CHP chief starts debate on leaders of 1980 coup
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Ä°zgi Güngör
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 25, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The CHP leader’s call for the government to judge the organizers of the 1980 military coup sparks controversy among legal experts. Some deem it a weak possibility as it is too late in the legal sense to open a case against the perpetrators of the 1980 military coup because of the time passed.
The debate over whether organizers of the 1980 military coup in Turkey can be subject to prosecution has flared once again. Â
Main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal’s call on Tuesday for the government to face the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup and change interim Article 15 of the Constitution, which gives immunity to the perpetrators of the military coup, fueled a debate among legal experts over whether the organizers of the coup could be judged.
"Of course, everybody including the retired generals could be judged in terms of freedoms and equality. But there are three major problems," criminal lawyer Professor Ersan Şen of the Istanbul University told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"The Turkish Criminal Code grants absolute immunity to the organizers of the coup; the time exceeded the limit after 20 years for such a case to be opened for the crimes of staging a coup, and the organizers of the coup didn’t attempt it but actually achieved it. They could be judged if they want to ignore the laws. It has been 30 years since the coup. What have we been discussing?"
In September 1980, a right-wing military junta, the third coup in Turkish history after the 1960 and 1971 coups, led by then-Chief of the General Staff Gen. Kenan Evren, resulted in the establishment of martial law and the abolition of political parties, trade unions and democratic rights.
2010 will mark the 30th anniversary of the 1980 coup, and in the wake of an alleged military plan to finish off the ruling party and the ongoing Ergenekon case, an investigation into an alleged illegal organization on charges of provoking a series of events that would pave the way for a military coup, the political debates on whether military coup organizers can be judged has surfaced once again. The government frequently discusses the issue but no concrete steps have been taken so far in this respect. The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, remains neutral to such a constitutional amendment although it seems ambitious in prosecuting the coup planners, as evidenced by its decisive and pursuer stance toward the recently revealed alleged military plan and the Ergenekon probe. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, appears to be favor of such an amendment while the Nationalist Movement Party, is like to display a firm stance to such a move.
"There also exists some [AKP] politicians of the coup period who are active in Turkish politics today such as Cemil Çiçek and Abdülkadir Aksu. What will happen to them? Article 15 of the Constitution has been implemented and coup organizers benefited from the immunity since 1982 military Constitution. It is not possible to reverse the whole process retrospectively," said Şen.
For constitutional expert Professor Ergun Özbudun, Baykal’s outburst is political and insincere.
"Even if Article 15 is removed, they still can’t be judged because of the timeout process. It is not useful to focus on past issues. There are currently more serious problematic issues. If the CHP is sincere, then it can contribute to the solution of these issues," said Özbudun. "The authorization of the military can be limited and the ambiguity on the authorization between the military and civilian judiciary could be clarified."
’There is no legal barrier’
Professor Süheyl Batum of Bahçeşehir University’s law faculty, meanwhile, said there was no legal barrier before judging the coup organizers because staging a coup was defined as crime in the Turkish Criminal Code of the 1980s.
"But the real problem is the lack of political will. No political party has demonstrated a strong will to judge the coup planners so far. They just pretend. The AKP pretends to be against the coups but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül take a photograph with Evren," Batum told the Daily News. "Moreover, staging a coup was defined as a crime in laws at that time, when the coup was staged in 1980. So you can punish an action that was legally deemed a crime in the laws of the period once it was committed in line with the criminal law, and you can thus judge the coup initiators. There are also some certain crimes such as torture and ill-treatment, the outcome of the 1980 coup, and the timeout process doesn’t work for them."
Prosecutor Sacit Kayasu, whose indictment to judge the coup organizers was not dismissed in the past, said the political parties were not that sincere to judge the coup organizers and that Article 15 was not a barrier before judging those who staged the 1980 coup. "Article 15 says the members of the National Security Council, which was established with the interim Article 15 and law 2356, can be judged," Kayasu said. "That law was issued on Dec. 12, 1980, which means legally there was no such a council before that time. The coup, however, was staged on Sept. 12, 1980. There is a 90-day gap not covered by that law. So the 1980 coup can be judged."
