COUP - a documentary film about Turkey's military interventions and coup d'etats - 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997

<body background="../_themes/artsy/arttilea.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" text="#FFFFCC" link="#FF9900" vlink="#999900" alink="#669933"><font face="Arial, Helvetica"> <p> </p> <p align="center"><font size="6">COUP D'ETAT</font> </p> <p align="center"><font size="2">COUP is made possible by a grant from the New York Council on the Arts and the Experimental Television Center</font></p> <p align="center"> </p> <h2 align="center"><font color="#FF9933"> <b><font size="5">A documentary film about the 1960, 1971, 1980, and 1997 Turkish military interventions and coups d'etat in Turkey</font></b></font></h2> <h6 align="center"><font color="#CC3399"><font size="3"><i>Directed by Elif Savas<br> Produced by Brian Felsen</i></font></font></h6> <p align="center"><img src="../_themes/artsy/arthsepa.gif" width="600" height="10"></p> <p align="left"><font size="3">COUP explores the</font> origins of the militarily-patrolled democratic system created by Ataturk in the 1920's; the place of the armed forces in the political and cultural life of the nation; the causes and consequences of each coup d'etat and how they differ from those in South America and the rest of the world, and the future of the "military democracy."</p> <p class="MsoNormal">COUP contains not one word of voice-over narration or one frame of simulated footage.  The film instead weaves together interviews with activists, politicians, and military leaders with extraordinary archival and personal footage of the military actions, street demonstrations and extremist activisms.  This enables the film to illustrate the variegated nature of the current debate in Turkey, interweaving radically differing viewpoints without passing them through the filter of an overriding narrator.  In so doing, the film can remain true to its subject, giving the viewer visual experience of the devastating impact of the collision between state and military authority and extreme civil activism, while providing a hoard of information that goes beyond the mere "sound-byte."</p> <h2 align="center"><font color="#FF9933">SPEAKERS</font></h2> <p>Some of the film's interview subjects are Former National Ministers of Health, the Interior, and Foreign Affairs; authors of the Turkish Constitution; current and former Members of Parliament; aides to the President and Prime Minister; military officers; junta leaders; intelligence agents; publishers; party leaders; extremist activists; former death-row prisoners, and scholars.</p> <p>Several of the film's interview subjects have never before spoken on film about their experiences.  The filmmakers have brought together for the first time politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, even the extremes, to talk about issues of international importance.</p> <p>COUP is above all an oral history of world-shaping events, and viewers are able to hear direct testimony from the participants themselves.  Several who participated in the 1960 coup are well into their 80's, making this film a great chance to preserve their thoughts and a wonderful window into their times.  Already, two of our speakers are no longer with us: <b>General Muhsin Batur</b> (who died in Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul of natural causes after filming) and journalist <b>Ahmet Taner Kislali</b> (who was murdered by a car bomb outside of his home shortly after filming completed.)</p> <h2 align="center"><font color="#FF9933">FOOTAGE</font></h2> <p>Never-before-seen photos, documents, audio clips, and film footage from news services and personal archives form the backbone of the film. The film contains ceremonials with the Ottoman Pasha from the 1910's; Atatürk speeches from the 1930's; footage from the army trial resulting in the hanging of Prime Minister Menderes; speeches by 1960 coup leader Turkes; clips of the condemned student leader Deniz Gezmis; May Day street demonstrations from the 70's and extremist café bombings; the September 1980 coup announcement and the follow-up elections in 1983; the 1995 rise of the religious Refah party; the 1997 coup by memorandum and closing down of the Refah office; and military press briefings from 1998.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><img src="../_themes/artsy/arthsepa.gif" width="600" height="10"></p> <p><br> COUP examines the degree to which abstract ideals (such as "freedom of speech" and "human rights") are actually applied in a country facing political exigencies.  Even if such rights exist on paper, there are practical consequences of asserting them in a nation where the stakes are so high: one of the film's speakers was murdered by a car bomb after filming; some were jailed for their writings; and some were punished for having spoken with Amnesty International about their experiences.  The film also takes a hard look at the practical and ethical issues raised when a country takes anti-democratic measures in its attempt to preserve a democratic system. These implications are both national, when the military becomes involved in the political process, and international, when the nation must balance their own needs with those of foreign governments and world powers.