Resurgence of the Cold War state of mind: the debate on constitutional tolerance of socialism vis-à-vis the emerging left in Turkey (1967–1971)

ABSTRACT

Turkey witnessed the unprecedented awakening of leftist politics after acceptance of the 1961 Constitution. The Constitution’s provisions on subjects like freedom of thought and social and economic rights enabled the existence of leftist politics in the political arena and prepared the grounds for the policies they would advocate. However, since the US-Soviet rivalry polarised the Middle East, President Sunay’s 1967 statement indicating that the Constitution was closed to socialism, despite prominent jurists’ counterclaims, coupled with some high-ranking commanders’ anti-leftist outburst demonstrated a resurgence of the Cold War state of mind in Turkey.

KEYWORDS:

• Turkish left
• constitution
• socialism
• Cold War
• 1971 Turkish Military Memorandum

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ Cumhuriyet, August 10, 1960, 5.

² The May 27, 1960 military coup was named at that time.

³ Cumhuriyet, October 19, 1965, 1. Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Vesikalar Konuşuyor (İstanbul: Büyük Doğu Yayınları, 2017), 297.

⁴ Especially the following jurists: Sıddık Sami Onar, Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Ragıp Sarıca, Turhan Feyzioğlu, Turan Güneş, Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Muammer Aksoy, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, İsmet Giritli, Mümtaz Sosyal and Bahri Savcı.

⁵ Özdemir Nutku, Suda Ayak İzleri: Anılar ve İzdüşümleri, vol. 1 (İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2021), 200.

⁶ Robert D. Schulzinger, ‘Détente in the Nixon-Ford Years, 1969–1976’, in The Cambridge History of the Cold War, vol. 2, ed. Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 374.

⁷ See Kemal H. Karpat, ‘The Turkish Left’, Journal of Contemporary History 1, no. 2 (1966): 169–86; Jacob M. Landau, Radical Politics in Turkey (New York: Routledge, 2016); Ergun Aydınoğlu, Türkiye Solu (1960–1980) (İstanbul:Versus Kitap, 2011); Mustafa Şener, Türkiye Solunda Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset: Yön, MDD ve TİP (İstanbul: Yordam Kitap, 2010); Sadun Aren, TİP Olayı 1961–1971 (İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi, 1993); Mehmet Ali Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partisi Tarihi (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2014); Yunus Emre, The Emergence of Social Democracy in Turkey: The Left and the Transformation of the Republican People’s Party (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2014); Artun Ünsal, Umuttan Yalnızlığa Türkiye İşçi Partisi (1961–1971) (İstanbul: Kırmızı Kedi Yayınevi, 2019); Yıldız Sertel, Türkiye’de İlerici Akımlar (İstanbul: Ant Yayınları, 1969); Çetin Yetkin, Türkiye’de Soldaki Bölünmeler (1960–1970) (Toplum İstanbul: Yayınevi, 1970); and Özgür Mutlu Ulus, The Army and the Radical Left in Turkey: Military Coups, Socialist Revolution and Kemalism (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2011).

⁸ Şerafettin Turan, Türk Devrim Tarihi, vol. 5 (Ankara, Bilgi Yayınevi, 2002), 43–8.

⁹ Ibid., 60; Constitution of the Turkish Republic, Translated for the Committee of National Unity by Sadık Balkan, Ahmet E. Uysal and Kemal H. Karpat (Ankara: s.n., 1961), 32–3.

¹⁰ Among these economists, Gunnar Myrdal shone in terms of his influence on Turkish planners. See Sertel, Türkiye’de İlerici Akımlar, 199.

¹¹ Turan, Türk Devrim Tarihi, 50–2.

¹² Constitution, 10–14, 35.

¹³ Planlama Nedir? Niçin Plan Yapıyoruz? (Ankara: Devlet Planlama Teşkilatı Yayınları, 1961), 7.

¹⁴ See Kazım Öztürk, İzahlı, Gerekçeli, Anabelgeli ve Maddelere Göre Tasnifli Bütün Tutanakları ile Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası, vol. 2 (Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 1966), 1252, 1849.

¹⁵ Constitution, 14–15.

¹⁶ Jacob M. Landau, Radical Politics in Turkey, 21–5; Muzaffer Uyguner, ‘Türk Sosyalizmi’, Varlık, no. 586 (1962): 15. His blurb was on Hilmi Özgen’s book, The Principles of Turkish Socialism.

