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MHP grass roots to vote for reform package in memory of coup victims
Ülkücüs belong to the MHP’s Ülkü Ocakları, the youth branches of the party.
“I see the constitutional changes as a first step in changing Turkey’s vision and toward becoming a democratic country. I see all of the changes as positive for Turkey’s future,” stated Hasan Çağlayan, former head of the Ülkü Ocakları before the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d’état.
Many nationalist figures were jailed after the 1980 coup, where they were physically and psychologically tortured.
The existing Constitution was drafted under martial law after the 1980 coup, considered the bloodiest in Turkey’s history. The timing of the referendum will coincide with the anniversary of the coup. According to Çağlayan, the referendum will heal the pains and sorrows of thousands of ülkücüs who suffered much after the coup. “Nine members of the MHP were executed after the coup d’état. More than 100,000 of its members were jailed. The nationalist movement witnessed all kinds of torture, cruelty and punishment at the time. I just wish the constitutional amendments were drafted by people who also suffered our pain. I mean I was jealous of the Justice and Development Party [AK Party],” he remarked.
Çağlayan also criticized the MHP administration for refusing to lend support to the planned changes to the Constitution. “I do not think the MHP is displaying a good stance toward the reform package. I hope our people will say ‘yes’ in the referendum and help eradicate the remnants of the coup mindset,” he added.
For Türk Ocakları Chairman Nuri Gürgür, Turkey is in need of the government’s constitutional changes. “The judicial system needs to be restructured, and Turkey needs to be governed by the sovereignty of the nation. The trial of figures of the 1980 coup d’état is only one of the many dimensions of the constitutional amendments,” he noted. The reform package abolishes Article 15 of the Constitution, which bans any legal action against generals who took part in the coup.
The Sept. 12 coup was staged under the leadership of retired Gen. Kenan Evren, the then-chief of General Staff. The general was assisted by former Land Forces Commander Gen. Nurettin Ersin, former Air Forces Commander Gen. Tahsin Şahinkaya, former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Nejat Tümer and former Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Sedat Celasun, as well as hundreds of military officers.
“The Sept. 12 coup was a movement that rendered ineffective Turkey’s most idealist citizens. We want the pro-coup mindset to be tried, which will help discourage today’s coup aspirants. A generation was lost after the 1980 coup. Some people died in prison while many others were injured in houses of torture. I hope our people will support the constitutional amendments on Sept. 12 and pave the way for the trial of all figures of the 1980 coup d’état,” remarked Musa Serdar Çelebi, a prominent ülkücü.
In the meantime, Turkey Party (TP) leader Abdüllatif Şener announced that his party will support the reform package in the referendum. According to Şener, the reform package should not be associated with the ruling party, saying that people should support it regardless of their opinion of the AK Party. “This package contains amendments to the 1980 Constitution and is mainly conceived as having positive content. We will vote ‘yes’ for the package in the referendum,” he remarked.
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