Farewell to an old communist

I have been to Rasih Nuri İleri’s home a couple of times.

He would talk about even the harshest memories in a soft style. His house was like a museum, even though this is used too much as a cliché, but this is the only way to describe his house.

He suffered much pain, but nevertheless, he passed on information and documents to others with fresh enthusiasm. He left us for good.

Who is Rasih Nuri Ä°leri?

He was born in Geneva, Switzerland where his father was on duty as the special representative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He attended the prestigious Galatasaray High School and Haydarpaşa High School, then the Science Faculty. In 1939, he started campaigning in a militant-like style in the university for the Turkish Communist Party (TKP). In 1942, he was brought into the TKP by Ferit Kalmuk.  
In 1946, he started working in trade unions. He formed the Federation of Trade Unions of Adana.
He joined the Workers Party of Turkey (TÄ°P) in 1962. He became a member of the central committee, but was later expelled in 1967.

He was elected to chair the Istanbul Workers’ Union, founded in March 1970. He was tried, but acquitted in 1973.

He joined the second TÄ°P in 1977, but resigned later saying the party was shifting toward the right. He ran for office as a candidate from an Istanbul constituency in the general elections held on Nov. 3, 2002 representing the TKP.

He was a man of a cause, Ä°leri. When you read the biographies of that generation, you also learn about the history of Turkey that is full of mistakes. Ä°leri was one of those figures that symbolized the agony of thinkers, intellectuals and leftists.

Cemal Süreyya wrote about his enthusiasm for archived documents: “If...