Radical Democratic Union
Encyclopedia
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 commitee was İbrahim Eren who was active in the Workers Party of Turkey
prior to 1980 Turkish coup d'état and later at the Aegean Environmental Health Centre. The movement was inspired by the Radical Party and the German Green Party
, aiming at uniting five tendencies, namely environmentalist
s, homosexuals, feminists, anti-militarists and atheists. The magazine Yeşil Barış (Green Peace) published by the movement also drew considerable attention from sex worker
s and transsexuals.
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 İstanbul
due to serious threats from Islamist circles. The events resulted in important splits from the movement. Many environmentalist members joined the Greens Party founded in 1988 under Celal Ertuğ, 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.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
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 commitee was İbrahim Eren who was active in the Workers Party of Turkey
Workers Party of Turkey
Workers Party of Turkey was a Turkish political party, founded in 1961. It became the first socialist party in Turkey to win representation in the national parliament. It was banned twice and eventually merged with the Communist Party of Turkey in 1988.TİP was founded by a group of labor union...
prior to 1980 Turkish coup d'état 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
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
, aiming at uniting five tendencies, namely environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s, homosexuals, feminists, anti-militarists and atheists. The magazine Yeşil Barış (Green Peace) published by the movement also drew considerable attention from sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
s and transsexuals.
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 İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
due to serious threats from Islamist circles. The events resulted in important splits from the movement. Many environmentalist members joined the Greens Party founded in 1988 under Celal Ertuğ, a former government minister. İbrahim Eren faced conflicts of view regarding the 1989 local elections
Turkish local elections, 1989
Turkey held local elections on 26 March 1989. In the elections, both the mayors and the local parliaments were elected. The figures presented below are the results of the local parliament elections. -Mayors of metropolitan centers:...
and left the movement, practically ending the Radical Democratic Union.