¹⁷ Gökhan Atılgan, Yön-Devrim Hareketi: Kemalizm ile Marksizm Arasında Geleneksel Aydınlar (İstanbul: Yordam Kitap, 2008), 40–50; Bülent Tanör and Taner Beygo, Türk Anayasaları (İstanbul: Tipo Neşriyat, 1966), 185; Turan, Türk Devrim Tarihi, 148; Şener, Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset, 78.

¹⁸ For Avcıoğlu’s views, see Doğan Avcıoğlu, Atatürk, Milliyetçilik, Sosyalizm: Yön ve Devrim Yazıları (İstanbul: İleri Yayınları, 2006), 61–9, 87–91, 96–9, 125, 129, 253–61, 332–4, 410–4, 622–5, 666–9, 716–8; Yön, no. 1 (1961): 12–13.

¹⁹ Şener, Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset, 97–124. The ideas advocated in Yön magazine were popular among university youth. Deniz Gezmiş, a student leader who would engage in armed revolutionary struggle in the future, adopted socialism after reading Yön magazine. See Turan Feyizoğlu, Deniz: Bir İsyancının İzleri (İstanbul: Belge Yayınları, 1992), 46.

²⁰ Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partisi Tarihi, 158–69.

²¹ Aren, TİP Olayı, 33.

²² Türkiye İşçi Partisi Programı (İstanbul: Karınca Matbbası, 1964), 61–2, 99–120, 136–9; Mehmet Ali Aybar, Bağımsızlık, Demokrasi, Sosyalizm: Seçmeler (1945–1967) (İstanbul: Gerçek Yayınevi, 1968), 241; Sertel, Türkiye’de İlerici Akımlar, 294–300; and Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partis Tarihi, 294–5.

²³ Turhan Feyizoğlu, Fikir Kulüpleri Federasyonu: Demokrasi Mücadelesinde Sosyalist Bir Öğrenci Hareketi (İstanbul: Ozan Yayıncılık, 2004), 108–21.

²⁴ Mihri Belli, Yazılar 1965–1970 (Ankara: Sol Yayınları, 1970), 9–23, 200–68.

²⁵ Şener, Üç Tarz-ı Siyaset, 185.

²⁶ Ünsal, Türkiye İşçi Partisi, 25–7.

²⁷ Emre, The Emergence of Social Democracy, 89–99, 269; and Turan, Türk Devrim Tarihi, 126–8, 159–60.

²⁸ C.H.P.’nin Temel İktisadi Görüşleri (Ankara: C.H.P. Grupu Yayınları, 1965), 7–27; C.H.P. Temel İlkelerinden Devletçilik-Halkçılık (Ankara: C.H.P Genel Sekreterliği Yayın Bürosu, 1965); CHP XIX. Kurultayı Parti Meclisi Raporu (Ankara: Ulusal Basımevi, 1968), 29–52, 72–137; and Bülent Ecevit, Ortanın Solu (İstanbul: Tekin Yayınevi, 1968), 16–17, 22–3.

²⁹ Michael, E. Latham, ‘The Cold War in the Third World 1963–1975’, in The Cambridge History of the Cold War, vol. 2, ed. Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 262–5; Development of Revolutionary Theory by CPSU, trans. David Skvirsky (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1971), 353–8.

³⁰ Fethi Tevetoğlu, ‘Komünistlerin Maskesi Sosyalizm’, in Komünizme ve Komünistlere Karşı Türk Basını (Ankara: s.n., 1965), 42–9.

³¹ Ümit Cizre, AP-Ordu İlişkileri: Bir İkilemin Anatomisi (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2014), 56–8; Cihad Baban, Politika Galerisi (İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1970), 265. However, Demirel tried to establish positive relations with the Soviets in compliance with the line emerging in Turkish foreign policy as of the beginning of the 1960s. See Walter Laqueur, The Struggle for the Middle East: The Soviet Union and the Middle East 1958–1968 (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1972), 34–43.

³² See AP Politikasında Genel Görüşler (Ankara: AP Genel Merkez Yayınları, 1969).

³³ Cumhuriyet, October 19, 1965, 1, 7.

³⁴ Jülide Gülizar, Haberler Bitti, Şimdi Oyun Havaları (Ankara: Ümit Yayıncılık, 1994), 85–99; and Jülide Gülizar, TRT Meydan Savaşı (Ankara: Ümit Yayıncılık, 1995), 34–6.

³⁵ Günal Kansu, Planlı Yıllar (İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2004), 207–8.