</p> <p align="center"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>       <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE bas sayfa (Turkce)</a> </p> <h4 align="center"><font color="#FFCC00">If you are viewing this text, your browser lacks the ability to read frames. Don't worry, you can still enjoy our site - all the pages can be viewed from the contents page. Please come inside!</font></h4> <p align="center">  </p> <p> <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt">Turkce - Turkish version</span></a></p> <p><a href="frames%20of%20pages/indexmain.htm" target="main1">COUP Home</a></p> <p><a href="motivation.htm" target="main1">Why COUP was created</a></p> <p><a href="speakers.htm" target="main1">The interviews</a></p> <p><a href="stills.htm" target="main1">The footage</a></p> <p><a href="bios.htm" target="main1">About the filmmakers</a></p> <p><a href="soundsandvideo.htm" target="main1">Sounds and video</a></p> <p><a href="american.htm" target="main1"> American involvement</a></p> <p><a href="reviews.htm" target="main1">Reviews</a></p> <p><a href="order1.htm" target="main1">Get COUP!</a></p> <p><font size="3"><i>Copyright ©2000 MM Films/ elifsavas.com<br> All rights reserved.</i></font></p> <p><i><a href="mailto:darbe@altavista.net"><font size="2">darbe@altavista.net</font></a></i></p> <p><a href="links.htm" target="main1">Links</a></p> <h2 align="center"><font color="#FF9933">\\</font></h2> <h2><font color="#FF9933"> </font></h2> <p>Elif Savas and Brian Felsen moved to Turkey right during the time of the 75th anniversary of the Republic.  She was looking for a script, and he was writing his opera.  A religious party had come to power a few years earlier in multi-party elections with just 20% of the vote, which made the political climate very hot.  The government was subsequently taken down by the military.</p> <p>As a foreigner, Brian was both surprised and fascinated at the military's role and the public's regard for the military as guardians of the republic, and he wanted to explore the secular place of military in Turkish life. The idea of a "military-patrolled democracy" intrigued him and he wanted to explore the motivations and consequences of the recurring coups d'etat that took place there, and how they differed from those happening in other countries.  With Elif's prior experience in film and desire to understand and explain her country, they decided to make a documentary about this odd relationship of the nation and its military.</p> <p>The film was created and edited entirely out of the need to reveal the complex spectrum of causes and consequences of the coups; as well as the nature of the political debate raging in Turkey about the future of such a system.  Funding the film by themselves with the help of the New York Council on the Arts gave the producers the freedom not to have to glorify, promote, or attack the point of view or interests of any corporation, institution, or nation.</p> <p> For that reason, the film is not out to condone or condemn anything at all - not the secular or fundamentalist movements, the separatist or nationalist causes, the military or political leaders, the Turkish or American aims, the left or right. Its purpose is to show the nature, causes, and consequences of the debate that is carried out every day in Turkey in speech, law, and action. The speakers in the film hold wildly diverging viewpoints and attitudes, and the goal was to have all sides speak on camera.<br> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"> <a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <p> </p> <p>The following 44 speakers appear in the film.   You can click on a thumbnail below to see a larger image of each person.</p> <p>Turkan Akyol Prof., Hacettepe University; Fmr. Minister of Health</p> <p>Ishak Alaton CEO, Alarko Holding</p> <p>Dr. Orhan Aldikacti Author of 1982 Constitution Constitutional Law Professor, Istanbul University</p> <p>Oguzhan Asilturk Member of Parliament General Sec., Fazilet Party Fmr. aide to PM Erbakan</p> <p>Dr. Toktamis Ates Columnist, Cumhuriyet Prof. of History, Istanbul University</p> <p>Muhsin Batur Fmr. General, Turkish Air Force Fmr. Senator</p> <p>Mehmet Ali Birand Columnist, Sabah Newspaper Correspondent, Turk CNN Television host, Show TV</p> <p>Oral Calislar Author, columnist, Editor, Cumhuriyet Newspaper</p> <p>Husamettin Cindoruk Fmr. Minister of State Fmr. Head of Parliament Fmr. Leader, DTP Party</p> <p>Ilkay Demir Activist; Member, ODP Party Fmr. Member, Revolutionary People's Liberation Front</p> <p>Necmi Demir Activist; Member, ODP Party Fmr. Member, Revolutionary People's Liberation Front</p> <p>Tevfik Diker Member of Parliament Secretary-General, DYP</p> <p>Dr. Sulhi Donmezer Constitutional and Criminal Law Professor, Istanbul Universit</p> <p>Mehmet Dulger Member, DYP Party Fmr. Adviser to President Suleyman Demirel</p> <p>Orhan Eren Fmr. Minister of Interior Affairs Fmr. Mayor of Ankara</p> <p>Raif Ertem Attorney Newspaper Columnist</p> <p>Ayvaz Gokdemir Parliament Member, DYP Fmr. Minister of State</p> <p>Dr. Agah Oktay Guner Member