The Way from the May 27 Coup d’état to the March 12 Memorandum and the Underlying Causes

Abstract

The March 12th Memorandum can be considered as a preventive coup against a group of military officers who themselves aimed to establish a radical and authoritarian regime by a military coup which failed to take place on its planned date, March 9, 1970. The 12 March coup not only targeted this group within the army but also its civilian mentors who constituted the civilian initiative for establishing such a radical and authoritarian system. Even though the 12 March coup plotters initially moved against the civilian government in power causing for rejoicing among all opposition groups, it then went on to suppress the entire political spectrum of the Turkish left. After giving the March 12th Memorandum and forcing the prime minister to resign, the next step for the coup plotters was to force certain cadres within the army, which had leftist tendencies and had already showed signs of rejecting the army chain of command, into retirement with the signature of the resigned prime minister. This study examines the basic milestones of the road from the coup d’etat of May 27th 1960 to the March 12th Memorandum of 1970 by formulating new questions on the external dynamics of both coups and bringing alternative views.

Keywords

• 27 may coup
• 1965 elections
• 1969 elections
• 9 march coup plan
• 12 march memorandum