Military Memorandum in Turkey (1997)

The coup was called “postmodern” in the journalistic tradition - during its implementation, the parliament was not dissolved and no constitutional amendments were made ^[2] . The first name “post-modernist putsch” was proposed by Turkish Admiral Selim Dervishoglu ^{[1] [3] [4]} . Soon after the implementation of the “peaceful” coup, members of a secret military organization of the Western Working Group ( Turkish Batı Çalışma Grubu ) were accused of organizing it, the activities of which were carefully conspiracy in the 1990s.

The operation to remove the government of Erbakan was carefully planned by a group of influential generals, which included Ismail Hakky Karadayi , Teoman Coman , Chevik Bir , Cetin Dogan and others ^[5] . It is known that already a year and a half before the forcible removal of civil power, conspirator generals were planning a new cabinet, in particular, journalist and politician Hassan Jalal Guzel noted that General Teoman Coman had invited him to head the next government in the fall of 1996. In the event of Guzel’s refusal, Theoman Coman planned to appoint the leader of the Party of the Fatherland Mesut Yilmaz ^{[6] [7]} , who subsequently accepted the proposal of the general and headed the new government.

On January 17, 1997, President Suleiman Demirel (already previously twice removed from the post of prime minister during the coups) visited the Turkish General Staff . During the meeting with the Turkish military command, a briefing was organized on topics related to military issues. General Ismail Hakky Karadayi put forward 55 problem points, on which Demirel had to give a report during a press conference. Demirel adopted a softening, conciliatory tone and urged the generals to work more closely with the civilian government and adjust their requirements. The military command of Turkey was dissatisfied with the passive position of the government and the indecision of Demirel ^[8] . On January 31, 1997, civil protests began in the Sinjan (Ankara) region , which were directed against the manifestations of violence committed by Ismail Hakky Karadai during the Jerusalem Night. On the facade of one of the buildings posters with symbols of Hamas and Hezbollah were hung ^[9] . In response to the demonstrations, the generals ordered the tanks to go to the streets of Sinjan in order to suppress potential riots. On February 4, tanks appeared on the streets of Sinjan, which led to the pacification of protesters ^[10] . Subsequently, this event was described by Chevik Bir as "a balanced addition to democracy."

During the meeting of the Turkish Security Council, the generals expressed serious concern about the consistent Islamization of Turkish society and the radicalization of youth public structures. During the development of the memorandum, Prime Minister Erbakan was asked to sign, among other things, conditions that were aimed at mitigating the gradual Islamization of civil society, which was contrary to the precepts of Kemal Ataturk ^[11] . Among them were the following:

• Introducing eight-year compulsory education in schools.
• The closure of many schools, opened mainly during the reign of Najmettin Erbakan, where there was propaganda of radical Islamism.
• Neutralization (restriction of influence or closure) of local representations of the mystic-spiritual movement " Tariqat ", which enjoyed wide support from the Turkish civil authorities.

Other points also related to the elimination of facts of violation of the secular regime, which did not correspond to the ideology of Kemalism, the guardians of which were representatives of the country's army elite.

As a result of the adoption of this war memorandum, Nejmettin Erbakan was forced to resign, after which he was officially forbidden to engage in political activities for five years. Soon after Erbakan’s resignation, Mesut Yilmaz intended to head a new government, which would include representatives of the Democratic Party , the Welfare Party and the Islamic-nationalist Great Unity Party , whose ideology was contrary to the Kemalist principles stated in the memorandum. Nevertheless, the new government formed on June 30, 1997, included Bulent Ecevit , leader of the Democratic Left Party, as well as Husamettin Jindoruk , who subsequently formed a new Democratic Society Party , which included members of the Democratic Party after February 28. By decision of the Turkish Constitutional Court, the Welfare Party was officially liquidated on charges of inciting sectarian strife and violating the constitution. Subsequently, politicians who have lost their positions, as well as members of the disbanded parties, joined the created Justice and Development Party , which was founded by Nejmettin Erbakan before the end of the five-year ban on political participation. Istanbul Mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan , who was also a member of the AKP, was sentenced to imprisonment for publicly reading an Islamist-nationalist poem - a five-year ban on participation in political activities also extended to him.

In 2012, Chevik Bir and 30 military officers who took part in planning the dismissal of Erbakan in 1997 were detained and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment by court order ^[12] . The decision to punish the military coup was dictated by the fact that Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an ideological follower of Erbakan, as well as a factor of personal revenge for imprisonment and removal from political activity. The statement by Chevik Bir (who at the beginning of 1997 held the post of deputy chief of the General Staff and was the actual coordinator of the memorandum) is known, which he said about the coup committed by his group: “In Turkey, a marriage was concluded between Islam and democracy. The child of this union is secularism. Sometimes a child gets sick, and the Turkish army is just the doctor who saves him. Depending on the severity of the disease, we introduce the necessary medicine so that the child will recover ” ^[13] .

In turn, the displaced Najmettin Erbakan subsequently noted that the coup was organized by the “ Zionists " ^[14] , without providing concrete evidence of this judgment.

The “memorandum coup” did not essentially lead to the laicization of Turkish society, since the idea of ​​advancing the cultural and political strategy of Islamizing the country, coupled with the suppression of Kemalist doctrines, was continued after a five-year moratorium on political participation extended to members of the Erbakan government and its loyal supporters, including Erdogan. In fact, the 1997 putsch was the last comparatively successful attempt by the military elite, following the Ataturk Kemal’s precepts, to prevent the radical Islamization of Turkish society, except for the attempts of an armed coup in Turkey on the night of July 15-16, 2016 .

• Ulrike Dufner: Militär kontra Islamismus. In: Wissenschaft und Frieden , Nr. 4/1998.
• Judith Hoffmann: Aufstieg und Wandel des politischen Islam in der Türkei. Reihe Nahost-Studien, Band 5, Verlag Hans Schiler, Berlin 2003. Abschnitt Der "28. Februar-Prozess ": Der Sturz der RP , S. 76-82.
• Tanja Scheiterbauer: Islam, Islamismus und Geschlecht in der Türkei. Perspektiven der sozialen Bewegungsforschung. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2014. Abschnitt 2.5 Der “stille Putsch” 1997: Zur Rekunfiguration des türkischen Laizismus , S. 98-101
• Yetkin, Murat . Özkök'ten 'savunma': Beni 28 Şubat'takiler gibi davranmamakla suçladılar ( tur .) , Radikal (December 25, 2008). Archived December 28, 2008. Date of treatment December 26, 2008.