ANKARA, April 4: Retired General Kenan Evren, symbol of an era when the military unconstitutionally and illegally dominated Turkish politics, went on trial on Wednesday for leading a 1980 coup that shaped the country for three decades until reforms cut back the power of the “Pashas”.

Fifty people were executed and half a million arrested, hundreds died in jail, and many more disappeared in three years of military rule of dictator Evren after the coup, Turkey’s third in 20 years.

More than 30 years after the Sept 12, 1980, military takeover, an Ankara court began hearing the case against disgraced 94-year-old Evren, who went on to rule for seven years as president, as well as the other surviving coup architect, former air force commander Tahsin Sahinkaya, 87.

Hundreds of leftist protesters gathered outside the court, waving flags and shouting slogans demanding justice and the prosecution of more than just the coup ring-leaders.

The names of hundreds of those killed during the unconstitutional military rule were read out through loudspeakers on a nearby bus.

“They are among us!” the crowd shouted after each name, before taking a minute’s silence with their left fists clenched in the air, a reminder of their political allegiance.

“The day will come, the tide will turn, the junta-ists will be called to account,” the crowd then cried.

The nationalist far-right also fell foul of military rule and some of their numbers were outside the court to demonstrate.

Analysts says there is now a growing confidence and will to confront the injustices of the past military coups.—Reuters