Man of politics and writer (b. 5
October 1908, İstanbul – d. 10 July 1995). He attended the Galatasaray High
School and graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Law (1935). He became
an assistant at the same university in 1936. He completed his doctorate studies
in 1939 and became an associate professor of Law of States in 1942. He was
dismissed from the university, because of his articles published in the
newspaper Vatan (1946). The newspapers Hür and Zincirli
Hürriyet, which he published in 1947, were both closed down. He was
sentenced for eight months in prison in 1949, accused of insulting the
president. He was acquitted with the general amnesty in 1950. For some time, he
worked as a lawyer (1952-62). He became the Chairman of Workers’ Party of
Turkey, which was established in 1961 (1962). Being elected as the İstanbul
deputy at the elections in 1965, he entered the parliament. He served as the
judge of the Russell Court, which was established to investigate the crimes
United States committed in Vietnam (1966-67). He was once again elected a
deputy in
One of the leading Turkish
socialists of the Republican period, Aybar defended the idea of “Smiling
Socialism” which he claimed to be peculiar to Turkey. He opposed the occupation
of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. He criticized the
Leninist organization structure in Marxism. A relative of Nazım Hikmet and Ali
Fuat Cebesoy, Aybar supported the idea, which puts that “socialism is
impossible without democracy”. As he demanded in his will, he was buried
next to his wife's grave, who married him in 1947. Siret Hanım had passed away
in 1987. He had a daughter named Güllü (1956).
WORKS:
Bağımsızlık,
Demokrasi, Sosyalizm (Independence, Socialism, Democracy, his essays
and speeches between 1948 and 1968, 1968), 12 Mart’tan Sonra (After 12th
March, his speeches at the National Assembly during the period after 12 Mart,
1973), Marksizm’de Örgüt Sorunu (Problem of Organisation in Marxism,
1979), Leninist Parti Burjuva Modelinde Bir Örgüttür (Leninist Party is
an Organization in Bourgeois Model, 1978), Neden Sosyalizm (Why
Socialism?, 1987), TİP Tarihi I, II, III (History of the Workers Party
of Turkey I, II, III, 1988), Sosyalizm ve Bağımsızlık-Uğur Mumcu ile Söyleşi
(Socialism and Independence-Interview with Uğur Mumcu, 1986), Marksizm ve
Sosyalizm Üzerine Düşünceler (Thoughts on Marxism and Socialism, edited by
Aylin Özman, 2002).