of Parliament Vice President of ANAP</p> <p>Col. Suphi Gursoytrak Pres., Ataturk Thoughts Society; Fmr. Member, National Unity Committee</p> <p>Hasan Celal Guzel Undersecretary to Prime Minister Ozal Fmr. President, YDP Party</p> <p>Nazli Ilicak Member of Parliament Newspaper Publisher</p> <p>Ferit Ilsever Publisher, Aydinlik Newspaper</p> <p>Ahmet Isvan Fmr. Mayor of Istanbul</p> <p>Col. Suphi Karaman Fmr. Member, National Unity Committee</p> <p>Atila Kaya Leader, Idealist Hearths Organization</p> <p>Mahir Kaynak Fmr. Turkish Intelligence Agent (MIT)</p> <p>Mehmet Kececiler Member of Parliament Fmr. Mayor of Konya</p> <p>Arslan Kilic Publisher Member, Workers Party</p> <p>Coskun Kirca Fmr. United Nations Delegate Fmr. Minister of Foreign Affairs</p> <p>Ahmet Taner Kislali Fmr. Minister of Culture; Member of Parliament; Columnist, Cumhuriyet</p> <p>Ertugrul Kurkcu Reporter, Interpress Service Columnist and Political Analyst</p> <p>N. Mazici Author Political Science Professor Mediterranean University</p> <p>Mithat Melen Professor of Economics Istanbul University Columnist, Dunya Newspaper</p> <p>Aydin Menderes Member of Parliament Son of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes</p> <p>Nahit Mentese Fmr. Minister of Interior Affairs Member of Parliament</p> <p>Ceyhan Mumcu Fmr. Deputy Mayor of Ankara Attorney to President Demirel Brother of writer Ugur Mumcu</p> <p>Ayse Onal Journalist Reporter, TV Host, Kanal 7</p> <p>Turgut Ozakman Playwright Fmr. Director of Programming, TRT Radio</p> <p>Dr. Ergun Ozbudun Turkish Democracy Foundation Professor of Political Science, Ankara University</p> <p>Mumtaz Soysal Fmr. Foreign Minister Member of Parliament Columnist, Hurriyet Newspaper</p> <p>Bulent Tanor Constitutional Law Prof., Istanbul University Columnist, Cumhuriyet Newspaper</p> <p>Dr. Erdogan Tezic Professor of Political Science Galatasaray University</p> <p>Zafer Uskul Director of Dept. of International Relations, Mersin University; Member, CHP Party</p> <p>Prof. Serap Yazici Constitutional Law Professor Bilgi University</p> <p>COUP Home (English) DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</p> <p>  </p> <p align="center">  </p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/15.jpg" target="main">Ottoman soldiers</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/21.jpg" target="main">War of Independence</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/22.jpg">Parliament in 1922</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="frames%20of%20pages/stills%20army%20in%20republic.htm">Army in early Republic</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/333.jpg">Mustafa Kemal Ataturk</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/54.jpg">Adnan Menderes, 1954</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/712.jpg">1971 street violence</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/716.jpg">1970's commandos</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/717.jpg">1971 Army</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/74.jpg">c. 1974 Soldiers (Cyprus War)</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/80.jpg">General Kenan Evren</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/801.jpg">1980 Parliamentary talks</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/802.jpg">September 10, 1980 explosions</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/803.jpg">September 12, 1980 coup</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/804.jpg">The arrests</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/805.jpg">Evren takes power</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="frames%20of%20pages/stills%201990s%20religious%20protests.htm">1990's religious protests</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/9755.jpg">Sincan 2/4/97 play</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="frames%20of%20pages/stills%201997%20Sincan%20army%20maneuver.htm">Sincan 1997 army maneuver</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/9791.jpg">1997 coup-by-memorandum</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="images/9792.jpg">The fall of PM Erbakan</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><a href="frames%20of%20pages/stills%20future%20of%20a%20military%20democracy.htm">The future of a military democracy</a></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"> </p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="file:///C:/My%20Documents/My%20Webs/coup/index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home</a></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"> </p> <p><b>ELIF SAVAS</b> (Director, Editor) was born in Istanbul in 1970. After working in Turkey as an opera singer, she moved to the United States in 1994, where she also sang and won several opera competitions.  With a desire to explore different fields, she also began working, in 1996, on a variety of independent film productions in NYC.  It was there, with the help of some kind and generous cinematographers, that she learned her craft, quickly moving up the ranks to become cameraman and then cinematographer. COUP is her debut film as director.