of all we need to bring the perpetrators of the coups to justice, like Chile did. We should change the Constitution, which does not permit us to do that; after that, we should establish such a museum, or even multiple museums,” she said.

Selçuk Candansayar, chairman of the Individual and Social Mental Health Association, said that such museums have several functions and one of them is to urge to society to act within the boundaries of morals and ethics.

“Such museums not only prevent people from forgetting their past, they also teach us what to remember, why it must be remembered and how to remember it. They are also very helpful for mourning, which is necessary for mental health,” Candansayar said.

Aytekin Yılmaz, chairman of the Confronting the Past Association (Yüzleşme Derneği), underlined that unlike many Latin American countries, which had only a single coup d’état in their history, Turkey has experienced several coups and this is why Turkey is late to establish such a museum.

When it comes to where to establish such a museum, Yılmaz and other civil society representatives suggested that a coup museum be established at Diyarbakır Prison, which was once considered one of the 10 worst prisons in the world. But experts also underlined that establishing such a museum in Diyarbakır would not be enough, and there should be more museums in other cities.

They suggested that Mamak Prison in Ankara and Metris Prison in Istanbul, both infamous for torture during coups d’état, be repurposed into museums. In addition, Fincancı suggested establishing another museum right in the courtyard of Parliament or across the street from it, to remind deputies of the importance of democracy. Doğan Tılıç, a writer for the Birgün daily and a lecturer in media studies at several universities, said it would be a good idea to turn the house of Kenan Evren, the leader of the coup in 1980, into a museum, pointing out that his house in Marmaris is currently for sale.

He added that in such a museum there should be a section devoted to the press during coups.

“Media research points something out: If there is no media support for a coup, it is impossible for it to be successful. This is true in Turkey. So I suggest that we should display the articles of the writers who supported coups; at least such a move will introduce a feeling of shame in some of the columnists who are still writing today and presenting themselves as democrats,” Tılıç said.

Another civil society representative who thinks that special displays are needed in a museum like this is Hülya Gülbahar from the Association for Education and Supporting Women Candidates (KA-DER).

“It would not be out of place to establish a display addressing women and coups d’état. Women were victimized by the coups, there is no single woman who was detained or arrested during these periods who was not sexually harassed or assaulted,” she said.

Gülbahar added that especially during the Sept. 12 coup, all women’s associations were closed down and their archives were burned.

“We are still suffering from it; our memories as the women’s movement in Turkey were almost destroyed totally, but still there are many objects to be put in this museum, especially from the struggle of the women’s movement against coups,” she said.

Regardless of their suggestions, civil society representatives think that there are many objects to be exhibited in such a museum, including the belongings of people who were killed, books that were burned during the coups, photographs showing the brutality of the coups, video-recorded memories of the victims of torture and documentaries about the coup perpetrators.