ABSTRACT
The military intervention of 12 March 1971 came as no surprise to most people in Turkey. But few understood the nature of the coup or the direction it would take. Given its collective character, it was difficult to discern which faction in the armed forces had seized the initiative. The liberal intelligentsia hoped that it was the radicalreformist wing led by Muhsin Batur, the commander of the air force, who was in favour of implementing the reforms envisaged by the 1961 constitution. The memorandum seemed to justify such hopes; after demanding the resignation of the government which was held responsible for driving ‘our country into anarchy, fratricidal strife, and social and economic unrest’, the commanders asked for ‘the formation, within the context of democratic principles of a strong and credible government, which will neutralise the current anarchical situation and which, inspired by Atatürk’s views, will implement the reformist laws envisaged by the constitution’.1
