Farewell Letter of Executed Yazgan Reaches Family after 26 Years

After the military coup of 12 September 1980, Erdoğan Yazgan was sentenced to death penalty in the court case against the Turkey People's Liberation Party/Front (THKP/C). On 29 January 1983 Yazgan was executed in the Izmir High Security Prison, together with two other convicts Ömer Yazgan and Ramazan Yukarıgöz.   

The Revolutionary "78'ers" Federation found Yazgan's farewell letter in the archives of the Ground Forces Command. As a result of the Federation's initiative, the letter was handed to Yazgan's family in a press conference. After a statement of Federation member Ruşen Sümbüloğlu the letter was given to Yazgan's relative İsmet Kaymaloğlu.

"His last letter took 26 years to reach us"

During the press conference in Ankara on 12 August Yazgan's sister Fatma Yazgan read out the following message:

"It is a tragedy on its own that a letter with a clear addressee and sender, sent under full control of the government, reaches its destination after a duration of 26 years.  Especially if this is the farewell letter of a person who is sentenced to death and whose penalty has been carried out. This letter is 26 years old now. I was able to share 14 years of my life with my brother. The letter could have reached us at least in half of that time."

Federation member Sümbüloğlu explained that Yazgan wrote the letter to his family and close friends right before his execution with handcuffs around his wrists. "With this letter the delivery of the farewell letters of all 17 revolutionaries who were executed by the 12 September fascism is finally completed. This was the last letter."

"They are rushing me, just a short letter..."

This is what Erdoğan Yazgan wrote to his family directly before his execution in 1983:

"To my dear and precious family,

This is the last letter I am writing to you. For a long time we saw each other in prison. You know the love I feel for all of you. I will not go on about this for long, I think this is enough. I hurt my siblings Güldoğan and Hatice in a moment of petulance, I beg their pardon. My regards go especially to Ahmet, Sabire, Fatoş and Selma. All of you were a support and a comfort for me in my deprived life. You had a special place in my world. I am happy if I have been able to leave an honorable heritage to you. Now my only wish is that you will stay in good health. This will be bitter but you have to endure it. Do not blame anybody, the only one responsible for this matter is today's state and government. The guilty ones are the ones who are hanging us. I will not write here about my opinions and about what I am defending. Because you know it anyway. My life was short and honorable. I am kissing every single one of you from the bottom of my heart. Give my regards to everybody from our friends and family who is asking for me. They are rushing me, it  just turned out to be a short letter. Love always from your son and brother Erdoğan Yazgan."  

49-50 people executed

According to a book of journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, in the four years after the 12 September military coup, 49 people were executed, while Prof. Dr. Semih Gemalmaz gives a figure of 50 people.

Of the people killed by the government 17 people were left-wing, 7 right- wing orientated; one was an ASALA militant, and 25 were executed for non-political crimes.  (BÇ/VK/AG)

* Click here to see the list of people (in Turkish) who were executed after the coup.