NEWS CENTER - 99-year-old historian and politician Dr. Tarık Ziya Ekinci, who passed away this morning, left behind many works on many issues, especially the Kurdish issue and minorities.  

 

99-year-old historian and politician Tarık Ziya Ekinci died this morning at his home in Istanbul. Dr. Tarık Ziya Ekinci had dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom, democracy and equality. 

Ekinci was born in 1925 in Licê (Lice) district of Amed (Diyarbakır). After attending secondary and high school in Amed, Ekinci graduated from Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 1949. In 1957, he settled in Amed as a specialist in internal medicine. 

 He served as the president of the Amed-Mêrdîn-Sêrt Medical Chamber for three terms. Between 1958 and 1980, he represented the physicians of the region at the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Central Council Congress. He also served as a member of the Supreme Disciplinary Board of this council for a period. 

 

Ekinci was also interested in politics outside his profession. He joined the CHP in 1957 and the Workers' Party of Turkey after 1960. He signed the Socialist manifesto of the Direction Magazine. Together with a group of friends, he founded the Socialist Cultural Association and served as the chair of its Amed branch. In 1965, he became an MP for Amed from the Workers' Party of Turkey. In 1970, he was a pioneer in organizing leftist youth. 

 

EXILE

 

Ekinci took an active role in the establishment of the Diyarbakır Revolutionary Eastern Culture Ocakları (DDKO) in 1970. After the March 12 Memorandum, Ekinci was sentenced to 3 years in Diyarbakır Military Prison on charges of “Kurdish and communist propaganda”. During the September 12 period, he was arrested 5 times. After a short period of freedom, he went abroad. He worked as a doctor in Paris until 1989. Then he returned to Turkey. 

 

Ekinci wrote for various magazines and newspapers published by socialist circles. 

 

Ekinci was a member of the Academic Political Advisory Board of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and most recently served on the Advisory Board of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).