Devrimci Yol was a Turkish political movement with many supporters in trade unions and other professional institutions. Its ideology was based on Marxism-Leninism but rejected both the Soviet and the Chinese model in favor of a more native Turkish model, although it was influenced by the latter. Devrimci Yol entered the political scene in Turkey on 1 May 1977 with its manifesto called bildirge. Its roots can be seen in a movement that called itself Devrimci Gençlik, and it followed the thesis of Mahir Çayan.
Self-portrayal
The defence in the central trial against members of Devrimci Yol at AnkaraMilitary Court included the following lines: The brochure published in Hamburg in November 1980 carried the emblem of the organization and therefore the views expressed there reflect the attitude of the organization:
External sources
In a report on the central trial against Devrimci Yol in Ankara Amnesty International wrote in June 1988: In April 1997, the Swiss Refugee Support Organization published a report simply called "Türkei - Turquie". The report included detailed information on many legal and illegal Turkish and Kurdish organization. On Devrimci Yol, it stated inter alia:
The question of violence
"The journal and supporters of Dev-Yol were not opposed to violence but tried to put into practice a defence policy centred around the idea of 'committees of resistance', which were to counter attacks against the population by right-wing militants known as the Grey Wolves." The first resistance committees were formed because Devrimci Yol believed that there was a civil war in Turkey. Arms were to be used in defence. One of the main goals of the committees was the establishment of cooperatives of production. In Fatsa, for instance, a hazelnut cooperative was founded. Yet militants of Devrimci Yol were not only engaged in bitter fighting against right wing militants but also clashed with other left groups. In these fights, some 5,000 people lost their lives before the military coup of September 1980. Actually the defence in the central trial against Devrimci Yol presented more detailed figures. According to these figures, among the total of 5,388 victims, 2,109 had been left-wingers, 1,286 had been right-wingers, and 268 had belonged to other groups. Besides 94 children killed in these fights, 281 members of the security forces had been killed. In 1,350 cases it had been impossible to determine the background.
Resistance committees in practice
The resistance committees were put to the test during the incidents in Çorum in July 1980. Just like the conflict in Kahramanmaraş in December 1978, the clashes in Çorum seemed to emerge from religious tensions between the dominant Sunnites and the minority of Alevites, but at the same time, they were a battle between right and left wing groups for domination in the town. The committees in the quarters erected barricades trying to avoid further losses. Although a curfew was announced and the military intervened, some 50 people were killed. While the conflict in Çorum was still continuing, Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel intervened by saying Çorum'u bırak, Fatsa'ya bak. He was referring to the district town at the Black Sea of who in 1979 had elected Fikri Sönmez, known as terzi Fikri as mayor with 62% of the votes. The words of Demirel resulted in the so-called "point operation", a military operation that destroyed the project of self-administration in Fatsa. More than 1,000 people were detained. The military operation in Fatsa was often termed rehearsal for the coup.
Prosecution of Devrimci Yol members
After the military coup of 12 September 1980, tens of thousands of men and women were taken into custody. More than 30,000 were jailed in the first four months after the coup. Alleged members of Devrimci Yol were detained in many parts of the country and tried at military courts. Many of these trials involved several hundred defendants.
Mass trials
The list of mass trials against alleged members of Devrimci Yol and the number of death penalties passed in these trials is based on press reports collected by the alternative türkeihilfe
Place
Date
Defendants
Death penalties
Izmir
30.07.1981
18
3
Adana
10.11.1981
57
7
Gölcük
21.04.1983
49
2
Iskenderun
15.09.1983
150
5
Izmir
19.11.1983
115
4
Giresun
25.01.1984
291
8
Ünye
22.04.1984
64
5
Usak
22.05.1984
107
13
Elazig
29.01.1985
41
3
Merzifon
16.05.1985
901
1
Artvin
--.11.1985
939
11
Samsun
05.04.1986
47
2
Gölköy
06.06.1986
101
3
Adana
18.06.1986
331
19
Fatsa
--.08.1988
811
8
Ankara
17.07.1989
723
7
Executions
Between 1980 and 1984 a total of 50 people including 27 political prisoners were executed in Turkey. Members of Devrimci Yol executed for violent activities were:
After the military coup of September 1980 the number of deaths in custody increased decisively. Many of them were alleged to be the result of torture. The victims included persons who had been detained on suspicion of being members of Devrimci Yol. They included:
Zeynel Abidin Ceylan in Ankara on 26 September 1980
Some cadres of Devrimci Yol, who managed to leave the country formed an organization in Europe called Devrimci İşçi and for some time published a paper called Demokrat Türkiye, but later dissolved. In April 1991 the Law to Fight Terrorism entered into force in Turkey. Temporary Article 1 of this law provided that all death sentences would be commuted to 10 years' imprisonment. Subsequently most long-term prisoners including the leading members of Devrimci Yol were released. Most of them joined the Freedom and Solidarity Party. Some people tried to revive Devrimci Yol. Attempts can be seen around journals such as Yön, Devrim, Devrimci Gençlik, Liseli Genç Umut or Halkın Sesi. Other attempts of reorganizing the group have remained at a low level.