³⁶ Süleyman Genç, 12 Mart’a Nasıl Gelindi: Bir Devrin Perde Arkası 1960–1971 (Ankara: İleri Yayınları, 1971), 41–6, 51–2.

³⁷ Ertuğrul Meşe, Komünizmle Mücadele Dernekleri (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2016), 130–6, 152–62.

³⁸ Kansu, Planlı Yıllar, 233–8.

³⁹ Thirteen pages of this 19-page text are devoted to the communist threat.

⁴⁰ Yıkıcı Faaliyetlerle Mücadele (Ankara: Genelkurmay Basımevi, 1966), 1–13.

⁴¹ Feroz Ahmad and Bedia Turgay Ahmad, Türkiye’de Çok Partili Politikanın Açıklamalı Kronolojisi (Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1976), 323; and Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partisi Tarihi, 270–88.

⁴² Zaim Ertan et al., Üçüncü Dünya Ülkeleri (İstanbul: Harp Akademileri Basımevi, 1967).

⁴³ Meşe, Komünizmle Mücadele Dernekleri, 158–9. Eyiceoğlu would rise to the Naval Forces Command and become one of the four commanders who issued the 1971 Military Memorandum.

⁴⁴ Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partisi Tarihi, 249–63.

⁴⁵ Ahmad and Ahmad, Açıklamalı Kronoloji, 323–4.

⁴⁶ Ibid., 324.

⁴⁷ The AP parliamentary group asked the government to implement measures to prevent anarchy. Ibid., 323.

⁴⁸ Aybar, Türkiye İşçi Partisi Tarihi, 300; Ahmad and Ahmad, Açıklamalı Kronoloji, 325.

⁴⁹ Ahmad and Ahmad, Açıklamalı Kronoloji, 321, 325–6.

⁵⁰ On April 9, 1963, a law was enacted to recognise 27 May as a national holiday. Thereafter, 27 May was celebrated as ‘Freedom and Constitution Day’. See Turan, Türk Devrim Tarihi, 99.

⁵¹ It is evident that Sunay’s statement referred to the CKMP. For this party’s views on social and economic issues, see Landau, Radical Politics in Turkey, 217–32.

⁵² Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin Beşinci Cumhurbaşkanı Cevdet Sunay’ın Söylev ve Demeçleri (28 Mart 1966–28 Mart 1973) (Ankara: Başbakanlık Basımevi, 1978), 101–4.

⁵³ See Ant, no. 22 (1967): 3.

⁵⁴ Mehmet Ali Aybar, ‘Anayasa Asıl Bugünkü Kapkaç Düzenine Kapalıdır’, Ant, no. 23 (1967): 7.

⁵⁵ Ant, no. 23 (1967): 4.

⁵⁶ Doğan Özgüden, ‘Onlara da Siyasi Hak Tanınmalıdır’, Ant, no. 23 (1967): 3.

⁵⁷ Ant, no. 23 (1967): 4.

⁵⁸ Cumhuriyet also published a series of articles over 10 days starting from 1 June, stating that the Constitution emphasised statism and that it was open to democratic socialism. See Cumhuriyet, June 1–10, 1967.

⁵⁹ Abdi İpekçi, ‘Sunay ve Sosyalizm’, Milliyet (May 28, 1967): 1, 7.

⁶⁰ Yön, no. 218 (1967): 6.

⁶¹ Cumhuriyet, June 1, 1967, 1, 7.

⁶² Tercüman, May 28, 1967, 1.

⁶³ The CKMP changed its name to the Nationalist Movement Party in 1969. See Landau, Radical Politics in Turkey, 210.

⁶⁴ Milli Hareket, June 1, 1967.

⁶⁵ Hakkı Öznur, Ülkücü Hareket: CKMP’den MHP’ye, vol. 1 (Ankara: Alternatif Yayınları, 2008), 146. Of course, this was not due to a fundamental difference between the CKMP and the AP in terms of their approach to socialist currents. After the 12 March 1971 Military Memorandum, Türkeş maintained this position in statements that democracy and socialism were incompatible; he also stated that there could be no such thing as democratic socialism. See Devlet, no. 206 (1973): 3.

⁶⁶ Mücadele 4, no. 1 (1967): 1044–5.

⁶⁷ Milli Işık, no. 2 (1967): 2.

⁶⁸ Nihat Sargın, TİP’li Yıllar (1961–1971), vol. 1 (Istanbul: Felis Yayınevi, 2001), 478, 486–7.