</p> <p><a href="ints.htm">Click here for an interview with Director Elif Savas</a></p> <p> </p> <p><b>BRIAN FELSEN</b> (Producer, Editor) was born in Los Angeles in 1968.  He played classical piano as a competitor until receiving degrees at the Wharton School of Business and the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.  After college, he founded and ran an annual international music festival, the Philadelphia Music Conference.  Upon the sale of the business, he attended the Mannes School of Music and studied composition.  While living in Turkey, he composed his first opera and made the film COUP.</p> <p><a href="ints.htm#brian">Click here for an interview with Producer Brian Felsen</a></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"> </p> <p><b><u>Interview with Director Elif Savas - by Brian Mahoney, Chronogram 12/99</u></b></p> <p> </p> <h4><font color="#FFCC00">Q: How did you manage to get so many prominent current and former Turkish politicians to agree to speak to you?</font></h4> <p>A: "I just cold-called them; I was very honest with them and told them who I was and why I was interested in this topic. Then they said let me meet with you so I had to go to everyone's house and I had to talk sometimes for three hours to make them believe that I was honest and really trying to make a good film out of this and not just use them and expose them. They weren't worried that I was a female, a new director; they were scared that I didn't know enough about Turkish politics because I was too young. For example, a rightist politician was scared that I would put leftist politicians longer in the film, so it would become leftist propaganda."</p> <h4><font color="#FFCC00">Q: What was it like growing up in Turkey in the 70s at the height of the civilian unrest and street violence between leftist terrorists and rightist paramilitary? Did that have a strong affect on your childhood?</font></h4> <p>A: "I was never scared to be on the streets; maybe I was too young to be scared, too childish. They would soot at our school and we would have to go down under our tables so we wouldn't get shot. But it was just like it was a big game to us. We really didn't understand. [The military government in the 80's] had a policy to get politics out of the minds of children. We were ignorant. Everybody cared about American films more than anything else."</p> <h4><font color="#FFCC00">Q: In the film, a number of the people you interview mention that the Turkish people hold the military in high regard and look on the politicians very poorly. Why is that?</font></h4> <p>A: "Maybe because they have respect for people who stay away from media. The military keep themselves somewhat away from conventional life and they are very well educated. To be a politician, you don't have to go to school- you can just decide to become a politician and go with it. You don't have to know anything, you can just create this illusion around yourself. So Turkish people see that, and they also see that politicians will act like they are leftists one day and rightists the next. The people trust the military more because they are always there for them."</p> <h4><font color="#FFCC00">Q: A politician interviewed in the film makes the comment: 'A man who is involved with politics in Turkey should own two shirts: One for his daily life and one to wear to his hanging.' This is a deeply cynical comment for a politician to make about the prospect of a stable civilian government in Turkey, free from the threat of military intervention. Especially in light of the recent ousting of the fundamentalist National Welfare Party from power by the military, do you think that a stable civilian government will ever be possible?</font></h4> <p>A: "If politicians and government acted normal, then the military wouldn't have to intervene at all. I'm not saying that coup is a great thing; I think it's a terrible embarrassment for Turkey to have military constantly over us, looking at us like a father figure. But you have to live there to understand it because the politicians screw it up so terribly, you really go to the streets and look for a soldier to help you."</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><b><u><a name="brian"></a>Interview with Producer Brian Felsen - by Ann Morrow, Metroland Newspaper, 12/99</u></b></p> <p> </p> <p>"I've never been politically active, but it happened to be the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic,"<font color="#FFFF00"> </font><font color="#FFCC00"><b> Felsen says, recounting how he and his wife, Elif Savas, got caught up in the tide of Turkish history.</b></font> "We were living in Turkey when they were having the anniversary celebration, and we marched in the pro-secular parade. Here we were, with tens of thousands of people holding up candles and pictures of national hero Ataturk and shouting, "Turkey will remain secular! And "Turkey will not fall under Koranic law!"</p> <p>"The idea of a militarily-imposed democracy is fascinating and strange and confusing." <b><font color="#FFCC00"> So fascinating in fact, that Felsen and his wife made a documentary about it. COUP, their digital-format documentary, incorporates rare archival footage as it examines the collision between military authority and civil action in Turkey.