Page "1971 Turkish coup d'état" Paragraph 3

It was in this atmosphere that on 12 March, the Chief of the General Staff, Memduh Tağmaç, handed the prime minister a memorandum, really amounting to an ultimatum by the armed forces.

It demanded " 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 ", putting an end to the " anarchy, fratricidal strife, and social and economic unrest ".

If the demands were not met, the army would " exercise its constitutional duty " and take over power itself.

Demirel resigned after a three-hour meeting with his cabinet ; veteran politician and opposition leader İsmet İnönü sharply denounced any military meddling in politics.

While the precise reasons for the intervention remain disputed, there were three broad motivations behind the memorandum.

First, senior commanders believed Demirel had lost his grip on power and was unable to deal with rising public disorder and political terrorism, so they wished to return order to Turkey.

Second, many officers seem to have been unwilling to bear responsibility for the government's violent measures, such as the suppression of Istanbul workers ' demonstrations the previous June ; more radical members believed coercion alone could not stop popular unrest and Marxist revolutionary movements, and that the social and economic reformism behind the 1960 coup needed to be put into practice.

Finally, a minority of senior officers concluded that progress within a liberal democratic system was impossible, and that authoritarianism would result in a more egalitarian, independent and " modern " Turkey ; other officers felt they had to intervene, if only to forestall these radical elements.