Türkiye remembers bloody 1980 military coup

ANKARA

Türkiye commemorated the 41st anniversary of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup during which then-Chief of the General Staff Kenan Evren toppled the coalition government of Süleyman Demirel and dismissed the Turkish Parliament.

The Sept. 12, 1980, coup marked the third time the Turkish Armed Forces took hold of the democratically elected government and declared a state of emergency. The Turkish Parliament was dissolved, the constitution was revoked, all political parties were shut down, while their assets were seized.

Fifty people were executed, an estimated half-a-million arrested, hundreds died in prison and many more disappeared during the three years of military rule following the coup.

The 1980 coup leaders argued they were forced to intervene to restore order after years of chaos, in which an estimated 5,000 people died in factional violence between leftist and rightist groups.

More than 650,000 people were taken into custody, 230,000 people were put on trial, 1.68 million people were blacklisted, 517 people received the death penalty and 50 of the death penalties were executed.

Some 14,000 people were deprived of Turkish citizenship, about 1,000 people were tried for being members of “prohibited organizations,” and 30,000 people, including teachers, were dismissed from their duties.