</font></b></p> <p><b><font color="#FFCC00">Although Felsen was fascinated by Turkey's complex political turmoil, he was inspired by the level of involvement of the Turkish population:</font></b> "The people are so politically active, it's amazing. We think these countries are more naïve than America, but actually, it's the opposite. The people are much more aware of the events around them. It was both exhilarating and a culture shock."</p> <p>"…People I talked to loved the army and were hoping the military would come and have a coup. The people were rooting for the military to overthrow the prime minister they had voted for and impose their own guy, because he would be more democratic. I thought that was an oxymoron. It's very odd that a democracy the US supports would need the army to protect it. We had been there almost a year before I realized what an amazing story was occurring...the army basically said to the ruling religious party, 'You'll step down, or what happened during the last three coups will happen again.' The Refah Party did step down, and the army appointed a new prime minister, but there are still a lot of Fundamentalist mayors in power."</p> <p><font color="#FFCC00"><b>Most of the couple's success in obtaining never-before-seen military footage and high-ranking interviewees was due to timing: </b></font> "Turkey has a multiparty system, and the political climate can swing wildly. In 1998, we had a unique opportunity. The '97 coup was a coup by memorandum, and there wasn't much street violence. A lot of the people involved in the events leading up to the 1980 coup were ready to talk who hadn't been willing before. Some of the extremists were no longer afraid, although one of the columnists who speaks in the film was car-bombed to death shortly after. And the people who were involved in the 1960 coup are older now- we were lucky to get them while they're still with us. One of the generals in the film died of a heart attack about two months ago."</p> <p><font color="#FFCC00"><b>But what Felsen is most proud of is the film's objectivity:</b></font> "Elif and I shared the goal of not imposing our points of view on the picture. One of the questions the film raises is whether an abstract American democratic ideal can be globally transported. I think we were true to our goal of telling a complex story as an extended debate."</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <script language="JavaScript">  </script> <CENTER> <p></p> </CENTER> <P align="left">  <P align="left"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif">Note: The RealNetworks™ RealPlayer<sup>®</sup> (or RealPlayer Plus™ ) Version 5 or the new RealPlayer G2 (or RealPlayer Plus G2) is required in order to play this file. If you don't already have a copy of one of these products installed on your system, you may download RealPlayer or RealPlayer G2, for free individual use, by clicking on the following link: </font></strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif">(Look near the bottom center of the page for "Top Free Downloads" or the free "Basic Player.)</font><p align="left"><A HREF="http://www.real.com/products/player"> <IMG SRC="images/getfree.jpg" BORDER=0 width="88" height="32"></A><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif" size="2"> </font></strong><a href="http://www.real.com/products/player/index.html"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif" size="1">Get RealPlayer G2 Free</font></a></p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><font size="4"><b>MUSIC</b></font></p><p align="left"><a HREF="sounds/0coupmusic.rm">Coup theme music</a> (228kb)</p><p align="left"><a HREF="sounds/Canakkale.rm">Canakkale Icinde (performed by Ms. Savas)</a> (328kb)</p><p align="left"><font size="4"><b>VIDEO</b></font></p><p align="left"><a HREF="sounds/0intromovie.rm">Opening montage</a> (236kb)  </p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif">Note: The bandwidth required in order to properly stream this clip is 34 kbps, so you'll need a "56k modem" (V.90, K56Flex, or x2) or better connection.</font></strong></p> <CENTER> <P>   <p align="center"><img src="../_themes/artsy/arthsepa.gif" width="600" height="10"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <P> </CENTER> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="center"> </p> <p class="MsoBodyText">American and CIA involvement in the Turkish military interventions and coups d'etat is generally accepted as fact by the majority of the Turkish public.  Consistent with this, in COUP, a Turkish Intelligence Agent gives the information that the 1971 coup was 'preemptive' - a tug-of-war between factions in the Armed Forces over America and Soviet spheres of influence - and was staged with American support to prevent a more left-wing coup from taking place. Several speakers tell alarmingly consistent stories about an American-sponsored Counter-Guerrilla Center and the famed Erenkoy Kiosk. A host of interviewees talk about a "Green Belt Project" spearheaded by General Alexander Haig.