The Justice Party Anf the Republican People's Party 1965-1971.Pdf
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I JPandRPP 1965-1971 233 important of the new parties was tru;Justice Party, created under the leadership of Rag1p Giimii§pa]a,a retired genera)} The NUC had decided against forming a party of its own, but at the same time it had not relinquished its aim of trying to guide the CHAPTER IX new parties in a direction that would not be revanchist. It therefore encouraged former dissident Democrats like Ekrem Alican to form THEJUSTICE PARTY AND THE one of the new parties. Alican had been exn.e,lled.Jro�DP in 1955 and become a founding member of the.jFreedomyartyJ After REPUBLICAN PEOPLE'S PARTY 1965-1971 the May revolution he entered the cabinet as Finance Minister and resigned on 24 December 1960 in order to make preparations for new political activity. In February he announced the formation of The Justice Party has emerged from the bosom of the Turkish the ew Tur efPart which was set up as successor to the DP of nation ... Like everything which has emerged from the bosom of the early years, be orejt abandoned democrac and li eralis . The the Turkish nation up to the present, it is beautiful, vivacious and party represented the 'intellectual', elitist, and urban wing of the full of life. former DP and included high bureaucrats, proi�sson,__ and -professio als. At the same time, some of its electoral strength was SilleymanDemirel, at the Justice Party Congress, 28 November 1964 based on alliances with local landowning elites in eastern Anatolia,_ Initially it seemed as though the NTP would inherit the 'five If only the Justice Party on the right of centre would put up a wall million Democrat votes' and become the successor party. But against the Right as the Republican People's Party has extreme ... precisely �e aus� th.e_e.litis na.tJJ!e of its leadership�nd its done against the extreme Left, democracy would have the oppor limited opu1 ar ase the art failed to achieve !bis pQsiti.on. Too tunity of a continuous existence. many former emocrats, st loyal to the deposed leadership, had Biilent Ecevit, Cumhuriyet, 28 October 1966 neither forgotten nor forgiven the expulsion of these men, and finally, their merger with the ¥nemy' he RPP. Therefore the role of successor party (miras P�{'assed almost automatically to the other new organization,� Siileyman Demirel'sJustice Party The formation of the Justice Party was announced on 11 February 1961. Its leader, Rag1p Gi.imi.i§pala, had been Comman EVEN before the Democrat Party was officially dissolved, the der of the Third Army at the time of the coup of 27 May. Contrary military rulers of Turkey became aware of the problem of the 'five to the rumours about him-that he had been pro-Menderes and million' DP voters in the country. As soon as parliamentary opposed to the revolution-Gi.imii§pala had communicated his democracy was restored its future would be in their hands. Some �yaJJt to _General Madanoglum"7tfikara w1tfim�holal.-_,,,,._.......__ members of the National Unity Committee proposed that the CQ1!J2.;. He was appointe Chief of the General Staff on 3 June and Committee form a party with former Democrats who had been retired in August, in accordance with the rejuvenation programme independent of the Bayar-Menderes group in order to harness this in the armed forces. Nothing more was heard of him until the vote. There were various reports that such an organization would founding of the JP, when his leadership came as no surprise since be called the National Unity Party (Milli Birlik Partisi) or the many other retired generals were also taking to politics. Revolution Party (lnkilap Partisi) . But the senior officers, who T,bere seems little doubt that initially t�e JP e,gLoyed the full wanted to restore power to the civilians, insisted on the principle c_onfidence of the NOC. Gene�k1 Ulay revealed a few days that the NUC was above politics and intended to remain so.1 before the general election o�hat the army had laid the The ban on party activitie�imRosed on 27 May 1960, had been foundations of the Justice Party5 and entrusted the duty of leading partially lifted on 13 January--..:l9.6J). The formation of new parties it to an honourable soldier. It must have seemed a good idea to was permitted and within a month at least fourte.en were the High ommand to counter the threat of revanchism by placing registered, though most of tliem proved ephemeral. The most men loyal to the regime at the head of the political parties. But .t UniversitY ,, ,.'n'!'iJX"/ I JP and RPP 1965-1971 235 become Bilgi�'s only serious rival. At the A_!l� Pro�� Con ress it was reported t at former Democrats �were tu�lJ!g_ �amst "Bilgi9, who had. adopted-the.... slQ an 'new _art -new ol"cies'. Dernirel had become the candidate of those who_ �anted_ continuit . , uni��nd mo erat10n n_ it wason those slogans tha.!