Main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal’s call on Tuesday for the government to face the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup and change interim Article 15 of the Constitution, which gives immunity to the perpetrators of the military coup, fueled a debate among legal experts over whether the organizers of the coup could be judged.
"Of course, everybody including the retired generals could be judged in terms of freedoms and equality. But there are three major problems," criminal lawyer Professor Ersan Şen of the Istanbul University told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"The Turkish Criminal Code grants absolute immunity to the organizers of the coup; the time exceeded the limit after 20 years for such a case to be opened for the crimes of staging a coup, and the organizers of the coup didn’t attempt it but actually achieved it. They could be judged if they want to ignore the laws. It has been 30 years since the coup. What have we been discussing?"
In September 1980, a right-wing military junta, the third coup in Turkish history after the 1960 and 1971 coups, led by then-Chief of the General Staff Gen. Kenan Evren, resulted in the establishment of martial law and the abolition of political parties, trade unions and democratic rights.
2010 will mark the 30th anniversary of the 1980 coup, and in the wake of an alleged military plan to finish off the ruling party and the ongoing Ergenekon case, an investigation into an alleged illegal organization on charges of provoking a series of events that would pave the way for a military coup, the political debates on whether military coup organizers can be judged has surfaced once again. The government frequently discusses the issue but no concrete steps have been taken so far in this respect. The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, remains neutral to such a constitutional amendment although it seems ambitious in prosecuting the coup planners, as evidenced by its decisive and pursuer stance toward the recently revealed alleged military plan and the Ergenekon probe. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, appears to be favor of such an amendment while the Nationalist Movement Party, is like to display a firm stance to such a move.
"There also exists some [AKP] politicians of the coup period who are active in Turkish politics today such as Cemil Çiçek and Abdülkadir Aksu. What will happen to them? Article 15 of the Constitution has been implemented and coup organizers benefited from the immunity since 1982 military Constitution. It is not possible to reverse the whole process retrospectively," said Şen.
For constitutional expert Professor Ergun Özbudun, Baykal’s outburst is political and insincere.
"Even if Article 15 is removed, they still can’t be judged because of the timeout process. It is not useful to focus on past issues. There are currently more serious problematic issues. If the CHP is sincere, then it can contribute to the solution of these issues," said Özbudun. "The authorization of the military can be limited and the ambiguity on the authorization between the military and civilian judiciary could be clarified."
’There is no legal barrier’
Professor Süheyl Batum of Bahçeşehir University’s law faculty, meanwhile, said there was no legal barrier before judging the coup organizers because staging a coup was defined as crime in the Turkish Criminal Code of the 1980s.
"But the real problem is the lack of political will. No political party has demonstrated a strong will to judge the coup planners so far. They just pretend. The AKP pretends to be against the coups but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül take a photograph with Evren," Batum told the Daily News. "Moreover, staging a coup was defined as a crime in laws at that time, when the coup was staged in 1980. So you can punish an action that was legally deemed a crime in the laws of the period once it was committed in line with the criminal law, and you can thus judge the coup initiators. There are also some certain crimes such as torture and ill-treatment, the outcome of the 1980 coup, and the timeout process doesn’t work for them."
Prosecutor Sacit Kayasu, whose indictment to judge the coup organizers was not dismissed in the past, said the political parties were not that sincere to judge the coup organizers and that Article 15 was not a barrier before judging those who staged the 1980 coup. "Article 15 says the members of the National Security Council, which was established with the interim Article 15 and law 2356, can be judged," Kayasu said. "That law was issued on Dec. 12, 1980, which means legally there was no such a council before that time. The coup, however, was staged on Sept. 12, 1980. There is a 90-day gap not covered by that law. So the 1980 coup can be judged."