In memory of Yalçın Küçük

(This article was written jointly by Aydın Davran and Hasan Yazıcı.)

Yalçın Küçük, who passed away on April 6, will be remembered for the works he left behind, the theses he put forward, and his lifelong struggle.

His political activity, which began with the student movement before May 27, continued until his final years when his health declined. It is possible to find traces of Yalçın Küçük in almost every significant political event in Turkey over the last 65 years.

Throughout his life, Yalçın Küçük wrote, drew, and produced. Just as some of the ideas and theses he proposed proved to be unfounded over time, there were also shifts in his discourse. With the responsibility and courage of an intellectual, he wrote and drew what he believed in at the time. He also paid the price. He faced various hardships, including imprisonment.

The point that we believe is important and deserves respect is this; With the knowledge, intelligence, and talent he possessed, Yalçın Küçük could have lived a much more comfortable life had he chosen to. He possessed everything necessary to open all the doors of the system wide. But he did not.

Following the professor's passing, his friends, comrades, and students wrote articles and published messages sharing their emotions. Among them were those with whom he had fought, fallen out, and reconciled numerous times throughout their 70-year friendship. Those who chose different political paths also remembered him with respect. Naturally, there will be critical words to say after someone has departed. No one is exempt from debate or criticism. However, we believe there should be a line drawn in this regard. Words spoken and written after death should not be a vehicle for revenge. Furthermore, the level of criticism should be adjusted with respect for the fact that the person being criticized can no longer respond.

Let us state it without delay.  

Trying to portray Yalçın Küçük as an enemy of the Republic and Mustafa Kemal is unbecoming. Sharing excerpts from his writings and speeches to invite abuse is, to put it mildly, completely absurd.

Why do those who share what he wrote in the 70s or his broadcast footage from the 90s not share what the Professor wrote, drew, or discussed on TV programs in the last 25 years? Is the Yalçın Küçük of the earlier period a different person from the one in the later period?

Who was it that foresaw the arrival of Ergenekon and Balyoz and took a stand accordingly? Was it not Yalçın Hoca, the man in the kalpak, who was the first to openly speak of the regime change in Turkey? "We cannot fall behind Kemalism" was there anyone else who wore the kalpak as a symbol of the revolutionary republic by saying this? Have those who harbor a grudge against Küçük ever been able to deliver a speech like the one he gave in the rain on the day he was released from his final imprisonment?

Criticism and self-criticism are indispensable to civilization.

Socrates was a man who constantly criticized his surroundings as a gadfly. Dante ruthlessly criticized the intellectual backwardness of his era and paved the way for the Reformation and the Renaissance. Kant, the primary advocate for valuing humans as humans—which forms the foundation of Western civilization—views self-criticism as the dominant tool of human reason.

On the other hand, criticisms directed by an individual toward a social group they belong to often also fall under the category of self-criticism. For example, Nadir Nadi's famous book titled "I Am Not a Kemalist" aims to do exactly this. The success of every endeavor, large or small, lies in how open the system itself is to criticism. The French Revolution, which began with a longing for liberty, equality, and fraternity, was only able to satisfy this longing for the people of that same country 150 years later, and only after the painful experiences of two world wars, by achieving democracy.

We are going through a difficult test before history and in the direction of contemporary civilization. Let us come to our senses. Those who criticize us should be the last people we fear.