This news was first published on September 12, 2018.
Following the military coup of September 12, 1980, the security situation and the course of violent incidents were among the most important issues brought up in correspondence sent to Washington from US diplomatic missions in Turkey.
Immediately after the coup, US diplomats appeared to be particularly concerned that left-wing organisations would go underground and resume their activities once they had gathered strength.
However, in a correspondence sent by the Ankara Embassy on November 5, 1980, it was stated that there was a significant decrease in violence after the coup, but the threat against them remained serious because some leftist groups held the United States responsible for the military intervention.
BBC Turkish has accessed US State Department documents that were declassified following an application made under the Freedom of Information Act in 2011.
The first of the news items regarding these documents, which were made public for the first time, was published on Wednesday, the 38th anniversary of the September 12 coup, and the second was published yesterday. Today’s news is also the last news item in the three-day news series.
Among the documents obtained by BBC Turkish are 10 pieces of correspondence sent from US diplomatic missions in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir to the State Department in Washington and its missions in other countries between September 12, 1980 and November 5, 1980.
One of these correspondences, shared with the public for the first time, carries the second highest level of confidentiality, “Secret”; seven carry the third level of confidentiality, “Private”. Two correspondences are classified as “Unclassified” because they contain public information.
‘Security forces are active and many people are in custody’
The “Private” note, dated November 5, 1980, titled “The internal security situation in Turkey has improved since September 12”, bears the signature of Daniel Newberry from the US Embassy in Ankara.
In this correspondence, Newberry points out that the security situation in Turkey has improved significantly:
“Security forces are much more active than in the past and many suspected terrorists have been detained for questioning.
“MGK Secretary General Haydar Saltık said in a press conference he held for foreign journalists that approximately 11,500 people have been detained by security forces since September 12. While 6,900 of these people have been arrested, the detention procedures for 3,900 are ongoing and 746 have been convicted of various crimes.
“It is also worth noting that 160,000 unlicensed weapons were handed in in the three weeks following the enactment of the amnesty law.”
The internal conflict that intensified in Turkey in the late 1970s is among the justifications put forward by the army for the coup.
A report in the Milliyet newspaper on September 2, 1980, 10 days before the coup, reported that an average of 10 people a day had lost their lives “due to terrorist incidents” in recent months. The report stated that according to research conducted by the Milliyet Intelligence Service, 1,606 people lost their lives in the nine-month period between January and September 1980.
During this period, August was the bloodiest month with 347 deaths. The table published in the newspaper stated that the number of deaths approached 200 in May and June and exceeded 300 in July.
Another news report published in Milliyet at the beginning of November stated that the number of people who lost their lives “due to terrorist incidents” after September 12 was 67, and that 42 of them were alleged to be members of illegal organizations.
‘Newspapers are reporting what is given by martial law commands’
However, Newberry warns that the figures given regarding the clashes may not be reliable. The correspondence emphasizes that since September 12, newspapers have “not written about things they are not sure about”, especially on issues that may fall within the scope of the martial law commands, and that the news reports they have made use of materials provided by the martial law commands.
“Despite our skepticism about the data, the Embassy believes that the domestic security environment across Turkey has improved significantly since 9/12. This view is supported by other foreigners and Turks,” Newberry said.
“While the overall terrorist threat appears to have diminished somewhat at this stage, the threat to Americans serving in Turkey remains serious.
“The Turkish Communist Party’s radio broadcasts describe September 12 as an ‘American-made coup’ and call on the Turks to respond very harshly.
“While there have been a few anti-American incidents across the country since September 12, these have been limited to bombs being left in front of buildings identified as American. There have been no terrorist attacks against US personnel.
“However, terrorists in Turkey may become bolder as time goes on and they get used to living under the current administration. In that case, the threat to both Turks and Americans increases.”
‘General Yüksel thinks that it can be brought under control, even if it cannot be eradicated’
The cable describes the political violence that took place before September 12 as “unique” and states that there were dozens of small armed groups as well as thousands of people who participated in or supported the actions of these groups.
However, military officials interviewed by US diplomats describe those who resort to violence as a “minority.”
One of these names is the Aegean Army and Martial Law Commander General Süreyya Yüksel.
In the diplomatic correspondence labeled “Special” sent from the Izmir Consulate on October 2, 1980, Yüksel’s assessments that the violent incidents could be brought under control are included:
“Describing terrorists as a small minority, Yüksel said that although terrorism cannot be completely eradicated, it can be brought under control.
“When I asked whether terrorism would challenge the government as Dev-Yol threatened, he replied that although there was a possibility of an increase in the period immediately following September 12, it would never pose as great a danger to Turkey as the period before the coup.”
‘ Evren calls this process, in which as many people died as in the Battle of Sakarya, a covert war’
In their correspondence after the coup, US diplomats also included their assessments of the role of violence and internal conflict among the reasons why the military seized power.
