Mehmet Talat Turhan

       Military man, researcher and writer (b. 2 September 1924, Elazığ - d. 27 July 2017, Istanbul). He attended Zonguldak Gazi Mustafa Kemal Primary School (1936), Elazığ Secondary School (1939), Kuleli Military High School (1942), Turkish Military School (1942), Artillery School (1946), Turkish Military Academy (1962), the High Command Academy and many courses related to his profession. He served in military roles in many regions of Turkey. He was among the 27 May 1960 revolutionaries and worked at the Ministry of National Defense and as the Principal Clerk in the Office of the Prime Minister in Ankara. He was involved in the armed forces disruptions after 27 May Revolution and played an active role in political issues. He was exiled to Afyon due to his involvement in the 22 February 1962 events. Later he was put on trial for three years in the court case of the Army of Young Kemalists as the chief suspect (1963). He retired as a general staff lieutenant according to the 42nd Law in the Turkish Constitution while he was still on trial (1964).

He started writing after he had retired and revealed that he had also been arrested as the chief suspect of the ‘Bomb Lawsuit’ which he described as “the Clash Between High Ranking Members of the Junta” and that he was exposed to torture for a month in Ziverbey Villa. He spent the years 1972-74 in Selimiye Prison for Military Punishment and was put under trail that resulted in the verdict of execution. He was released when the “Bomb Lawsuit” was hushed up. He wrote about this period of his life in both of his memoirs, which had the same name as the court case. However, the main part of the court case, which consists of five thousands pages, has still not been published.

His first work in terms of literature was a letter to the Chief of the General Staff, whom he thought was in favor of an authoritarian government. “Open Letter to Full General Cemal Tural” was published in the newspaper Akşam on 6 December 1965. In the following years his articles generally connected to topics such as politics, strategy, organizations of information and security, human rights, etc. were published in various newspapers and magazines such as Güzel Yazılar, Sorun, İleri, and Türk Solu. Since 1976, as a lecturer, he has attended many conferences and panel discussions both in Turkey and Germany relating to these topics. He is a member of the Writers Syndicate of Turkey and the Turkish Authors Association.

WORKS:

Bomba Davası (The Bomb Lawsuit, 1-2, 1986), Doruk Operasyonu (Summit Operation, 1989), Özel Savaş, Terör ve Kontrgerilla (Private War, Terror and Contra-guerilla, 1993), Kontrgerilla Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Counter-guerilla, 1993), Çeteleşme – Kontrgerilla – Gladio –Susurluk (Becoming Guerillas – Counter-guerilla – Gladio –Silence, 1999), Ziverbey’den Susurluk’a (From Ziverbey to Susurluk, 2000, collaborative work), Emperyalizmin Batağında İstihbarat Örgütleri – Doruk Operasyonu, (Secret Information Organizations in the March of Imperialism – Summit Operation) 27 Mayıs 1960’tan 28 Şubat 1997’ye – Devrimci Bir Kurmay Subayın Etkinlikleri– (From 27 May 1960 to 28 February 1997 – Activities of a Revolutionist General Staff Officer (first volume 2001, second volume 2005), Atatürk’ün Yarbayı Talat Turhan İçin Ne Dediler (What Did They Say About Atatürk’s Lieutenant Colonel Talat Turhan?, 2004), Genç Kemalistler Ordusu Davası (Court Case of the Army of Young Kemalists, 2004), 30 Ağustos Büyük Taarruz Meydan Muharebesi (30 August, Large Scale Attack and Pitched Battle, 2004), Baskın – 11 Eylül (The Raid – 11 September, 2004), ABD’de Kurukafa ve Kemikler Gizli Örgütü İktidarda (The Skull and Bones Secret Organization has Come to Power in the United States, 2004).

REFERENCE: İlhan Selçuk / Ziverbey Köşkü (1987, 6. baskı), Albay İlhan E. / Asker Yazar ve Şairler (tsz), Ersal Yavi / İhtilaci Subaylar (2003), Güngör Gençay / Üç Kapıdan (söyleşiler, 2003; aynı söyleşi: Gerçek Sanat dergisi, Mart 1996), Tufan Erbarıştıran / Bir Dava Adamı: Talat Turhan (Cumhuriyet Kitap, 23.12.2004), Güngör Türkeli / Harbiye’den Babıâliye Bir İhtilalcinin Anıları (2004),  İhsan Işık / Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2. bas., 2009), TYS e mail duyurusu (27 Temmuz 2017).