HIS LIFE
Doğu Perinçek was born on June 17, 1942 in Gaziantep. He is the son of Sadık and Lebibe Perinçek. He spent his early childhood in Antakya and Diyarbakır. After his fifth age he grew up in Ankara. He went to primary and high school in Ankara.
During his university education, in the years 1962 and 1963 he spent 10 months in Germany. There he worked as a labourer and he learnt German. In June 1964 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Ankara University and began as an assistant in the chair for public law (State Theory and Public Rights). In 1968 he got the degree of doctor in law. His doctoral thesis and his first book had the title ‘Türkiye’de Siyasi Partilerin İç Düzeni ve Yasaklanması Rejimi’ (The Internal Arrangement of Political Parties in Turkey and the Regime of Banning). In 1964 he adopted the world view of scientific socialism. In 1967 he became a member of the editorial staff and the editorial writer of the review called ‘Dönüşüm’ (Transformation). He was the founder and the first president of ‘Türk Toplumcular Ocağı’ (Turkish Association of Socialists) in Germany. He was a member of the Worker’s Party of Turkey (Türkiye İşçi Partisi) and of its Science Committee. He was also the head of WPT’s Security Committee and one of the leaders of the revolutionary opposition in the Party.
In March 1968 he was elected as President of the Federation of the Idea Clubs (Fikir Kulüpleri Federasyonu), which were organized among the university youth. In November 1968 he founded and began to publish the review ‘Aydınlık’ which means ‘Clarity’. In July 1969 he founded the newspaper ‘İşçi-Köylü’ (Worker-Peasant) and he became the editorial writer in the newspaper. After the military coup on March 12, 1971 Doğu Perinçek had been put on trial. He was sentenced to be imprisoned for 20 years. He was released after the amnesty in July 1974. After the acquittal in the case of ‘Aydınlık’, Doğu Perinçek took place in the leadership during the founding of the Wokers’ Peasant Party of Turkey and he became the first president of it.
On March 20, 1978 he led the founding and publishing of the daily ‘Aydınlık’ newspaper and he became the editorial writer in the newspaper. After the military coup on September 12, 1980 Doğu Perinçek was arrested. He was released in March 1985. In January 1987 he led the publishing of the weekly review ‘2000’e Doğru’ (Towards 2000). He was the editor and the editorial writer of the review. On April 10, 1990 with the issuing of the decree called ‘Sansür Sürgün Kararnamesi’ (Cencorship and Exile Decree) Doğu Perinçek was arrested, once more. He was under arrest for 3 months in the Diyarbakır Jail. After the law TCK 141 was inverted he got his political rights back and in July, the same year he was elected in the second Congress of the Socialist Party as the Chairman of the Party. He was elected as the Chairman of the Workers’ Party which was found after the Socialist Party was banned by the Constitutional Court on July 1992. Because of a speech on TV during the elections in 1991, Doğu Perinçek was arrested.
He was once more imprisoned for 10 months in 1998-1999.
With the enaction of the law which hold over the press abuses, Doğu Perinçek got his political rights back. On October 19, 1999 he was re-elected as the Chairman of the Workers’ Party.
When the imperialist lies about the ‘Armenian Genocide’ came up in the US and EU assemblies, Doğu Perinçek made press conferences together with the ‘Talat Paşa Comittee’, which was found to struggle against these lies, on May 7, 2005 in Bern and Lausanne in Switzerland. In July 2005 the ‘Talat Paşa Comittee’ made their first mass protest against these lies in Lausanne in Switzerland, where ‘Denying the Genocide’ was a criminal act.
The court of Lausanne declared ‘Nolle prosequi’ because of the press conference on May 7, 2005. But afterwards it recanted and brought suit against Doğu Perinçek. The trial took place at the Lausanne Court from the 7th to the 9th of March 2007. Many people from Turkey went to Lausanne to watch the trial. Doğu Perinçek was amerced because of violation of the ‘Genocide’ law, but the penalty was reprieved.
On March 21, 2008 at 04.30 o’clock in the morning he was arrested in a raid. Since this date he is imprisoned because of the ‘Ergenkon Plot’ together with other patriots of Turkey.
Doğu Perinçek is married to Şule Perinçek, a journalist graduated from the Ankara University. He has 4 children.
DOĞU PERİNÇEK AND THE REVIEW ‘AYDINLIK’
The ‘Aydınlık’ Review has got his name from the review which started to publish in the management of Dr. Şefik Hüsnü Değmer, who was a leader in the Turkish socialist movement in 1921.
After the re-founding of the review ‘Aydınlık’ under the leadership of Doğu Perinçek, the review, Doğu Perinçek himself and his political party have been liable to a psychological war for nearly forty years. About Doğu Perinçek, his party and the review ‘Aydınlık’, much psychological war material was published and broadcasted by reviews possessed by small groups in left or right, by the state itself (illegal state books and booklets) or as state-in-state researches.
National Democratic Revolution – Socialist Revolution Division
National Democratic Revolution- Socialist Revolution debate was the most important division in the last forty years in Turkey. Aim of the ‘National Democratic Revolution’ was to complete succesfully the bourgeois revolution of Turkey which started with the Young Turk Movement at the end of the 20th century. Only after defaeting imperialism and abating the middle age elements in the society it would be possible to establish a society without classes and possessing strong solidarity.
‘Aydınlık’ had been published by the supporters of the theory of the ‘National Democratic Revolution’. There were many important socialists among the founders of this review together with Doğu Perinçek. Doğu Perinçek has undebateble effect in the management of the review.
‘Aydınlık’ was a therotical publication. In ‘Aydınlık’, effort of building a scientific socialism theory on the practise of Turkey and the world could be seen.
The review had a large author staff including Doğu Perinçek, Mihri Belli, Hikmet Kıvılcımlı etc.
The ‘Aydınlık’ review played an important role in forming the theory of the Socialist Movement of Turkey and determining strategy of ‘National Democratic Revolution’ and bacame a headquarter.
The Mass Line And ‘Guerilla War’
The lack of party leadership, rushness of youth masses, inclination to rushness actions effected adventurist inclinations among revolutionarists in 1960s. ‘Guerilla War’ theory which was born in Latin America became effective in these conditions. Books of authors like Carlos Marighela, Albeto Bayo, Regis Debray, Douglas Bravo were rapidly translated and served to the youth.
Doğu Perinçek and the ‘Aydınlık’ review insisted on a revolution strategy based on masses and worked to create an aware and organized worker force.
The ‘Aydınlık’ review made a great deal of publications about counter-gerilla in later years. ‘Aydınlık’ was the first review deciphering counter-gerilla actions in Turkey. Connection of the Turkish Secret Service (MİT) staff with the massacre on May 1, 1977 where 34 people died and more than 100 were injured, was revealed by ‘Aydınlık’.
‘Aydınlık’ struggled against counter-gerilla known as Gladio actions and deciphered them since 1978.
