"The generation of '68 was a passionate and rebellious generation. They liked the street better than their homes, and they liked the revolution and their friends. People emerged from this generation who do not hesitate to face death for their beliefs. This is why it is so important to remember the stories of those people today"
bianet project advisor and journalist Nadire Mater passes on the spirit of 1968 in her book "Sokak Güzeldir: 68'de Ne Oldu" ('The Street is beautiful: What happened in '68?') with 21 interviews and detailed articles about this period.
Mater will be the guest of a meeting organized by Direnistanbul ('Resistanbul') and the Amargi Feminist Bookstore on Saturday 26 September in the Amargi Feminist Bookstore Café at 3.00 pm to talk about the time around 1968 with other women.
"Women want the street not in vain"
In an interview with the Express magazine Mater said:
"The street is the address of freedom and the address of seeking freedom. As a woman I understood better that the street means freedom and I could experience it better. Women want the street not in vain. The street is a sorrowful place as well. We were also on the streets to bid farewell to our friends who were killed starting from 1968, and we still are.
The Street is Beautiful
With its frequent use of detailed side notes, formerly unknown photographs and a comprehensive bibliography Nadire Mater's book is a concise account of the time before and after 1968 in Turkey and other places of the world.
Interviews for the book were made with Bozkurt Nuhoğlu, Kemal Bingöllü, Uğur Cilasun, Ruhi Koç, Osman Saffet Arolat, Çimen Keskin, Çetin Uygur, Haydar İlker, Hikmet Bozçalı, Jülide (Zaim) Aral, Selçuk Şahin Polat, Işık Alumur, Esra Koç, Şahin Alpay, Mustafa İlker Gürkan, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Neşe Erdilek, Sait Kozacıoğlu, Mustafa Lütfi Kıyıcı, Oral Çalışlar and Hatice Yaşar.
The in-depth reviews begin with the occupation of the Istanbul University by students and chronologically progress, bringing together experiences from Trabzon and Ankara.
The relationship of the movement in Turkey with the uprising in Europe, student movement's evolution into a revolutionary movement, their relation with the labor movement, the establishment's reaction, fascist attacks and the issue of armed struggle, divided opinions, the influence of the Kurdish struggle, the criticism of affiliations with the army which is still being brought to the agenda, and the relation with Kemalizm are discussed by people who have been part of these discussions and who have directed this movement. The book also questions the "male" character of '68.
The annex following the interviews contain the essays "Economic and Social Indicators in the World and in Turkey in 1960s" by Barış Alp Özden and "The Beginning of the Modern Kurdish Politics in Turkey: Revolutionary East Cultural Associations" written by Ümit Fırat.
Furthermore, The Turkish Labor Party (TİP), Turkey's National Youth Association-Turkey's National Student Federation (TMGT-TMTF), Federation of Clubs of Thought (FKF), Revolutionary Youth (DEV-GENÇ), Ant magazine, Aydınlık and Kurtuluş, Turkey's People's Liberation Army (THKO), Turkey's People's Liberation Party-Front (THKP-C), Turkey's Revolutionary Workers Peasants Party (TİİKP), Turkey's Communist Party- Marxist Leninist (TKP-ML) and Turkey's Workers Peasants Liberation Army (TİKKO) are featured in different encyclopedic essays.
Additionally, information about the following parties and organizations has been compiled in encyclopedic essays: Workers Party of Turkey (TİP), Turkey National Youth Organization - Turkey National Student Federation (TMGT-TMTF), the Revolutionary Youth (DEV-GENÇ) from the Idea Club Federation (FKF), Ant Magazine, Clarity and Liberation, Turkey People's Liberation Army (THKO), Turkey People's Liberation Party-Front (THKP-C), Turkey Peasants Workers Revolutionary Party (TİİKP), Communist Party of Turkey-Marxist Leninist (TKP-ML) and the Turkey Workers Peasants Liberation Army (TİKKO). (EZÖ/VK)
* Nadire Mater, Sokak Güzeldir: 68'de Ne Oldu?, Metis, June 2009, 401 pages, 25 TL/11 €.
** Amargi Feminist Kitabevi ve Kafe (bookstore and café): Katip Mustafa Celebi Mah., Tel Sokak No: 16, opposite Taksim Ticaret Meslek Lisesi, Beyoğlu.
