Yalçın Küçük

Yalçın Küçük (born 1938) is a Turkish socialist writer, philosopher, economist, historian and media pundit, recognized for his historical studies on the late-Ottoman and Republican periods in the history of Turkey and Soviet economic development from a Marxist perspective and also his interest in crypto-Judaism in Turkey (Sabbateanism) and criticism of the Justice and Development Party.[1][2] He was detained for 682 days in relation to the Odatv case of the Ergenekon trials (released in December 2012).[3] In August 2013 he was sentenced to 22 years and six months, later to be released on 12/12/13.[4]

Background

Küçük was born in Iskenderun. His father's ancestry is Turkoman while his mother's is Caucasian. He went to the Kabataş High School, followed by Ankara University. He graduated in 1960 with a degree in political science.[2]

Career

His first job was in the State Planning Board, where he eventually oversaw the Long Term Planning department. In 1966 he found a position at the Middle East Technical University. He was fired after the 1971 coup. Before the coup he wrote calling for a "Socialist Revolution" and a socialist administration in Turkey in the leftist publications Yön, Emek, Ant.[1] He is also well known for his bitter criticisms of another strategy called "National Democratic Revolution" (Turkish: Milli Demokratik Devrim).

In 1973, he became a reserve officer at the Polatlı Artillery school (military service is compulsory in Turkey). Afterward he ran the economy department of the establishment newspaper, Cumhuriyet.[2] He also ran the economy bulletin of the Anka news agency.[1]

He soon devoted himself to leftist causes, such as editing the newspaper Yürüyüş and relaunching of the Workers Party of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye İşçi Partisi). The party kicked him and some others out in 1978; so, they launched a magazine called Socialist Power (Turkish: Sosyalist İktidar) the next year.[1]

In 1979 he joined Ankara University but was again dismissed after the next coup, in 1980. He returned to academia at Gazi University, and retired in 1987.[1]

Retirement

In his retirement he continued to write for Social Deliverance (Turkish: Toplumsal Kurtuluş) and Always Forward (Turkish: Hep İleri). In 1993 he interviewed the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Abdullah Öcalan in Syria's Bekaa Valley. Numerous photographs were leaked depicting Öcalan providing Küçük with a tour of the camp, and dining with him.[1][5]

Küçük's photographs with Abdullah Öcalan were in fact published in his own books and journals edited by Küçük himself in the 1990s during his contact with PKK.[6] He asserted on various TV channels and in interviews that these photographs were neither secret nor a cause for shame. As a social scientist and a socialist he analyzed what he claimed was the most powerful insurgency against the Turkish state. Kurdish political organizations other than the PKK claimed that Küçük "Kemalized" Öcalan by persuading him to turn his back on separatism.

He left for Paris in 1993 as a protest against president Süleyman Demirel and the fact that a brothel owner, Matild Manukyan, was the highest taxpayer, but returned after the 1997 "post-modern" coup. However, he was sentenced to two years in prison for spreading separatist propaganda (his interviews with Öcalan). He briefly had a show on Sky Türk called Pens and Swords (Turkish: Kalemler ve Kılıçlar) but it got pulled allegedly after complaints from the government and the former chief of general staff, Yaşar Büyükanıt.[1]

His houses in Karakusunlar, Ankara and Balat, Istanbul were searched in January 2009 in the context of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. His lawyer, Dursun Ermiş, arrived at Küçük's home in Ankara to field journalists' questions. The search warrant was issued by the Ninth Heavy Penal Court in İstanbul. The police were searching for documents pertaining to the Ergenekon network.[7] He was later detained for 682 days in relation to the Odatv case of the Ergenekon trials (released in December 2012), and remains under indictment.[3]

Selected bibliography

Küçük is a prolific writer:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Yön’den Ergenekon’a Yalçın Küçük". Radikal (in Turkish). Anka news agency. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-01-07. |section= ignored (help)
  2. 1 2 3 "Prof. Dr. Yalçın Küçük kimdir". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  3. 1 2 Hurriyet Daily News, 28 December 2012, CHP leader pleased at journalist Yalçın’s release
  4. ↑ Today's Zaman, 5 August 2013, Long sentences for Ergenekon suspects, life for ex-army chief
  5. ↑ "İşte Yalçın Küçük'ün Kankası". Rize Kaçkar Televizyonu (in Turkish). 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  6. ↑ For instance see various issues of Toplumsal Kurtuluş and Bilim ve Edebiyat
  7. ↑ Kurt, Nurettin (2009-01-07). "Yalçın Küçük'ün evinde arama". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2009-01-07.
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