The 1980 Turkey coup
Witness History24 Okt 2023

The 1980 Turkey coup

On 12 September 1980, the army took control in Turkey.

It was not the first time they had done so. It was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been in 1960 and 1971.

The coup followed growing street fighting between left and right-wing groups. Politicians were arrested and parliament, political parties and trade unions were dissolved.

Following the coup at least 50 people were executed and around half a million were detained. Many were tortured and hundreds died in custody.

In 2011 Jonathan Head spoke to Vice Admiral Isik Biren, who was an official in the defence ministry, and a former student activist, Murat Celikkan, about their different memories of that time.

(Photo: Portraits of people killed or tortured during the coup displayed in a courthouse in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Credit: Adem Atlan/ Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

South Africa's luxury train

South Africa's luxury train

In 1986, South African businessman Rohan Vos was sitting in the bath when he decided to pursue his passion and launch a vintage railway business. However, the venture nearly bankrupted him, and he was...

2 Jan 10min

The American Freedom Train

The American Freedom Train

In April 1975, the American Freedom Train set out on a tour across the United States to celebrate 200 years of American independence.On-board were more than 500 priceless artefacts, documenting import...

1 Jan 9min

The longest musical composition

The longest musical composition

On 31 December 1999, a piece of music started playing in a lighthouse on the River Thames in east London. It’s called Longplayer, and it’s set to keep going, without repeating, until the year 2999. It...

31 Des 202510min

Radio Free Europe

Radio Free Europe

Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain.It initially broadcast to Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania and programmes ...

30 Des 20259min

SMS: The invention of text messaging

SMS: The invention of text messaging

In October 1984, as the market for mobile phones was just opening up, one man decided it would be useful if the new technology could be used to send and receive short, electronic messages.But colleagu...

29 Des 202510min

Creating the board game Catan

Creating the board game Catan

In 1995, Klaus Teuber’s board game Catan launched in Germany. The board is made up of hexagonal tiles, and it's a game about strategy and collecting resources.It's since sold over 40 million copies an...

26 Des 202510min

Tamagotchi is born

Tamagotchi is born

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company.Measuring just a few centimetres long, the egg-shaped digit...

25 Des 20259min

How the hoverboard was created

How the hoverboard was created

It was Back to the Future II that made a generation of children dream of travelling by hoverboard.In the 1989 film, the hero Marty McFly escapes from his arch nemesis Biff by jumping on a flying skate...

24 Des 202510min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
min-barneoppdragelse
alt-fortalt
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen