33rd Anniversary of the September 12, 1980 Coup: The putschists' constitution is always in force

The 1980 Coup completed the militarization by imposing to the country a racist and despotic constitution following a more cruel repression.

The 1982 Constitution denies the basic rights of the Kurdish, Armenian, Assyrian, Ezidi and Greek peoples of Turkey. Articles 3, 42 and 66 preach the superiority and the monopoly of the Turkish race and language. Article 4 declares that Article 3 can never be modified, even its modification can never be proposed.

For 33 years, despite all protests of democratic forces, all governments have ruled the country always under the threats and blackmails of the military hierarchy.

What is more scandalous, the present National Assembly has not yet arrived to the eradication of all vestiges of the September 12, 1980 racist regime and the adoption of a new democratic constitution conforming to universal conventions of human and people rights.

In one word, it is a shame for the rulers of this country, candidate to the European Union.

The Info-Türk Foundation has decided to publish in French had already published Black Book On the Militarist "Democracy" in Turkey in 1986 and its French version, Le Livre Noir de la 'démocratie' militariste en Turquie three years ago on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of this military coup.

As it is well detailed in this documentary book, the 1980 military junta committed the following crimes against the humanity:

More than 650,000 people were taken into custody. Tens of thousands were subjected to torture and ill-treatment? Information on 1 million 683 thousand people were recorded. 210,000 political cases were opened in military courts. A total of 98,404 people were tried because of their "thoughts." 71,500 people stood trial under articles 141, 142 and 163 of former Penal Code. 6,353 people were tried under the menace of capital punishment. 517 people were condemned to capital punishment. 50 people (18 left-wing, 8 right-wing, 1 Asala militant and 23 common law) were hanged. 21,764 people were sentenced to heavy prison terms. 171 people were documented to have died under torture. 299 people lost their lives in prison due to maltreatment and hunger strikes to protest this maltreatment. 348.000 persons were forbidden to travel abroad. 30 thousand people went to exile as “asylum seekers”. 14,000 persons were deprived of Turkish nationality. Universities were placed under the discipline of the Higher Education Council (YOK), depended on political power. More than 4,000 teachers and university professors ousted from their posts under Law No. 1402. All political parties were closed down. The activities of 23,667 associations were halted. The press was censored. 4,509 people were sent into exile by the martial law. 937 movies were banned. 2,792 authors, translators and journalists were tried. Journalists were condemned to a total of 3.315 years and 3 months prison sentence. 31 journalists were imprisoned, hundreds of them were attacked and three were shot dead. 113,607 books were burned. 39 tons of books, magazines and newspapers were destroyed by the State's paper mills.

Certain timid initiatives taken by the Islamist power under the title of "democratic opening" have been ridiculous because they foresee nothing for a real democratization conforming to European norms by a radical modification of the 1982 Constitution.

As already announced for many years by democratic organizations, one of the first things to be made in the process of demilitarization is to subject the chief of staff to the authority of the Minister for national defense, to cut off the excessive authorities of the National Security Council (MGK) and the Higher Military Council (YAS).

The following measures should be put in practice for eradicating the remnants of the fascist dictatorship of the Army:

Full modification of the current constitution imposed by the military; suppression of Articles 3, 4, 42 and 66 preaching the superiority and the monopoly of the Turkish race and language. It is also vital to decrease considerably the budget of military expenditures used to oppress the Kurdish people and to threaten the neighboring countries. The electoral system imposing a national threshold of 10% to the detriment of the political parties representing different opinions, in particular Kurdish and left-wing, must be radically modified. A general amnesty must be declared for all political prisoners or detainees. All undemocratic articles of the Turkish Penal Code, the Anti-Terror Law and other laws must be abolished Legal proceedings against journalists, writers, artists, and teachers must be stopped. Using police violence against pacific demonstrators which has aggravated since the Gezi Park resistance must be stopped. The fundamental rights of the Kurdish,Armenian, Assyrian, Ezidi and Greek peoples must be recognized without exception and restriction. The genocide committed at the beginning of the century against Armenians and Assyrians must be recognized by the Turkish State. Any interference of Ankara in the political and social life of the countries hosting Turkish nationals must be stopped.

This is also a call to the leaders of the European Union and of its member states who always flirt with political power in Turkey. For the strategic, economic and commercial interests, they do not hesitate to promote the servants of the Turkish Lobby in political parties and in legislative and executive bodies to the detriment of the democratic values gained thanks to historical fights of European peoples.

What is more shameful, despite all these failures, Belgium was already engaged to organize the Europalia Festival 2015 in a view of honoring the Ankara regime, just at the 100th anniversary of the genocide of Armenians and Assyrians, a human tragedy which is always denied by the rulers of Turkey.

Brussels, September 11, 2013

Dogan Özgüden President of the Info-Turk Foundation

33rd Anniversary of the September 12, 1980 Coup: The putschists' constitution is always in force

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