The long-term effects of coups
Harun Yahya
We may define a coup system as, "Using pressure or force in a country to cause the government to resign or hand over power in such a way as to change the regime." We frequently hear the terms 'military coup, civilian coup or postmodern coup' these days. We know that these coup attempts are interconnected, that they are basically illegal organizations and are intended to bring down or hamper democratic regimes. So what do coups, which look positive at first glance but which are prepared illegally actually cost countries?
In addition to Turkey, countries such as Greece, Chile, Argentina, Libya, Oman, Iraq, Pakistan, Ecuador, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Myanmar, Sudan, Qatar, Gambia, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Fiji, Mauritania, Madagascar, Honduras and Egypt have all been subjected to attempted coups over the decades. Looking at these countries, we see that each one is a developing nation, the coups in all of them took place at a time when political and economic stability had begun to be achieved.
This is exceedingly thought-provoking: Coups almost never happen in developed societies with well-developed democratic governance and functional market economies. We need to consider Turkey in particular in the context of coups. Turkey has been subjected to numerous coups and conspiracies because of its strategic position and as a result of the role it has assumed in the Middle East. Since the country moved to a multi-party system in 1950, it has suffered two outright military coups (21 May 1960 and 12 September 1980), two "coups by memorandum" (12 March 1971 and 27 April 2007) and the "28 February Process," which has gone down in history as the "Postmodern Coup."
During this entire process, Turkey suffered major losses, not only in terms of democracy but also in political, cultural, economic and social metrics. When we look at the time of Adnan Menderes before the 27 May 1960 coup, there was economic stability, and prosperity levels had risen. Turkey had been growing at 7.8% per year, and GDP had risen from a global average of 6.43/1000 to 7.52/1000. The coup was carried out while the economy was headed in a positive direction: This is clear evidence that coups are not necessary, but are carried out by certain sinister forces for the sake of their own aims and interests. We can see this quite clearly from speeches made by the prime minister of the time, Adnan Menderes.
Many politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and party members were tried in the wake of the 21 May Coup, and many of them were executed or imprisoned. Turkey suffered an economic setback. Thousands of people were detained in the wake of the 12 September 1980 Coup, scores were executed and millions more had files opened on them by the authorities. The country suffered significant cultural and social damage as well; hundreds of journalists were tried, newspapers were destroyed and many people were deprived of their liberty. Prohibitions entered the artistic arena; many films and books were banned outright. Moreover, society suffered psychological damage; young people became introverted and antisocial and were no longer able to express their ideas and opinions freely.
After 1995 the country made economic and cultural progress once again after many years. Just as stability began being established, talk of "religious extremism" broke out. Many illegal organizations were exposed and the public were incited against the government by means of the press and various media organizations. The result of this incitement was the "28 February postmodern Coup." The country again suffered an economic setback. The economy contracted by 6.1%, and income levels by 9.5%. GDP declined by $75 billion. The coup also imposed extra costs of $1.8 billion.
A military coup recently overthrew the Egyptian government. The scenario behind that coup on 3 July 2013 was very much the same. Political stability had been restored in the country following the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime and power was assumed by leaders chosen by the popular will. However, events manifested themselves again on 22 November 2012. Illegal protest marches, protests and turmoil were arranged and the people were again incited against the government; the military took control of the country on the grounds there was no stability.
In the events that followed, 3,533 people died and thousands more were injured. Hundreds of opponents of the coup were tried and most were sentenced to prison. The trial of Muhammad Morsi, the first elected president, is still continuing. They tried to prepare the foundations for another coup in Turkey on the same grounds by means of the "Gezi protests." Street protests were arranged in the country and great efforts were made to create a climate of disorder. They did not succeed, however; democracy was maintained thanks to Turkey's powerful structure, its experience from the past and its common sense and Turkey's democracy is still being maintained. When we look at democratic countries, and particularly European countries, we see they all have quite well -developed economies, social life, and culture and these countries have never been subjected to coups. That allows us to make a comparison.
Coups and regimes backed by coups have never led to stability; on the contrary, they have always led to a return to the past and they have invariably worsened living conditions and restricted freedoms.
What needs to be done to prevent coups is to keep democracy alive. That is only possible with a strong will; a political will that leaves ideas and opinions free until the very end. No matter what their opinions, language, religion or sect, all sections of society must be listened to and their ideas respected; this doesn't mean a government needs to act on the opinions of any one group in particular, but their concerns must nonetheless be heard. If we look back at the history of coups, we will see that it is essentially a conflict of ideas that always lie at the root of such affairs. National regimes must stress art, science, beauty and liberty and establish a system around the framework of love, peace, brotherhood and justice. Only in this way can the snare of coups be avoided.
Adnan Oktar's article on Daily Mail:
