Today marks the 28th anniversary of a pivotal moment in Türkiye’s history: the February 28, 1997, military intervention that ousted the coalition government led by Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan.

Branded a "postmodern coup" by Turkish admiral Salim Dervişoğlu, this intervention—executed without dissolving parliament or suspending the constitution—underscored the fragility of democratic governance at the time. Yet, it also set the stage for the enduring resilience of Türkiye’s people and their commitment to self-determination.

The story begins with the December 1995 national elections, a democratic milestone where the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi, RP), led by the seasoned and popularly supported Necmettin Erbakan, captured nearly one-third of parliamentary seats—the largest single bloc. This victory reflected the electorate’s yearning for change amid economic and political stagnation. Erbakan forged the Refahyol coalition with the True Path Party (Doğru Yol Partisi, DYP) under Tansu Çiller, forming a government that embodied the democratic mandate of a diverse populace. However, this expression of voter will soon clashed with the entrenched power of Türkiye’s military, a self-styled protector of secularism that viewed the coalition’s policies with suspicion.

Throughout 1996 and early 1997, the military escalated its objections, accusing Erbakan of steering the nation toward an Islamist agenda—a charge many saw as a pretext to undermine a legitimately elected government. On February 28, 1997, the National Security Council (Milli Güvenlik Kurulu, MGK), dominated by military figures, issued a memorandum laden with demands: an eight-year secular education mandate, the closure of religious schools, and attire laws targeting the Islamic headscarf, a personal choice for many observant Muslim women. These measures, framed as safeguarding secularism, were widely criticized as assaults on religious freedom and democratic rights, stifling the voices of millions who had supported Refahyol.

The coup’s architects—generals like İsmail Hakkı Karadayı, Çevik Bir, Teoman Koman, Çetin Doğan, Necdet Timur, and Erol Özkasnak—operated through the shadowy Batı Çalışma Grubu (Western Working Group), revealing the undemocratic lengths to which the military would go. Early signs emerged in September 1996, when General Koman reportedly sought to co-opt politician Hasan Celal Güzel into a post-coup premiership, a scheme Güzel rejected, affirming his loyalty to democratic principles. By January 1997, President Süleyman Demirel, briefed by Karadayı on 55 alleged issues, urged dialogue over confrontation, a call for reason the military ignored.

The tension peaked with symbolic aggression: on February 4, 1997, tanks rolled through Sincan, Ankara, following a municipal protest against Israeli actions—an event Çevik Bir cynically dubbed a “balance adjustment to democracy.” This heavy-handed display foreshadowed the MGK’s February 28 ultimatum, forcing Erbakan to sign away his government’s agenda. On June 18, he resigned under duress, a blow to democratic legitimacy. Though the DYP, RP, and Nationalist Movement Party (BBP) rallied for a new coalition under Çiller, Demirel appointed ANAP’s Mesut Yılmaz, who formed a government with Bülent Ecevit’s DSP and Hüsamettin Cindoruk’s DTP on June 30—an outcome many saw as a military-orchestrated detour from the people’s will.

The aftermath tested Türkiye’s democratic spirit. In 1998, the Constitutional Court banned the Welfare Party, citing secular-state violations, and barred Erbakan from politics for five years—silencing a leader chosen by the electorate. The Virtue Party (Fazilet Partisi) rose in its place, only to face its own ban in 2001. Yet, from these ashes emerged a testament to democratic perseverance: former Istanbul mayor Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, imprisoned and banned for reciting a poem, founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. His ascent, alongside the Felicity Party’s formation by traditionalists, showcased the electorate’s refusal to be permanently subdued.

Justice eventually addressed the coup’s perpetrators. In 2012, Çevik Bir and 30 officers faced detention, and a court later sentenced 21—including Bir, Karadayı, Doğan, and Kemal Gürüz—to life imprisonment. Though spared jail due to age, they remain under supervision, a symbolic victory for accountability. The trial affirmed that no institution stands above the people’s sovereignty.

Debates linger over the coup’s intent. While ostensibly targeting Erbakan’s policies, some argue Çiller, linked to the Susurluk scandal, was the true focus—a theory hinting at broader power struggles. Erbakan’s claim of Zionist involvement fueled speculation, but the core truth remains: the coup was an assault on democracy, met with the enduring resistance of Türkiye’s citizens.

On this anniversary, the 1997 postmodern coup stands not as a triumph of military overreach, but as a chapter in Türkiye’s journey toward a stronger democracy. It highlights the courage of those who, despite setbacks, rebuilt political movements and reclaimed their voice, ensuring that governance reflects the will of the people, not the dictates of unelected power. (ILKHA)