AN ASSESMENT OF THE 15th JULY 2016 COUP ATTEMPT IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TURKISH CONSTITUTION

Abstract

On the evening of 15th July 2016, there was an attempted coup against the democratically elected government of Turkey; an attempt to subvert the constitutional order and bring down the Republic of Turkey. Broadcast channels were raided and taken over; air control towers at airports were tried to bring under control; main roads were blocked. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), the Presidential Palace, public institutes under the Ministry of Interior (such as Special Operation Commands, Security General Directorate, police stations), and other public institutes were directly bombed and targeted military warplanes and arms. Military Centres were targeted: The Chief of the Armed Forces, the Chief of the General Staff, and other high level commanders were taken hostage. Some blameless soldiers were deceived into action with the information that they were in a military exercise, or that they were preventing a crime. Tragically, many such innocent citizens were mercilessly killed and bombed . The people spilled out onto the streets to protect the national will even though they were faced with tanks and armoured vehicles. 243 of our citizens were martyred, and 2186 citizens were injured. As a result of this combined effort from the people and the security forces to resist the coup, democracy was protected, and the national will continued to be expressed, and the attempted coup was defeated. On 21st July 2016, a state of emergency was declared throughout the country for 90 days. In this paper, the normative rules and values adopted by international law, the 1982 Constitution, and the Turkish Criminal Code will be evaluated within the context of the attempted coup of 15th July 2016.