⁶⁹ Cumhuriyet, July 1, 1967, 1, 7.

⁷⁰ Nadir Nadi, ‘Uzun Fakat…’, Cumhuriyet, July 2, 1967, 1.

⁷¹ İlhan Selçuk, ‘Hodri Meydan!’, Cumhuriyet, July 4, 1967, 2.

⁷² Cumhuriyet, July 7, 1967, 1, 7.

⁷³ Millet Meclisi Tutanak Dergisi, vol. 21, Session 144, 1967, 401.

⁷⁴ İsmet İnönü: Konuşma, Demeç, Makale, Mesaj ve Söyleşileri 1965–1967, ed. İlhan Turan (Ankara: TBMM Kültür Sanat ve Yayın Kurulu Yayınları, 2004), 463.

⁷⁵ Sargın, TİP’li Yıllar, 408.

⁷⁶ Çetin Altan, Türk Sosyalistlerinin El Kitabı (Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1974), 61–2, 153–5.

⁷⁷ Cumhuriyet, December 30, 1967, 1, 7. Refik Korkud, one of the leading anticommunists and pro-AP writers of the period, also wrote a book defending these views in 1967. See Refik Korkud, Komünizme ve Sosyalizme Karşı Anayasa (Ankara: Türkiye Fikir Ajansı Yayınları, 1967).

⁷⁸ Yeni İstanbul, July 10, 1967, 1, 7. It is notable that Feyzioğlu, a constitutional law scholar, did not state that the Constitution was closed to democratic socialism.

⁷⁹ Aybar responded to this statement immediately; he said that the president had exceeded the bounds of his power. See Cumhuriyet, November 4, 1967, 1, 7. Indeed, in a speech he gave shortly after, he asserted that Sunay was too ignorant for the presidency. See Aybar, Bağımsızlık, Demokrasi, Sosyalizm, 59–60.

⁸⁰ Sosyalizm ve Türkiye (Ankara: FKF Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Sosyalist Fikir Kulübü Yayınları, 1967).

⁸¹ Harun Karadeniz, Olaylı Yıllar ve Gençlik (İstanbul: May Yayınları, 1975), 89.

⁸² See Tarık Zafer Tunaya, Siyasi Müesseseler ve Anayasa Hukuku (İstanbul: Sulhi Garan Matbaası, 1969), 166–81.

⁸³ Among this declaration’s signatories were jurists such as Aksoy, Esen, Güneş, Soysal, Kapani and Savcı. They also criticised Demirel’s claim that publishing a statement became a fashion. Hence, the faculty members of İstanbul University Faculty of Law published a statement criticising him for his words. Famous scholars like Kubalı, Velidedeoğlu, Tunaya, Sungurbey, Giritli and Özek also signed the declaration. See Cumhuriyet, January 29–30, February 3, 1966. Demirel visited Ankara University Faculty of Political Science on 8 March and met with faculty members. According to Cumhuriyet, the prime minister acknowledged that the faculty members were right on many points. See Cumhuriyet, March 10, 1966, 1, 7.

⁸⁴ Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Anayasa Hukuku Dersleri (İstanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Yayınları, 1969), 162–3.

⁸⁵ Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Atatürk Devrimi ve Gerçeklerimiz (İstanbul: Cezaevi Matbaası, 1968), 15–22.

⁸⁶ Tunaya, Siyasi Müesseseler ve Anayasa, 183–4, 436–40.

⁸⁷ Mümtaz Soysal, Anayasaya Giriş (Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Yayınları, 1968), 186–7; Mümtaz Soysal, ‘Anayasa Hukuku Açısından “Kapalılık” ve “Açıklık” Kavramları’, AÜSBF Dergisi 23, no. 1 (1968): 261–74; and Mümtaz Soysal, Dinamik Anayasa Anlayışı: Anayasa Dialektiği Üzerine Bir Deneme (Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi Yayınları, 1969), 67–86.

⁸⁸ For the restrictions imposed on political thought in articles 141, 142 and 163 of the Turkish Penal Code, see Abdullah Pulat Gözübüyük, Türk Ceza Kanunu Şerhi, vol. 2 (Ankara: Sevinç Matbaası, 1967), 57–8, 73–4, 180–1.

⁸⁹ Çetin Özek, 141–142 (İstanbul: Ararat Yayınevi, 1968), 222–49.

⁹⁰ See Yön, no. 177 (1966): 2.

