Nobel Prize Nominee

RAGIP ZARAKOLU (Writer, publisher and human rights activist) – Born in 1948 on Büyükada. He graduated from the School of Economics of the İstanbul University after his primary and secondary educations in Selim Sırrı Tarcan Primary School (Nişantaşı), Fındıklı and Kabataş High Schools. He got a master’s degree in the same school. He was obliged to discontinue his doctorate twice because of a military coup of 1971 and Prof. Dr. Cahit Orhan Tütengil’s having murdered by paramilitary forces.

In 1971, Zarakolu was tried in the ‘Sadi Alkılıç’ case (as the first amnesty campaign in Turkey) on charges of secret relations to Amnesty International  with several intellectuals such as Prof. Azra Erhat who has translated Homeros from Greek; Criminal Law Professor Çetin Özek; Pianist Magdelana Rufer; Vedat Günyol and Sebahattin Eyüboğlu who were pioneers of Humanism in Turkey; journalists Osman Arolat ve Aydın Engin; Tilda Gökçeli who is wife of Yaşar Kemal; youth leaders Harun Karadeniz and Masis Kürçügil; speaker Erdal Boratap; Dr. Nihat Sargın who was one of leaders of TİP (Turkey’s Workers’ Party). Why those persons league together is their correspondence with Selma Ashwird from Amnesty International. This fictitious case collapsed, but, during trials, Çetin Özek had a nervous break down in Harbiye cells and Sebahattin Eyüboğlu (who has been chairman of the National Education Ministry Translation Board organizing translations of the world’s  classics to Turkish in 1940’s, and charged of sending Tolstoy’s War and Peace to Nazım Hikmet who has been in prison in 1945) was died from heart attack. Zarakolu spent five months in prison, before the charges were dropped. But, in 1972, he was sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment for his article in the journal Ant on Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnam War. This was a price of protesting the  Vietnam War by courts martial. He stayed in Selimiye Prison and was released in 1974 following a general amnesty. He wanted to continue his doctorate abroad, but he could not take passport. In 1977, Zarakolu and his wife established Belge Publishing House in Istanbul. First case was brought against him for his translation of Oskar Lange’s The Role of the State in Monopoly Capitalism. And charges brought against the couple resulted in imprisonment for both Ayşenur and Ragıp Zarakolu, the wholesale confiscation and destruction of books and the imposition of heavy fines.

In 1979, Zarakolu founded the daily newspaper Demokrat with 36 intellectuals and writers and took responsibility for the news desk on foreign affairs. The paper was banned with the military coup of 12 September 1980 and Ragıp Zarakolu was shortly imprisoned in 1982 in connection with this position in Demokrat; this case ended 8 years later. He was banned from leaving the country between 1971 and 1991.

In 1981,  Zarakolu established Alternatif Publishing House and started to publish “L’etat Monde” annuals. In 1982, he founded Alan Publishing House with Emil Galip Sandalcı and Arslan Başer Kafaoğlu.

In 1986, he became one of 98 founders of the Human Rights Association in Turkey with many intellectuals such as Emil Galip, Aziz Nesin, Murat Belge, Prof. Nuri Karacan, Akın Birdal. He himself took part in establishing its İstanbul branch and participated in the international rights congresses and forums in Madrid, Marseille, Cairo, Valette, Paris (during the 50^th Anniversary of Human Rights Declaration) and Vienna. He went to Britain and North Irland to study the detention conditions. In 1987, he became one of founders of the Turkey Social History Foundation.

During 1980’s, in Belge, Zarakolu began to turn his attention to history of the left, abuses of human rights by governments in South America and elsewhere, basic human rights documents, alternative history.  He confronted many cases owing to his published books. Afterwards Belge published a series of books written by political prisoners. The series of 35 books consisted of poems, shorts stories, novels. The list of publications include many books (translations) of Greek literature and on the Armenian Question, including George Jerjian's The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled, Professor Dora Sakayan's An Armenian Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922 —which brought new criminal charges in 2005 and David Gaunt's book Massacres, Resistance, Protectors, and on the Jews in Turkey.  There are also a number of books dealing with the Kurds in Turkey. Belge also brought the subject of Pontos, another tatoo, up for discussion, published the books about population exchange for the first time in Turkey and took up comprehensively the themes such as torture, losses, forced migration, freedom of though. In 1995, Belge Publishing House office was firebombed by a far right group, forcing it to be housed in a cellar.

Also court cases against Zarakolu and Belge include one for publishing the HRW report showing the infringements of war law. On the other hand,  Belge published the international reports concerning the Police Reform, the independence of judiciary in Turkey during 1990’s and early 2000’s. The cost of all efforts was the banning of more than 40 books and the imprisonment of his wife for 2 years. In 1980’s, for Zarakolu’s wife who was the owner of Belge has been imprisoned; bad imprisonment conditions caused a kidney disease resulting in late diagnosis of her cancer and her consequential death at 56.

On the other side, the Human Rights Association is trying to call attention to the situation of writers, intellectuals and journalists who were on trial due to their thoughts by granting an award of freedom of thought each year under the name of Ayşenur Zarakolu Award. Those awarded included Hrant Dink.

Zarakolu is writing articles on the opposing press since 1969, but he is still deprive of professional yellow press card. Since 1991, he is writing on the newspaper Özgür Gündem giving voice to the Kurdish Question under the heaviest conditions and became editor-in-chief of this newspaper time to time for solidarity. He is writing for the newspapers Evrensel, Birgün, Radikal and Taraf from time to time. He is also columnist of the newspaper Evrensel.

Zarakolu and his wife raised two children within this hullabaloo, Deniz and Sinan. Deniz who is essentially civil engineer is one of the editors at the Belge Publishing House and a Ph.D. student at Bilgi University; his doctorate left half finished due to his arrest like his father. Sinan is architect and musician.

Zarakolu, in 2004, married a photograph artist Katherine Holle. Thus, to his family, two children added : Şeref who is a graduate of the New York University and having medical education;  and Zerrin who is a student of the New York Bard College.