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Some of this is corroborated by information back in the States. Paul Henze, famously, is alleged to have reported back to the Pentagon after the 1980 coup, "Our boys have done it!" Several State Department press briefings from 1997 refer to "Operation Democracy" where "very high-level" administration and military officials met with Turkish counterparts in the days leading up to the 1997 military intervention.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Noam Chomsky provided some confirmation of this, writing us that this American behavior consistent with a 'Green Belt Project' "...didn't end in 1979.  Support for Islamic fundamentalist militants became more extreme in the 1980s, both in the US and its Israeli client state. The US, as is now well-known, trained and armed some of the most fanatic Islamic fundamentalist elements in the world in its effort to impose maximal costs on the Russians in Afghanistan, probably delaying their departure (as intended), and with horrendous costs for the Afghans, still continuing. The terror network created there by the Reaganites has since extended throughout the world, with substantial "blowback" to the US. Middle East specialist John Cooley has a recent book on this, as you probably know. As for Israel, it invaded Lebanon in 1982 in the hope of destroying the secular PLO, which was becoming a serious irritant because of its pressure for diplomatic negotiations that neither the US nor Israel wanted. It ended up helping to create Hizbollah, which drove it out of most Lebanon. After that brilliant intelligence coup, Israeli intelligence proceeded to do exactly the same thing in the occupied territories, undermining the secular and much too accommodating PLO in every way it could, assisting extreme Islamic fundamentalist elements, and finally ending up with Hamas on its hands. That's by no means the whole story."</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">These statements, while often consistent, have not been and probably never can be publicly proven or adequately refuted by any authorities.  But whether they are actually true in fact, the prevailing existence of such a belief throughout Turkey gives them a life of their own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 6; margin-bottom: 6"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">"<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">A wonderful work</b>...This film is a great success...it lays out history in a very clear way - I thought I already knew about the events but I learned a great deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The technique of not using voice-over is very effective and succeeds as the clear result of a huge amount of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>I've already raved about the film to others..."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Stephen Kinzer, New York Times</b><br> <br> "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Extraordinary</b>...Very well balanced politically...historically and artistically deep...excellent clips...It is remarkable how the story is kept chronological with very good interviewee remarks and a constancy of them...digs further than most documentaries...extremely clear and very well put-together...the director shows a remarkable talent for this medium!" - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Kyle Jones, Financial Times</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">"<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">An excellent film</b>...very interesting and informative...the approach you have taken is the right one and the effect of the film is increased by the lack of any obvious bias." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Anne Burley, Amnesty International</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">"<b>What you had discovered I had not known</b>...it is both <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">fascinating and revealing.</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">  T</span>he US, as is now well-known, trained and armed some of the most fanatic Islamic fundamentalist elements in the world in its effort to impose maximal costs on the Russians... It also illustrates that, paradoxically, there can be greater freedom in dictatorships and fascist countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>In Franco's Spain, left and dissident books could be published that could hardly be published here…when the torture chamber is functioning, very prominently, in downtown Madrid, or when the Gulag is not far away, you really don't have to care too much about what people's attitudes and beliefs. It's when a society wins greater freedom that the task of thought control becomes more important and the techniques considerably more sophisticated...The picture that you paint rings true." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Noam Chomsky</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><b>"What a fine contribution you have made</b> to understanding Turkey's Republican history, capturing all its tragic and comic moments...if I ever get to do a new edition of TURKEY UNVEILED, I'll be quoting like mad from it.  