Alparslan Türkeş

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Alparslan Türkeş (November 25, 1917 in Nicosia, Cyprus – April 5, 1997 in Ankara, Turkey) was a Turkish nationalist politician, who was called "Başbuğ" ("The Leader") by his devotees. He was influential in Turkish politics both as a military person, and later as a politician.

Name

His name was a "nom de guerre" he took as an official name after 1934. His former name is a subject of debate. Many Turkish sources such as "Büyük Larousse Sözlük ve Ansiklopedisi" cite that he was born as "Ali Arslan" while other sources claim that he is "Hüseyin Feyzullah". [cite news|url=http://yenisafak.com.tr/diziler/turkes/index.html
title=Türkeş'in Gizli Dünyası
work=Yeni Safak
accessdate=2008-08-14
date=2003-08-16
first=Abdullah
last=Muradoğlu
language=Turkish] His close friends and old acquaintances called him "Albay" (Colonel).

Life

He attained notoriety as the spokesman of the May 27, 1960 coup d'état against the government of then prime minister Adnan Menderes, who was later executed after a trial following this coup. However Colonel Türkeş was expelled by an internal coup within the junta. He later joined "Cumhuriyetçi Köylü Millet Partisi" (CKMP, Republican Villagers Nation Party) and was elected its chairman. In 1969 CKMP was renamed "Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi" (Nationalist Action Party) shortly MHP. As leader of the MHP, Türkeş was also a member of the Counter-guerilla, aka Turkish Gladio, according to a declaration made by a General to former Prime minister Bülent Ecevit [ Lucy Komisar, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_n4_v61/ai_19254727/pg_2 Turkey's terrorists: a CIA legacy lives on] , "The Progressive", April 1997 en icon] .

Through the MHP, Türkeş took the rightist views of his predecessors like Nihal Atsız, who is known for his explicitly racist views and transformed them into a powerful political force. In 1965, Türkeş released a political pamphlet titled "Dokuz Işık Doktrini" ("Nine Lights Doctrine"). This text listed nine basic principles which formed the basis of the nationalist ideology. These were nationalism, idealism, moralism, societalism, scientism, independentism, ruralism, progressivism & populism, and industrialism & technologism.

Türkeş served as Deputy Prime Minister in right-wing "Milliyetçi Cephe" (Nationalistic Front) cabinets.

In his later life he was respected as an elderly statesman as per Turkish tradition and frequently advised fellow politicians of various parties.

In 1992, Alparslan Türkeş went to Baku in 1992 to support Abülfaz Elçibay, who openly described himself as sympathiser of the nationalist group, during the presidential election. Once elected as president of Azerbaijan, Elçibay chose as ministry of Interior İsgandar Hamidov, a member of the Grey Wolves who plead for the creation of a Greater Turkey which would include northern Iran and extend itself to Siberia, India and China. Hamidov resigned in April 1993 after having threatened Armenia with a nuclear strike. [Lee, Martin A. " [http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1997/03/LEE/8019.html Les liaisons dangereuses de la police turque] ", "Le Monde diplomatique", March 1997 fr icon]

He has been the soul leader of a foundation known as the Ülkü Ocakları Kültür ve Sanat Vakfı (Idealism schools foundation of culture and art). His followers consider him to be one of the leading icons of the Turkish nationalist movement.

Bibliography

*"Dokuz Işık"("Nine Lights") (1965)
*"1944 Milliyetçilik Olayı"("1944 Incident of Nationalism") (1968)
*"Türkiye'nin Sorunları"("Problems of Turkey") (1969)
*"Yeni Ufuklara Doğru"("Towards New Horizons") (1972)
*"27 Mayıs - 13 Kasım, 27 Mayıs ve Gerçekleri"("May 27 - November 13, May 27 and its truths") (1977)
*"Temel Görüşler"("Fundamental Views") (1977)
# Ülkücülük; Hamle Yayınevi; İstanbul, 1995.
# 12 Eylül Adaleti (!) : Savunma; Hamle Yayınevi; İstanbul, 1994.
# 1944 Milliyetçilik Olayı; Hamle Yayınevi;
# Modern Türkiye ; İstanbul.
# Milliyetçilik Olayları; Berikan Elektronik Basım Yayım.
# 27 Mayıs ve Gerçekler; Berikan Elektronik Basım Yayım.
# 27 Mayıs, 13 Kasım, 21 Mayıs ve Gerçekler; İstanbul, 1996.
# Ahlakçılık; Berikan Elektronik Basım Yayım.
# Etik (Ahlak Felsefesi), Etik.; Bunalımdan Çıkış Yolu; Kamer Yayınları.
# Türk Edebiyatında Anılar, İncelemeler, Tenkidler, Anı-Günce-Mektup; İstanbul, 1994.
# Bunalımdan Çıkış Yolu; Hamle Yayınevi; İstanbul, 1996.
# Dış Meselemiz; Berikan Elektronik Basım Yayım.
# İlimcilik; Berikan Elektronik Basım Yayım.
# Kahramanlık Ruhu; İstanbul, 1996.
# Temel Görüşler; Kamer Yayınları.
# Sistemler ve Öğretiler; İstanbul, 1994.
# Türkiye'nin Meseleleri; Hamle Yayınevi; İstanbul, 1996.
# Yeni Ufuklara Doğru; Kamer Yayınları.
# Sistemler ve Öğretiler; İstanbul, 1995

References