مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - 12 March Memorandum in Memories – “The Time That Everybody is in Power but us”

Abstract :

Considering the March 12 Memorandum in different aspects, this paper focuses primarily on the internal and external dynamics preceding the military memorandum process which affected Turkey’s democratic development for nearly two years. To do this, the study aims to “uncover the traces of March 12th.” with the help of two books of memories providing insight on that period. One of these memoirs belongs to Sadi Koçaş, who was in charge as Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet during 12 March. The second one is the memoirs of Nihat Erim, who took the office after the military memorandum was issued and presided over two governments. It is evaluated that the effort to explain 12 March Event, for which Turkey paid the price to recover from in the recent past on the way to ensure democracy, with these memoirs by two significant names who had roles in responsible authorities back then can shed light on today’s developments. This study especially addresses to those interested in democracy studies and social issues.