Political violence in Turkey became a serious problem in the late 1970s and was even described as a "low-level civil war". The death squads of Turkish right-wing ultranationalist groups, sometimes allied with the state, inflicted around 5,000 casualties with the motivation of acting against the resistance of the left-wing opposition. Most of the victims were left-wingers. The level of illegal violence lessened for a while after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, and was later overshadowed by the PKK insurgency in 1984 and the revival of the Maoist insurgency.
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👉 Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of 1980 Turkish coup d'état
The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (Turkish: 12 Eylül darbesi, lit. 'September 12 coup d'état'), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by memorandum.
During the Cold War era, Turkey saw political violence (1976–1980) between the far-left, the far-right (Grey Wolves), the Islamist militant groups, and the state. The violence saw a sharp downturn for a period after the coup, which was welcomed by some for restoring order by quickly executing 50 people and arresting 500,000, of which hundreds would die in prison.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980)
- 👉 Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of 1980 Turkish coup d'état
- Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of Nationalist Movement Party
- Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of Taksim Square massacre
Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (Turkish: Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP), is a far-right, ultranationalist political party in Turkey. The party is neo-fascist and has been linked to violent paramilitaries and organized crime groups. The party's youth wing is the Grey Wolves (Bozkurtlar) organization, which is also known as the "Nationalist Hearths" (Ülkü Ocakları) which played one of the biggest roles during the political violence in Turkey in the 1970s.
The party was formed in 1969 by former Turkish Army colonel Alparslan Türkeş, who had become leader of the Republican Villagers Nation Party (CKMP) in 1965. He founded the party after criticizing the Republican People's Party (CHP) for moving too far away from the nationalist principles of their founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, claiming that he would not have founded the MHP had the CHP not deviated from Atatürk's ideology. The party mainly followed a Pan-Turkist and Turkish nationalist political agenda throughout the latter half of the 20th century. The MHP won enough seats in the 1973 and 1977 general election to take part in the "Nationalist Front" governments during the 1970s. The party was banned following the 1980 coup, but reestablished with its original name in 1993. After participating in a coalition government, in the 2002 general election, the MHP fell below the 10% election threshold and lost all of its parliamentary representation after the newly formed Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a plurality.
Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) in the context of Taksim Square massacre
The Bloody May Day (Turkish: Kanlı 1 Mayıs, lit. 'Bloody 1 May' or 1 Mayıs Katliamı, '1 May Massacre') was an attack on leftist demonstrators on 1 May 1977 (International Workers' Day) in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey. Casualty figures vary between 31 and 36 people killed with 126 to 220 injured. Over 500 demonstrators were later detained by the security forces, and 98 were indicted. None of the perpetrators were caught, although suspicion soon fell on the Counter-Guerrilla and associated right-wing groups. The massacre was part of the wave of political violence in Turkey in the late 1970s.