Türkiye will not allow anyone to revive the dark mentality of the Feb. 28, 1997 coup, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday on the 27th anniversary of the coup.
“Our people have not forgotten and will not forget the coup plotters who attempted to obliterate their unit, solidarity, democracy and willpower or their proponents,” Erdoğan said via X.
The Feb. 28, 1997 coup, also dubbed the “postmodern coup,” was essentially a witch hunt targeting conservative Muslims across the country, which triggered a series of events, starting with the resignation of then-Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. It eventually came to be known as one of the most significant turning points in Türkiye’s political history.
The coup was a nonviolent takeover wherein the military employed pressure tactics like issuing ultimatums and memorandums, but the consequences proved aggressive for Turkish conservatives in media, military, judiciary and bureaucracy, who were suddenly the target of a crackdown.
In addition, Muslims, devout or not, pro-government or not, increasingly faced the wrath of secular forces everywhere; even performing prayers was enough for anyone in the public sector to be blacklisted.
The coup’s perpetrators faced a trial during the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rule on charges of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.”
Today, Erdoğan and his government, as well as many pundits, argue Türkiye needs a new constitution to allow trials to be conducted for the coup’s perpetrators under a special “coup” law and to prevent repeat incidents.
