Aydın Menderes, who was invited to the panel discussion slated for March 29 by Adnan Menderes University, refused to attend the panel when he learned that Demirel and former Parliament Speaker İsmet Sezgin were also to deliver speeches at the discussion, saying in a written statement, “I do not attend any functions where Demirel is a speaker.” Although their attendances had already been announced, university officials conveyed Menderes’ view to Sezgin and Demirel and removed them from the speakers’ list. Menderes also requested that the university announce the new list, which it did on March 19.
The panel discussion is titled “Adnan Menderes in Turkish Political History.” On May 27, 1960, the military overthrew the government of then-Prime Minister Menderes. Menderes and his fellow Democrat Party (DP) members were tried in 14 separate cases on Yassıada, an island in the Sea of Marmara. The judges overseeing the case handed down three death penalties, 12 life sentences and hundreds of long-term prison sentences.
Aydın Menderes resigned from the Democrat Party (DP), whose legendary leader was his father, following the election of former Parliament Speaker Hüsamettin Cindoruk as party leader last year. Adnan Menderes strongly opposed Cindoruk’s leadership while Demirel supported it. Announcing his resignation, he had said: “While Cindoruk will be the de jure chairman of the DP, [former President] Süleyman Demirel will be the de facto chairman. This kind of party model is not in accordance with democracy or with the DP’s political legacy.”
