DOCUMENTS SHED NEW LIGHT ON MENDERES YASSIADA TRIAL
By Erdal Sen
Zaman Online
Thursday, September 14, 2006
1960 MILITARY COUP 09.15.2006 Friday – ISTANBUL 10:21
[YASSIADA ARCHIEVES MADE PUBLIC-4]
After conducting the first investigation into the Turkish premiership,
Zaman continues to shed light on historical documents.
Former Prime Minster Adnan Menderes and his fellow Democrat Party
(DP) members were tried in 14 cases in Yassiada. The result was
three death penalties; 12 life sentences and hundreds of long-term
imprisonments. There were surprising accusations made during the
11-month trial, when the evidence supporting these accusations was
presented to the court. Many interesting documents from among the
evidence evaluated by the jury during the trial have surfaced, and
includes: donation bills for mosques built in Turkey, the publication
of Qurans, renovation investments made for Eyup Sultan Mosque in
Istanbul and even private "thank you" telegrams from citizens.
The 22nd file of the case even includes a Quran.
The government had ordered printing presses from Germany to publish
Qurans in 1960.
Their goal was to export the Qurans to Muslim countries in order to
earn more foreign currency for the treasury. Former State Minister
Izzet Akcal had given the necessary instructions to the Department
of Religious Affairs. They were planning to receive the presses by
June and begin publishing the Qurans by mid-July. The proof printings
were perfect; however, these plans were never realized because of
the military coup. Even this attempt was used as evidence in the case
against the Menderes government, and it was one such accusations that
sent Menderes to his death. Some of these Quran pages, proof prints
for later publishing, were also included in the court’s 22nd file
of misconduct.
Most of the private letters sent to Menderes related to citizen’s
gratitude for the renovations works carried out at Istanbul’s Eyup
Sultan mosque. Menderes had launched an extensive project to refurbish
147 historical and religious artifacts, and of his aims in doing so was
to turn Eyup Sultan mosque into a religious center, similar to Mecca
and Medina. He first mentioned his goal in 1959, and this speech was
later used against him in court evidence of his "exploiting religious
sentiments." The court highlighted the last paragraph of Menderes’
speech, in which he said the minarets and domes of Istanbul mosques
were not only places of pray, but also masterpieces of architecture
and should be treated as such. Menderes further asserted these
masterpieces would one day be important sites to attract tourists
to Istanbul, turning the historic city into something of an open-air
museum. Some of the telegrams that citizens sent to Menderes to show
their gratitude were also included in the Yassiada files.
One of the sections that encompassed the largest volume is the file
about donations for mosque constructions. The donation statistics
of every single mosque in cities, towns and villages were documented
carefully and included in the court’s files. The number of documents
regarding such mosque donations, which were used as evidence in the
"misconduct" case, exceeds 500. The government had issued a regulation
in 1953 enabling it to set aside funds for the construction of new
mosques and renovation of historic ones. The first article of the
"misconduct" charge concerns how much money was spent for which mosque
in which year. The first article of the investigation file suggests
that the Adnan Menderes’ government spent 57,600,000 Turkish liras
on mosque construction and reconstruction during their seven-year rule.
Menderes’ Legal Defense on Sept. 6-7: Your Claim is Based on the
Greek Court
Last week marked the 51st anniversary of the Sept. 6-7 events. On
Sept. 6, 1955, violence erupted in Istanbul and Izmir and lasted
nine hours following rumors suggesting that Ataturk’s house in
Thessalonca had been bombed. Churches and workplaces were attacked,
and a number of Greek and Armenian-born citizens were killed. These
events were also handled in the Yassiada Courts established after May
27.The Democratic Party (DP) held responsible by the Greek courts
faced similar accusations five years later. For his legal defense
regarding the Sept. 6-7 events, Menderes penned his own account of
events dating back to Nov. 18, 1960. In the defense submitted to Court
of Justice High Chairmanship, Menderes criticized the Yassiada Court
for mimicking the Greek courts, and said: "We do not know whether
the only basis for the allegations that we started the Sept. 6-7
events are the ruling handed down by the Greek court or not. We also
do not know with what evidence the Greek courts used to reach this
verdict. Evidence suggests, however, that the court’s agenda was
biased. Firstly, the accusation that Turkey instigated the Sept. 6-7
events was very important in terms of the Greek national interests. We
did not have the full text relating to the Greek court’s ruling,
so we cannot defend ourselves."
Menderes’ lawyer Talat Asal, in the written defense he presented to
the court, used the term "attorney general distressed at the lack of
evidence" in reference to the Court General Attorney Altay Egesel.
Chief Judge: Stop Speaking or I will Silence you
Presiding Judge Salim Basol’s reproachful attitude during the Yassiada
trials was one of the issues most criticized by the witnesses for
the defendants. Judge Basol went down in history for his statement,
"The force that shut you up in here wants it this way," in a tone
intended to humiliate the accused. Politicians reacted harshly to the
attitude shown by Judge Basol throughout the trial, according to the
minutes of the trial. One example of protest came from Tevfk Iler as
he said: "They are trying to behead us here. Okay, let them play with
our heads, but do not let them play with our honor and chastity. They
talked about how the families were concerned for being called in for
questioning by the inquiry commission. What about our children who
have been suffering for 13 and a half months?" Minister of Finance
Hasan Polatkan asked "Should I not defend myself in a case that asks
my head?" to the Chief Judge, who did not allow him to speak.
At the Moment Lutfi Kirdar Suffered a Heart Attack
Lutfi Kirdar, namesake of the famous congress center in Istanbul,
was Minister of Health and Public Assistance at the time. He was 71
years old and suffered from a cardiac condition. "I am giving you a
detailed explanation, I do not know whether I will be able to appear
again or not," he said, offering his explanation to the judge for why
he spoke for so long ahead of the fifth hearing of the third session
in the trial for the Istanbul and Ankara events. When it was his
turn to speak, he told Judge Salim Basol about his heart condition,
and although he had been impartial while in office, Basol refused
to believe him. Kirdar was again interrupted: "Is it possible to be
impartial? Is it possible to be in the Democratic Party cabinet and
work with impartiality; can this be defended?"
Basol was insistent on questioning Lutfi Kirdar about his departure
from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and his heart could not
stand the strain.
According to the minutes of the trial, the final dialogue between
Basol and Kirdar is as follows:
Basol: How did you join the Democratic Party?
Kirdar: I was very busy with the development of Istanbul in 1954. I
struggled against the governor and mayor in Istanbul by means of the
written press on that day but this fight was unsuccessful. They came
to me again in 1954.
Basol: Who came?
Kirdar: The Democratic Party…. Let me sit for a while…(He fell
down)
(The accused, Lutfi Kirdar, could not continue as he was having a
heart attack and was rushed out of the hall."
Basol: The court will take a ten minute break.