Radical Democratic Union () was a Turkish political movement active in the 1980s. The movement was also known by names ''Radical Party'', ''Radical Greens Party'', ''Radical Democrat Green Party'' to the public. Radical Democratic Union was founded in 1985. The chairman of its coordination committee was İbrahim Eren who was active in the Workers Party of Turkey prior to

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by memorandum. During ...

and later at the Aegean Environmental Health Centre. The movement was inspired by the Radical Party and the

German Green Party Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Germany in 1990). Th ...

, aiming at uniting five tendencies, namely

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

anti-militarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...

s and

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

s. The magazine ''Yeşil Barış'' (Green Peace) published by the movement also drew considerable attention from

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

s and

transsexual A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...

s. The media publicised the Radical Democratic Union as a "gay party" and the pressure on the movement subsequently increased. İbrahim Eren was arrested and stabbed in prison and at work. Poet Süha Tuğtepe who acted as the theoretician of the atheist tendency left

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

due to serious threats from Islamist circles. The events resulted in important splits from the movement. Many environmentalist members joined the Green Party founded in 1988 under

Celal Ertuğ Celal is both a masculine Turkish given name and a surname. It is the Turkish form of the Arabic word Jalal (جلال), which means "majesty". Notable people with the name include: Given name * Celal Al (born 1984), Turkish actor * Celal Adan (born ...

, a former government minister. İbrahim Eren faced conflicts of view regarding the 1989 local elections and left the movement, practically ending the Radical Democratic Union.Ölüdoğan Bir Demokrasi Denemesi

References

{{Reflist

External links

* ''Haftaya Bakış'', #17, 8–14 February 1987 *
Kaos GL
' *
Türkiye'de Çevrenin Siyasallaşması: Yeşiller Partisi Deneyimi
Bülent Duru Green politics Radicalism (historical) Political organizations based in Turkey Organizations established in 1985 Organizations disestablished in 1989 1985 establishments in Turkey