Faik Türün Explained

Faik Türün
Birth Date:17 October 1913
Birth Place:Bursa, Ottoman Empire
Death Date:15 February 2003
Office2:Commander of the First Army of Turkey
Term Start2:29 September 1970
Term End2:14 August 1973
Predecessor2:Kemal Atalay
Successor2:Hüseyin Doğan Özgöçmen
Allegiance:Turkey
Branch:Turkish Army
Serviceyears:1933-1975
Rank:General
Battles:Korean War

Faik Türün (17 October 1913, Bursa - 15 February 2003[1]) was a Turkish general. He served in the Korean War as the Chief of Operations for the Turkish Brigade and was awarded the Silver Star[2] by General Douglas MacArthur. He was the Commander of the First Army of Turkey during the 1971 Turkish coup d'état. He was one of the leading persons associated with the Counter-Guerrilla in the 1970s, and obstructed a coup plot of young "socialist" officers in that capacity, which was planned to take place on March 9, 1971 under the tutelage of the then Turkish Air Force commander General Muhsin Batur. He led Operation Sledgehammer (associated with the Ziverbey Villa) against these officers and the associated journalists and writers, who were supposed to have been plotting a coup to establish a new government with strong socialist tendencies. During this operation, it is claimed by several journalists and politicians that Faik Türün was behind the tortures of political opponents in Ziverbey Villa .[3] After retirement from the Army, he was elected to Turkish Parliament as a deputy for the conservative and right-wing Justice Party from 1977, representing Manisa.[4]

Notes and References

  1. kimkimdir.gen.tr, Orgeneral Faik Türün (1913 - 2003)
  2. YILDIRIM TÜRKER, Radikal, 14 March 2011, 12 Mart'ın kahramanı
  3. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/12-martin-semboluydu-38542329 Hürriyet, the most popular daily Turkish newspaper
  4. International Institute of Social History, Faik Türün Papers