Albawaba.com
Anakara
The mystery surrounding a 20 year-old military coup has only now started to unravel as participants begin to reveal how plots and personal ambitions led five Turkish generals to grab.
Details of the events that led to the September 12, 1980 coup were published in a special anniversary report in the Turkish Sahah daily newspaper.
The report provides testimonies by coup leaders who revealed that more than one plot was behind the coup and that the two main generals each had his own reasons for the grab of power.
The coup leader, retired Gen. Kenan Evren, who at the time was Turkey’s Chief of Staff, told Sahah that "the military seizure" of the country was not an all out coup but rather a "temporary hold by the military on the country's management."
Evren said at the time, he had acted on information given by the security forces that several terrorist organizations were plotting to assassinate all members of the National Unity Committee (MBK).
Evren said he gave orders to kill all members of terrorist organizations if any MBK member was harmed. Riza Muftuoglu, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy, who said members of the opposition were tortured and mistreated in prison and that Evren had given orders to kill all MHP members who were in prison at that time, rebuffed Evren's claim.
Staff Officer Sakir Onem, another star participant, said he took part in the coup to kill Evren. Onem said he and his associates were against the coup because it was aimed at nationalists who devoted their lives to the country.
It was Onem who headed the group planning to assassinate MBK members and Evren. Onem said the plans were changed after Evren threatened to kill all the nationalists in prison and Onem did not want to endanger their lives.
While Evren was planning a coup to kill members of the MHP, Onem was planning his own counter-coup against the MBK and Evren. So, the 1980 military coup was in a sense two different coups aimed at two different powers.
The main surprise came from Onem who claimed that both sides knew of the other’s plans. After the coup, hundreds of MHP nationalists were put on trial, among them Selim Kaptanoglu, one of the last to shed light on the dark side of the coup.
Like Onem, Kaptanoglu claimed the assassination attempt had not only been aimed at Evren, but at all members of the MBK. Kaptanoglu said that they had offered many high-ranking positions to staff officers who managed to kill MBK members.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
