Following the military coup on May 27, 1960, President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Democratic Party executives were tried in Yassıada. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and former Minister of Finance Hasan Polatkan, who were sentenced to death as a result of the trials, were executed on September 16, 1961, and Menderes was executed on İmralı Island on September 17, 1961. The executions of Menderes, Zorlu and Polatkan left deep traces in Türkiye's political and democratic history.
The name of Yassıada, where the trials took place, was changed to "Island of Democracy and Freedoms" in 2013. The island was opened to visitors in 2020 with its museum and monument areas bearing the traces of the May 27 coup and Yassıada trials. In his statement, Afyoncu said that in the first years of the Republic, a certain lifestyle was imposed on the society, but the society did not accept it and resisted.
Stating that there are elements that should be taken from the West as well as things that should not be taken during the Westernization process, Afyoncu stated that after the loss of the empire, during the founding of the Republic, the understanding of "We will only be saved if we Westernize" prevailed, and therefore practices similar to the religious understanding and lifestyle in the West began to be implemented in Türkiye.
Rector Afyoncu, talking about the practices implemented at that time, said, "Arabic adhan was translated into Turkish. The society never accepted this. How did the society struggle? It struggled with the election. In the 14 May elections in 1950, it was said, 'Enough say, the nation's say'. When the Democratic Party came, the first Arabic adhan of the society was established, and then imam hatip schools were established in 1951. It responded to these needs." he said.
Explaining that his grandfather prayed to Adnan Menderes until his death in the 1970s, Afyoncu stated that the reason for this was that he wanted the adhan to be read in Arabic again in 1950. Afyoncu said that this request belonged not only to his grandfather but also to a wide segment of the society, and that despite the mistakes of the Democrat Party and Menderes, he was very loved by the society.
"A GOVERNMENT ELECTED BY THE SOCIETY WAS DISMISSED WITH A COUP ON MAY 27, 1960"
Afyoncu said: "The country was deteriorating at that time in 1960. This happened many times later. The soldiers were provoked with propaganda. The civilian segments of the society were provoked. On May 27, 1960, a government elected by the society was dismissed with a coup. What is more painful, Adnan Menderes was executed. You look at the accusations, ridiculous accusations. Most of them have no basis in fact. But this is also an intimidation to the governments that came after Menderes." This lasted until the late Turgut Özal was elected President."
Expressing that Turgut Özal is a politician who follows the Menderes tradition, Afyoncu said that he fought hard against the difficulties during the Presidency process, saying "I put on my shroud and I am leaving", and that this approach was not accepted even by some segments within the Motherland Party.
Afyoncu said, "The effect of the 60's revolution lasted for about 30 years. For example, Demirel, who came after Menderes, could not follow the policy he should have followed many times. Because he had the shadow and threat of that revolution on him. The overthrow of a prime minister elected by the society through a coup and his eventual execution is one of the most painful events. It was also a product of social engineering. It was the destruction of a person loved by the society." he said.
"THE BLACKEST PAGES"
Making evaluations about the trial process, Afyoncu described the people who carried out the trials at that time as a disgrace in the history of the Turkish judiciary and said, "As a matter of fact, the Yassıada trials are the blackest pages in the history of the Turkish judiciary. Today, Yassıada operates as the 'Island of Democracy and Freedoms'. I recommend the society to go there and visit." he said.
Emphasizing that the events of that period captured Türkiye for about 30 years, Afyoncu noted that despite the election of Turgut Özal, the tutelage system established after 1960 continued, that judicial tutelage posed an obstacle to civilians during this period, and that the Constitutional Court was one of the most important elements of this structure. Afyoncu said, "Of course, the mental continuation of the 60's revolution appeared on February 28 in 1997. Its traces could only be erased in 2012." he said.
Touching on the importance of Yassıada, Afyoncu said, "Yassıada is actually a place in our history that we should take a lesson from. I mean, why is it something we should take a lesson from? It is a product of social engineers. It is the trial of a government by the people elected by the people. The 1960 coup, which we call the 1960 revolution, was actually a coup against society. Not against the Democratic Party." he said.
Stating that Türkiye has gone through very serious and difficult processes, Afyoncu stated that developments such as reopening Hagia Sophia for worship, which were targeted by the nationalist-conservative segment for many years, headscarved students being able to continue their education and headscarved public officials to continue their working lives, were realized as a result of long struggles.
Rector Afyoncu stated that there were people who were executed, imprisoned and whose lives were negatively affected during these processes, and that different political parties were closed down at various periods.
Saying that military coups are a social engineering attempt against society, Afyoncu underlined that society does not accept these interventions in the long term, and noted that the Turkish nation's most important tool against this is elections, and that it shows its reaction to those who want to engage in social engineering by not voting for them at the ballot box.
Erhan Afyoncu emphasized that young people should know recent history well, and that Türkiye has gone through a long and difficult struggle when we look at the last 40-50 years, and said, "AK Party came to power in 2002. What did the AK Party, a nationalist and conservative party, want to do? It wanted to abolish the coefficient in front of Imam-Hatip schools, but it could not do so for 10 years. Look, they did not allow the AK Party to abolish the coefficient for 10 years during its rule." he said.
Stating that the abolition of the coefficient application paved the way for graduates of imam hatip, vocational and commercial high schools to choose the higher education programs they want in line with their scores, Afyoncu stated that even a nationalist-conservative government could only abolish this practice in the 10th year of its power, and thus the injustice in question was eliminated.
"60'S REVOLUTION IS ALSO THE EVENT THAT HIT THE BIGGEST DISRUPTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN Türkiye"
Afyoncu advised young people to watch documentaries about recent history and stated that the change that Türkiye has experienced from past to present should be well understood and it should be seen that the rights that are considered normal today, such as the ability of headscarved students to go to school, faced serious restrictions in the 1980s.
Afyoncu continued his speech as follows: "Since Adnan Menderes was executed, many things that should be criticized cannot be criticized. In other words, there are aspects that can be criticized. His government has its rights and wrongs. But he has the status of an oppressed person. Because Adnan Menderes was executed there because he did the things that the society wanted. For example, these were requests from the society, such as the Arabic call to prayer and the opening of imam hatip schools. The society said to Menderes, 'brother, take care of my values and I will vote for you. That's why Menderes was executed. Adnan Menderes represents the society's resistance against social engineering."
Evaluating the process that took place after Menderes' execution, Afyoncu emphasized that the party system in Türkiye could not be sufficiently established and political parties could not gain continuity due to the interventions and said, "The 60's revolution is also the event that caused the biggest disruption to the development of democratic life in Türkiye." he said.
