Turkish youth activism leaders and historic persons of Turkish republic youth movement in 1960s Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Huseyin Inan were commemorated on their execution anniversary at the Day-Mer Centre.
Turkish-Kurdish solidarity centre Day-Mer commemorated famous Turkish youth movement’s biggest names who were executed in their very young age. With the motto “No to war and exploitation”, the event took place in the community centre based in the Tottenham area of North London. Aydın Çubukçu, who is the editör in chief of Evsenl Kültür, Hayat TV News Coordinator Ercüment Akdeniz and history researcher and writer Erdoğan Aydın took place in the Schedule by talking about Deniz Gezmiş and his friends, remarking their most highlighted memories. Ercüment Akdeniz, as the moderator of the panel, tackled the importance of the freedom fight of Turkish youth by remarking sovereighnty.
Aydın Çubukçu, in his speech, said “In historical flow it is plain to see fascism and revolution follows one another as it hides imperialist fight amongst them.” The revolutionary icons Deniz Gezmiş and friends were remembered and commemorated deeply at the event as the “bravest of them all”. Aydın named them as the keepers of freefom by also remarking the importance of brotherhood between Turkish and Kurdish communities.
Who is Deniz Gezmiş?
Deniz Gezmiş (28 February 1947 – 6 May 1972) was a Turkish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary, student leader, and political activist in Turkey in the late 1960s. He was one of the founding members of the People’s Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO)
He was born to an inspector of primary education and syndicalist Cemil Gezmiş and a primary school teacher Mukaddes Gezmiş. He was educated in various Turkish cities. He spent most of his childhood in Sivas, where his father grew up. He graduated from high school in Istanbul where he first encountered left wing ideas. Gezmiş and companions are considered by some as “Turkey’s Ché Guevara and compañeros.
While the executions of Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan, and Hüseyin İnan under the 1970 military junta dealt a blow to the morale of the Left in Turkey, in the long run, they established the three youths as symbols under which the Turkish Left would gather. The conflict between the Right and Left continued to escalate within the 1970’s with the Cold War in the backdrop, and would ultimately lead to the 1980 military coup.