I thought you managed to tease wonderful stories and insights from the people you saw, and your choice of people was well done too." - <b>Hugh Pope, Wall Street Journal</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><b>"A very well-done documentary</b> on a difficult and sensitive subject!  I am sure that you will be criticized by some in Turkey, but I personally felt that you have succeeded in staying professional and objective." - <b>Bilsel Alisbah, Fmr. Vice President of the World Bank</b>; Chief Economic Advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister 1994-1997</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><b>"I was particularly impressed</b> <b> by the filmmakers' ability to capture</b> the complexities of the political events that took place in Turkey over three decades...I believe the technique of using only the statements of the people who were interviewed works quite well...One gets to learn a good deal about how different people perceived the same events through different lenses." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Sabri Sayari, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Executive Dir., Institute of Turkish Studies; Fmr. Senior Staff Member, National Academy of Science's National Research Council; Fmr. Resident Consultant, RAND Corporation</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">"A tr</span></b><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><b>ul</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">y great work</b>."<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> </b>- <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Dr. Sahin Alpay, </b>Columnist and editor for the Turkish Daily Newspaper<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Milliyet;</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> </b>Professor, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Princeton University</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><b>"COUP is a </b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">brave, important film</b>...I really admire it...It does a great job weaving together a very complex history...I hope that we can work together to present this film."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>- <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Richard Pena, Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><b>"Not only informative, but also</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">enormously enjoyable</b>...every European television station will want to show this one...it's dead-bang absolutely perfect not only for art-house theaters, but for the European television market as well." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Melik Kaylan, journalis</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">t</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><b>"A remarkable 'oral history' of Turkey and a</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">great contribution</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">to near history</b>...I was stunned...there are several extraordinary stories...provides an enlightening study of the 'double bind' of the uprising Islamic movement in Turkey..." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Bircan Unver, producer, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">On the 20th Century</i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt">"<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Magnificent</b>... an incredibly interesting and important set of people for the interviews...totally fascinating, and a real education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>I was really caught up in seeing what was going to cause the next coup, whether it would be "bloodless", how soon the military leadership would come to no good, and when the next democratic thrust would occur." - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Susan Shaman, Institute for Research on Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania</b><br style="mso-special-character: line-break"> <br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> <b> "COUP is an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">amazing</b> film, </b>an exhilarating experience, and quite simply one of the greatest documentary films ever made<b>.</b>" - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Linda Mussman</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">n</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">, Cine</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">maL</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">ux/Time </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">&</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> Space Limited Gallery, Hudson, NY</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">COUP Home (English)</a>          <a href="darbe/index.htm" target="_top">DARBE Bas sayfa (Turkce)</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <h5 align="center"><font color="#FF9933"><font size="3">Mail payment to:</font></font></h5> <h5><font color="#FF9933"><font size="3">Elif Savas<br> RR1 Box 2150<br> Athens, NY 12015 USA<br> <i>Copyright ©2001 MM Films/elifsavas.com   All rights reserved. </i> </font></font></h5> </font></body>