_ .fi0:ampaigned. T e General Congress began on 27 November 1964 and after much debate between the three candidates (Bilgic;, Demirel, and Anburun) \..Siileyman Dernirel was elect�.JD'....an ovswhelrning �o�_�st 552 for Bili i and 39 for Anburun. Oernirel's vTcfoiywasa great surprise since B" gic; a een the clear favourite. He was strong in the organization, described as courageous and a man of principles who followed a direct course instead of zigzagging. His firm reaction to Sunats warning to the JP regarding the increase of reactionary activity1 had strengthened his po.sition in some quarters, but had also shown him to be inflexible. �ad been supported by the cons�rvativ� b�!LlliP that_group let him down. Moreover, he was not supported by the part 's 'intellec_tuals', who considered him a traditiQnal polit�ian out of touch with the times. ,J)emire.L�ntr�t, was considered more m d�E_? 'krtew about economics' and a so liad the characteristics of a 1 I�. is s ppor came from the party's �enators an? Repres�n 'fatives and he was put forward as enderes s man, which won him Competition forParty LeadershiJ{jjjj) the favour of the Democrat faction. It islikelyiliat this faction considered that he would be easier to manage than Bilgic;-both Giimii§pala died on 5 Ju� two days before the partial came from Isparta but Bilgic; also had a political base there_JHJ.JL. Senate elections, which his party won by a comfortable margin. He could therefore afford to be independent. Because of his experience had been the unchallenged leader and his death threw open the in busme�s and.management, he is said to have had the con!iden�e whole question of the leade s · · ilgic;, the younger oJ big business, Turkish and foreign. Dernirel's one handicap m brother of Sait Bilgic; ormer hard-line Democra :whohad served seelcmg:-to Jead a p,artx which depended on the_ votes _of . ..!h_ e in the Investigating Committee m _ pn 1960, was considered the reli ious:fonseryatiy...e LiY�s_ his personal secular background._Jle_ most likely successor. He was made acting chairman until the ...w.as a t deed as a 'fa;eemasqn, which was almost as b_ad as beigg2_. question was decided at the general congress. communist in the e es of religious Right. But this did not turn. out Bilgic;, however, was not the onl candidate. The group of to e a serious o stac eand Demirel was able to counteract it retire o icers in . nte to elect a man who would be s1a.1ing: 'Latn..IlQ.La so ; was born Tnfo-afarnily that d-9�� 1 able to wi the confidence of the armed forces. Tekin Anburun, a s·t down to breakfas�� reildingthe Holy Qur'an.' 1' former Air Force omman er an resi en ayar's aide-de-camp, It is also pro a e that General Sunay's letter of 12 November seemed a good choice. As a former officer he would be acceptable 1964, cautioning the parties-especially the JP-not to criticize the to the High Command;8 his service with Bayar would appeal to the 27 May revolution or the armed forces, was timely and benefited former Democrats. B Se tember, new personalities were intro Demirel. '[he delegates, intimidated by the threat of military duced into the contest. The extrerrns s were re arin Pro essor intervention, decided to vote for the mooeraTean f ex1 e F_ua_g Ba§gi to oppose gic;, while the youn t Demirel. lfan'!'.one coul_d _Hl!l?rovethe. par y's standing wiffi Siileyman15errnret · y e egmning of November, Dernirel had ...1��litarviLw.as_he,, 7 f) / �,./..... I 236 The Turkish Experiment in Democracy JPandRPP 1965-1971 237 SiileymanDemirel subordination of the military to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister became a fiction. The General Staff, claimed Suleyman Demirel was forty-four years old when he became Kurtbek, went as far as to prepare the Defence Ministry's budget, Chairman of the Justice Party and was young by Turkish standards the Defence Ministry became the General Staff's secretariat, and for such a position. He was born into a lo e mid e class famil in the minister became a cipher. Kurtbek may have exaggerated the western ato ian villa e of 1slamkoy in t e provmce of Demirel's role in the growing autonomy of the army and Demirel sparta. s is quite common m ur s society, Demirel had may have merely acquiesced in the de facto situation.