socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
leaning that existed between 1967 and 1971. The magazine was one of the socialist publications which appeared in the 1960s when socialist movements were on rise in Turkey like in other countries.
History and profile
''Ant'' was established by Turkish writers, Fethi Naci,
YaÅŸar Kemal
Yaşar Kemal (; born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a leading Turkish writer of Kurdish descent, who wrote in Turkish and a human rights activist. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candid ...
and Doğan Özgüden in 1967. The first issue of the weekly appeared on the 3 January 1967. The journal had 173 issues as a weekly until April 1970 when it was redesigned as a monthly with the name ''Ant - A journal of socialist theory and action'' and had 84, but much smaller pages. Although the magazine was viewed as supportive of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), it was not an official organ of the party.
In the first issue, a socialist stance against the capitalists and landowners was announced. In later issues articles on the theories of
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
,
Ho Chi Minh
(born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
or the Palestinian
Nayef Hawatmeh
Nayef Hawatmeh (; Kunya: Abu an-Nuf; born 17 November 1938) is a Jordanian politician who is the head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Biography
Hawatmeh hails from a Jordanian clan and is a practicing Greek Catholi ...
were treated. In its first year of existence, several of its writers like
Çetin Altan
Çetin Altan (22 June 1927 – 22 October 2015) was a Turkish writer, journalist, and a member of parliament. He was considered one of the finest writers in the modern Turkish language of the late 20th century.
Early years
Çetin Altan was ...
or
Can Yücel
Can Yücel (; August 21, 1926 – August 12, 1999) was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.
Biography
Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Âli Yücel, who left his mark on the history of ...
were brought to court over terrorism related charges. The magazine frequently featured the views of leading jurists, including Hüseyin Nail Kubalı, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, İsmet
Sungurbey, Bülent Nuri Esen and
Münci Kapani
Münci Kapani (1921–1993) was a Turkish academic, politician and writer. He is known for his studies on public law and political activities in the mid-1950s.
Early life and education
He was born Mehmet Münci in İzmir on 16 May 1921. He gradu ...
.
As early as 1968 ''Ant'' was sensitive to the Islamist movements in Turkey. For instance, the activities of the leading Islamists, including
Turgut Özal
Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the eighth president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th prime minister of Turkey from 1983 ...
, future
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
, his brother,
Korkut Özal
Korkut Özal (29 May 1929 – 2 November 2016) was a Turkish engineer and politician. He was the brother of Turkish President Turgut Özal and . His cause of death in 2016 was respiratory and circulatory failure.
Academic career
Korkut Özal stu ...
, and
Necmettin Erbakan
Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...
, were frequently reported in the magazine based on the intelligence reports. All three were regarded as the supporters of the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
group.
In the early 1970s, ''Ant'' drifted away from TÄ°P blaming
Mehmet Ali Aybar
Mehmet Ali Aybar (; 5 October 1908 – 10 July 1995) was a lawyer, member of the Turkish parliament, the second president of the Workers Party of Turkey ( or briefly ''TÄ°P''), the founder and President of the Socialist Revolution Party, a ...
for the loss in the parliamentary election of 1969. Then it began advocating the build-up of a new revolutionary party and gradually it argued for the
urban guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism, ...
line. The magazine basically targeted workers, villagers and students who took part in the mass social struggle in Turkey also supporting workers strikes. As a monthly its last issue was published in May 1971 when it was closed down in the aftermath of the
. The magazine sold 20,000–25,000 copies at its height.
After the coup ''Ants editors, Doğan Özgüden and Inci Tugsavul, fled to Europe, and founded the
Info-Türk Info-Türk is a Turco-European working group and foundation that was founded in 1974 in Brussels with the aim to inform world opinion of the social, economic, cultural and political life of Turkey, and to address issues relating to emigration from T ...