As the military attempts to topple Turkey’s President Erdogan we look back at previous attempts
TURKEY has descended into chaos as the Army apparently seizes power in a military coup with tanks and soldiers on the streets across the country.
But this isn’t the first time that Turkey has seen the military attempting to take control of the country.
The NATO member has seen numerous military coups over the years.
As recently as 1997 the Army forced the Prime Minister to resign after a series of political moves and the government changed without bloodshed.
In 1993 a series of suspicious deaths, including military figures, journalists and the President, Turgut Ozal, led to accusations of a covert attempt to take power. The president apparently died of a heart attack but blood samples were lost and claims surfaced that he was poisoned.
During the 1970s, political violence erupted across Turkey as left and right wing groups fought each other with the Soviet Union and the USA accused of meddling in regional politics.
Then in September 1980 the Army declared they had taken over and imposed martial law. The military quickly abolished Parliament, suspended the constitution, and banned political parties.
Only nine years before in 1971 the military had intervened in the countries politics, with the military delivering an ultimatum to the prime minister to form a strong government to stop the ‘anarchy’, threatening to send in the tanks if their demands weren’t met.
The first coup in modern Turkey occurred in May 1960 when the armed forces took complete control. The military quickly purged judges, generals and politicians before installing an Army General as a puppet prime minister and head of state.