In the correspondence signed by Daniel Newberry and marked “Secret” and dated September 19, it is stated that the coup leader and then-Chief of General Staff General Kenan Evren said in his statements that the clashes forced the army to take action:
Evren described these incidents, and the increasing polarization in the country due to radical groups, as a “covert war”, as the violent incidents that claimed as many lives as the Battle of Sakarya in 1921, which played an important role in Turkey’s independence, with 5,000 dead and 15,000 injured in the last two years.
“Evren said that the increasing violence due to the ineffectiveness of the governments and the deadlock in the parliament left the army with no other option but to seize power.”
One of the issues that occupied the agenda of the period before the coup was the interpellation against Foreign Minister Hayrettin Erkmen. During the same period, interpellations against Energy Minister Esat Kıratlıoğlu and Finance Minister İsmet Sezgin were also waiting to be put on the agenda of the Parliament.
The interpellations submitted by opposition parties against ministers in the minority government formed by the Justice Party are considered a symbol of the deadlock in the Parliament during this period and the government’s inability to carry out effective policies.
‘The command level will take action against terrorism and those who commit the acts’
In the correspondence written by Newberry, it is stated that Evren and other army commanders’ concerns about “the influence of foreign countries on the anarchic environment” in the country are increasing.
The same correspondence states that the military’s coup plans “became more serious” in mid-July, following the assassinations of former Prime Minister Nihat Erim and three days later of Kemal Türkler, the founder of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK), one of the most important figures in the trade union movement in Turkey.
While Erim lost his life as a result of an assassination organized by Dev-Sol in the Dragos district of Istanbul on July 19, 1980, Türkler was shot dead by an idealist in front of his house on July 22, 1980. These two murders are considered to be among the most important milestones before the September 12 coup.
Newberry notes that the far left may mobilize more violently than before, writing:
“In addition to a major reform of the political system, the current command of the military needs to take action nationwide to eliminate terrorism and those who perpetrate it. There is no indication at this stage that this work can be done quickly and comprehensively enough to prevent the emergence of resistance and a resurgence of violence in the coming months.
“On the contrary, the far left, which is larger, more advanced, better organized and better armed than the radical left of 1971-73, will make very serious efforts to discredit the established interim government, reduce its popular support and possibly provoke the army to repress with an ‘iron fist’.”
Newberry, who penned the correspondence, was one of the US diplomats who knew Turkey well. After his death in 1999, the Washington Post newspaper referred to Newberry as “an authority on Turkey” in a report it published.
Newberry was appointed to Turkey four times during his 36-year diplomatic career and served in Ankara, Adana and Istanbul. Newberry, who wrote the correspondence dated September 19, 1980, while he was on duty at the Ankara Embassy, was appointed Consul General in Istanbul a year later and continued in this position until 1985.
What happened on September 12, 1980?
The Turkish Armed Forces seized power at 03:00 on Friday, September 12, 1980, citing the failure to elect a president for months due to the lack of consensus in parliament, government instability, severe economic problems and intense internal conflicts.
The country’s administration was transferred to the National Security Council (MGK), which was established with the coup. The first statement published by the MGK stated that the coup was carried out within the “chain of command” in order to fulfill the army’s “duty to protect and guard the Republic of Turkey as assigned by the Internal Service Law.”
Chief of General Staff General Kenan Evren was appointed as the chairman of the MGK.
Other names on the Council were Land Forces Commander General Nurettin Ersin, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Nejat Tümer, Air Forces Commander General Tahsin Şahinkaya and Gendarmerie General Commander General Sedat Celasun.
The Council’s Secretary General was General Haydar Saltık.
When the coup took place, the minority government under the prime ministership of Justice Party (AP) Chairman Süleyman Demirel was in power. This minority government was supported from outside by the Nationalist Salvation Party (MSP) led by Necmettin Erbakan and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) led by Alparslan Türkeş. The main opposition party was the Republican People’s Party (CHP) led by Bülent Ecevit.
Following the coup, many political parties, unions and associations were closed, a new constitution was prepared, many names were banned from politics and significant changes were made to the parliamentary system. Approximately three years after the coup, the process of re-establishing democracy began with the general elections of November 6, 1983.
According to official data released by the Ministry of Justice, a total of 650 thousand people were detained and 52 thousand were arrested after the military coup of September 12, 1980. The number of people who were blacklisted is 1 million 680 thousand, and the number of those who were stripped of their citizenship is 14 thousand.
210 thousand cases were filed in martial law courts and a total of 230 thousand people were tried for various crimes. The death penalty was sought for 7 thousand of them.
During this period, 14 people died due to hunger strikes in prisons, 171 people died during interrogation and as a result of torture, and 49 people died by execution.
But civil society organisations say many more people may have actually been affected by the coup.
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2024-09-12 09:33:11