⁹¹ İsmet Giritli, Komünizm, Sosyalizm ve Anayasamız (Istanbul: Baha Matbaası, 1968), 7–9, 14. It should be noted that Giritli thought differently compared to the majority of legal scholars I have examined.

⁹² Giritli even found the left-of-the-centre movement in the CHP dangerous and cited this as the reason some persons exited the CHP, which was being deceived in good faith in the face of communist propaganda, and formed a new party. Ibid., 22–58.

⁹³ The Constitutional Court found communism to be unconstitutional; however, according to the Court’s decision dated 25 July 1967, the same was not true of democratic socialism. Nevertheless, according to the Constitutional Court, freedom of thought was also not unlimited. See Fuad Azgur, Anayasa Mahkemesinin Kararlarına Göre ‘Anayasa Nizamı’ (Ankara: Başnur Matbaası, 1969), 62–9, 92–4, 189–95.

⁹⁴ Alpay Kabacalı, Türkiye’de Gençlik Hareketleri (İstanbul: Altın Kitaplar, 1992), 195–202.

⁹⁵ Nadire Mater, Sokak Güzeldir: 68ʹde Ne Oldu? (İstanbul: Metis Yayınları, 2012), 54; and Ali Yıldırım, FKF, Dev-Genç Tarihi 1965–1971: Belgelerle Bir Dönemin Serüveni (İstanbul: Doruk Yayımcılık, 2008), 234.

⁹⁶ Feyizoğlu, Fikir Kulüpleri Federasyonu, 176–84.

⁹⁷ Yıldırım, FKF, Dev-Genç Tarihi, 318–67.

⁹⁸ Ahmad and Ahmad, Açıklamalı Kronoloji, 363.

⁹⁹ Cumhuriyet, February 15, 1969, 1, 7.

¹⁰⁰ Müslümanlar Kızıllarla Bir Tutulamaz! (İstanbul: İttihad Matbaası, 1969).

¹⁰¹ Anayasa Nizamını Koruma Kanunu Tasarısı Hakkında Ankara Hukuk Fakültesi’nin Kurduğu Komisyonun Raporu (Ankara: AÜHF Yayınları, 1969).

¹⁰² The Soviets’ rise as a Mediterranean power during the internal conflicts among NATO members in the Mediterranean enabled them to propagate their ideas, and this was worrisome for the United States. The region became polarised in 1967, which worked in the United States’ favour in 1973 when the ‘12 March Period’ ended in Turkey. See Ennio Di Nolfo, ‘The Cold War and the Transformation of the Mediterranean, 1960–1975’, in The Cambridge History of the Cold War, vol. 2, ed. Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 247, 256–7.

¹⁰³ Nihat Erim, the first prime minister in the 12 March Period, refers to the MİT’s reports in his memoirs. See Nihat Erim, 12 Mart Anıları (İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2018), 169.

¹⁰⁴ For a Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey publication aimed at ‘uncovering’ international communism plans, see Komünist Dünya Planı (İstanbul: Sermet Matbaası, 1966). On radicalisation of the working class in Turkey after 1960, see Zafer Aydın, İşçilerin Haziranı (İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları, 2020).

¹⁰⁵ This strategy was based on the idea of the common struggle of the revolutionaries in the Middle East against ‘the alliance of imperialism, Zionism and reactionary Arab governments’. See Ant, no. 1 (1970): 63–84.

¹⁰⁶ See Celil Gürkan, 12 Mart’a Beş Kala (Ankara: Tekin Yayınevi, 1986), 164–83.

¹⁰⁷ Ulus, Radical Left, 126–7.

¹⁰⁸ Doğan Avcıoğlu, Devrim Üzerine (Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, 1971), 21; Gürkan, 12 Mart’a Beş Kala, 161–4, 197–203.

¹⁰⁹ Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s Through the Reports of American Diplomats, ed. Rıfat N. Bali (İstanbul: Libra Kitap, 2010), 158.

¹¹⁰ Gürkan, 12 Mart’a Beş Kala, 231–49; and Ulus, Radical Left, 128.

¹¹¹ The issues were anarchic movements, class struggle, the creation of wealth enmity, reaction against private enterprises, and racial separatism. See Gürkan, 12 Mart’a Beş Kala, 184.

¹¹² See Suna Kili and A. Şeref Gözübüyük, Sened-i İttifaktan Günümüze Türk Anayasa Metinleri (Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 1985), 173–208.