Coup General Evren Accused of Hypocrisy

The current debate around a new constitution has also touched on the military junta who created the last constitution in 1982, two years after a military coup on 12 September 1980.

The 1982 constitution had made provisions which would prevent a later trial of the junta. Responding to calls for this article to be abolished, retired general Kenan Evren, the leader of the coup has said: "Let there be a referendum; if the people want it, I will go on trial."

Evren made this statement in an interview with "Milliyet" journalist Abbas Güclü, who published this and other comments on 26 September.

Crimes against humanity cannot be made light of

Human rights activists from the 78'ers Turkey Initiative have poured scorn on this announcement. They pointed to the countless extrajudicial killings, missing persons, cases of torture, and deaths from torture which took place during the time of the military coup: "Despite the principle of equality in the constitution, why was the temporary Article 15 [which exempted the junta from being put on trial later] kept in the constitution?"

They asked Evren, "If you are so respectful of the people's wishes, why did you put Article 15 into the constitution?" They further questioned why no "civil" government ever took this article out.

The Initiative added, "The highest political person responsible is Evren, the leader of the coup. If even one family seeks justice for the child they lost under torture, then coup leader Evren has to be tried. You cannot be cleared of human rights violations, some of which were crimes against humanity, under the guise of a referendum."