Thinker, politician (Born
December 1916, Silivri / Istanbul – Death 16 August 2011, Istanbul). He used the name E. Tüfekçi in his writings and books from time to time. He
is the son of Urfalı Mahmut Hayrettin Bey who led Thracian Resistance
during the Independence War. He graduated from Robert
College in Istanbul and studied in Faculty of Economics
of Istanbul University. He graduated from Mississippi
University, Faculty of Economics in United States
(1939). He was introduced to Marxist ideas and
revolutionary activities during his studies in USA in 1936. He participated
to youth and labor movements there. He worked for a while in Mississippi among black woodchoppers.
Mihri Belli returned to Turkey
in 1940 and came in contact with Turkish Communist Party (TKP). Turkey
was under the rule of CHP’s one-party-rule at that time. CHP which was under
influence of German victory in the first years of the 2nd World War
had left Soviet friendship policy. At that time the only opposition party was
the secret Turkish Communist Party. Belli contacted TKP and joined the party
and started his political activities. By the end of 1942 he was assigned to
membership of central committee of TKP. In 1943-44 he worked as an assistant of
Ord. Prof. Fritz Neumark in Istanbul University Faculty of Economics. There, he
was one of the founders and organizers of Progressive Youth Union. In 1944 he
was arrested during the investigation of Progressive Youth Union and condemned
to 2 years imprisonment and exile.
Belli went abroad in 1946. He joined
the Greek Civil War as a guerilla. He promoted up to Battalion Commander in
Democratic Army ranks. He was injured twice during clashes and treated in Bulgaria and Soviet Union.
In 1950 he was imprisoned for a short time because of entering Turkey
without a passport and having a weapon. During 1951 investigations he was again
arrested put onto trial and condemned to seven years imprisonment (1951-58).
After completing his penalty he wrote articles in reviews of “Yeni Yol”, “Türk Solu”, “Yön” (using the name E.Tüfekçi) and “Aydınlık” rather with pen names.
Mihri Belli for the first time
acquired the legal right to speak and write under his real name in 1960s. He
helped to publish the reviews of “Türk
Solu” and “Aydınlık Sosyalist Dergi”.
Meanwhile he was arrested twice for his speeches and writings and was
imprisoned for months. He developed the famous thesis of National Democratic
Revolution (MDD) in this period. He and his friends came into contact with leaders
of the youth movement such as Deniz Gezmiş, Mahir Çayan and Hüseyin İnan which
started to turn into a mass movement. MDD in a short time became very efficient
among leftist youth movements and played a role in transforming the youth
movement of “68 Generation” in Turkey
into a revolutionary and Marxist shape.
Belli went abroad to avoid arrest after the
military memorandum of 12 March 1971. He was guest of Palestinian Liberation Organization for a
while. Later he came to Turkey
but in some months he went again abroad to Western Europe. He stayed there for a while and helped to
publish the review “Yurtsever”. He was in Turkey during the general elections
of 1973 from which CHP led by Bülent Ecevit came out as the strongest party.
After the Repentance Law of 1974 he founded Turkish Laborer Party (TEP) with
his friends (1975). After the party was established, Military Commission
Prosecution Office started a prosecution about it and asked the removal of the
word “Kurdish” from the program and charter of the party. Years passed and the
Constitutional Tribunal took action. It closed TEP because of defending to give
equal rights to Kurdish people. He was heavily injured in 1979 after an
assassination attempt to him.
Mihri Belli went abroad after the
military coup of 12 September 1980 (1981). He stayed in Middle Eastern countries
for a while and joined the founding of United Resistance Front against Fascism.
From there he passed to Sweden.
During all this process he closely followed the Kurdish movement. In 1992 he
returned to Turkey.
In 1997 he met Abdullah Öcalan and realized an interview about which it is said
that they came to an agreement about that the Kurdish problem could be solved
under the roof of the unitary state on the basis of equality without
establishing a federation. Reports of this interview were later published as
book.
Belli was one of the founders of Liberty and Solidarity
Party (ÖDP) in 1996 and Socialist Democracy Party (SDP) in 2002. He was a
candidate in the general elections of 3 November 2002 for the 1st
region of Istanbul
from Democratic Party of People (DEHAP). He defended that the essential and
main problem in Turkey
was Kurdish problem.
Portraits of Mihri Belli he made
fifty years ago in prison were exhibited in 2005 under the title “Hapishaneden Çizgiler”. He served a
total of eleven years prison and stayed for eighteen years in exile. In 2006 his
90th birthday was celebrated. On the 29th of December 2007
he resigned from SDP and in 2008 he contributed to the foundation of Socialist
Party of Workers with people who left this party.
Mihri Belli was one of the leaders of Turkish
socialist movement, Member of Central Committee of Turkish Communist Party
(TKP), theoretician and leader of National Democratic Revolution (MDD) movement
and 68 Revolutionist Youth Generation, Leader of Turkish Laborer Party (TEP), founder
of Liberty and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and Socialist Democrat Party (SDP), candidate
for PM of “Block
of Labor, Peace and Democracy”, Honorary President of Socialist Party. He
passed away on the 16th of August 2011 due to
respiratory insufficiency at his house in Göztepe, Istanbul and inhumed to Feriköy cemetery.
Mihri Belli had written in the introduction
part of the book “Sosyalizm and Islam” he translated with Doğan Avcıoğlu in
1965 that our intellectuals memorized the West, but did not know their own
culture and history apart from three-five clichés and that this was a shame for
them.
WORKS:
THOUGHT-RESEARCH-ANALYSIS: Rigas’ın Dediği (Turkish-English), Eine Analyse der türkischen Linken (Turkish Left –Yesterday and
Today. German – Turkish – English), Türkiye:
Yapı - Ulusal Sorun (Turkish-English), Savcı Konuştu: Söz Sanığındır
(1962), Milli Demokratik Devrim (1968), Yazılar (1969), Devrimci
Hareketimizin Eleştirisi 1961-I971 (1977), TKP’nin Tarihsel Konumu
(1978), Solda Birlik İçin (1978), Türkiye Emekçi Partisi Davası
(1980), Yunan İç Savaşından Gerilla Anıları: Rigas’ın Dediği
(1987), İnsanlar Tanıdım (anılar, 2 c., 1988), Gurbetten Notlar:
Türkiye Solu, Yaratıcı Marksizm ve Dünya Üstüne (1996), Yunan İç
Savaşı’ndan Gerilla Anıları (1998), İnsanlar Tanıdım - Mihri Belli’nin
Anıları 1 (1999), İnsanlar Tanıdım - Mihri Belli’nin Anıları 2
(1999), Esas Hadise O Kiraz Ağaçları (2003), Türkiye-Yunanistan Nüfus
Mübadelesi (2004), Hapishaneden Çizgiler (2005).
TRANSLATION: İslam ve Sosyalizm (Using
the name E. Tüfekçi, with Doğan Avcıoğlu, 1965).