(1953 –1992)

OF HER 22 YEARS AS A REVOLUTIONARY, SHE WORKED SUCCESFULLY FOR 14 YEARS IN THE UNDERGROUND

She was the daughter of a poor Kurdish family. She spend her childhood in Nusaybin an Diyarbakir. In 1970 she began to study philosophy at the literary faculty in Istanbul. She was an active member of DEV-GENÇ. She worked in a factory while studying. She was a leader of the workers. In every factory she worked, she got elected as a factory committee member. Until 1976 she worked at the IYÖD (Istanbul College Society). In these years she worked among the workers and tried to organize them. At the same time she was working together with the young persons at DEV-GENÇ. She was respected by all and very popular. In 1976 she founded the DKD (Revolutionary Womens Society) together with her friends and she worked in its committee. In the Gececondus (*) and in teh factories she organized the women.

After the founding of DEVRIMCI SOL, she went underground. From that time on she was an exemplary undergoudn fighter, named “SABO”.

After the coup of the 12th of Septemberthe fascist junta and its blows against the organization were not able to shake her resolution. Retreat, despair and fear were foreign to her nature. She continued to work withe the masses in the Gececondus and she became a leader of the people.

In 1982 she received new tasks because of her resolution and her consistent and untiring way of working. In 1983 she was elected in the central committee of Devrimci Sol. In that year the struggle had to be continued in spite of betrayal, resignation, despair en intimidations. But Sabo did not falter. Despite all difficulties she proved and teached to the people around her that the struggle had to be continued, if necessary with your life. It happened that she had to flee for the police. It happened that she had to stay the night outside, with documents of the organization in a bag. Some days she had to go armed to very dangerous meetings, on ather days she had to run around to organize several actions, to find people to deal with the many tasks. But she never thought only of herself, she never said: “That’s none of my business”.

She did not consider being sick and she gave her whole energy for the struggle, till the end. On some days she fainted on the street, but she never said: “I’m sick, I need a rest”. Her organization and her comrades have been the most important to her.

Yes, Sabo has been a worker for the revolution. To her, there was no difference between great and small tasks. To her, there was no other life as the work for the revolution. She was a person who took the revolutionary work of DEVRIMCI SOL very seriously and she identified herself with it.

She was a good organizer of the masses. She made an impression on everyone she talked with and she mobilied them for the struggle. The working people of the Gecekondus in Istanbul knew her very well. To them Sabo was a selfless friend and a hard-working revolutionary who had time for everyone. One night she she was with the comrades, the next night she was she spend with people in the Gecekondus and spoke with them as one of them about the political struggle.

The streets of Istanbul have known Sabo very well. And she knew the city like the back of her hand. Thus she was able to shake off the torturers who were behind her, again and again.

Comrade Sabo has been an underground fighter of DEVRIMCI SOL. She was a specialist in underground work. She was disciplined, always aboyed the necessary rules and fought each sloppiness. Also when she thought a decision to be wrong, she obeyed it. But she always critizised wrong decisions very sharply.

Our Sabo has been veru courageous. She cleaned many places and flats after the arrest of comrades, so that new arrests were prevented. In the coourse of this, she met the torturers many times, but thamks to her strong nerves she always managed to escape them. During the 22 years of her revolutionary life, she lived 14 years in illegality , and in spite of the difficulties and the great demands involved with this, she has been very succesfull at her work. The fact that she was never arrested, was not because she had shirked. She was always on the streets and carried out her tasks, but she always obeyed the conspiratorial rules. Because of this, she became a legend. If the fascist weren’t able to findout where she had been working until now, and weren’t able to identify her correctly after the 17th of April, this is because of her behaviour.

Sabo has been a consistent en disciplined comrade and a real friend to the persons who knew her. Dozens of people are proud to be educated be her. Many people went to Sabo with their problems because they trusted her. She ment everything to the persons who lived and worked together with her. She has been a leader of DEVRIMCI SOL.

Comrade Sabo was married. Also in that case she was exemplary. This relation, full of love and affection, was a part of her evolutionary life. She handled it very carefully and the people who worked with her didn’t know whom she had married until the bourgeois press wrote about it after her death.

She has lived like an example for the “New Human” of the society we are going to build.

A life like Sabo’s, always uncompromisingly fighting against betrayal, retreat and double standards, can only be ended in such a way: “Never, under no conditions will the get me without resistance”, she said. That was exactly like it has been. The whole world was able to see her under the flag of DEVRIMCI SOL, which symbolizes the revolutionary resolution in the believe belief in socialism, provoking the enemy, shouting against them, together with EDA and TASKIN: “Do come if you have the courage!”, with one arm in her hand and the other showing the victort sign. In a phone-call during teh fight, she told a friend: “We are calm, we are well. We are going to fight until our last drop of blood”. Doing so, Sabo, Eda en Taskin showed their courage en their resolution, which made the fascist afraid and panick-stricken,.

Comrade Sabo, they didn’ty have the courage to look oopenlu in your eyes. Until today no exploiting class had been able to find a weapon that could silence the slogans of DEVROMCI SOl. that can overcome tyour courage and which provoked the kilers. They didn’t find a weapon against your dignity, and it humiliated them. They hided and waited till the boms put you ouit of action. And when you had been killed already, they weren’t able to keep theri hand from their guns. With shooting your hands to pieces, they wanted to get over their fear.

Your last words, comrade Sabo, suffice to describe your whole life and your struggle: “We are embracing death with our weapons in our hands and our slogans on our lips. Send a regard to my husband and leader, the leader of DEVRIMCI SOL. I want you to send my regards to all comrades. Farewell!” When you said this, you were full of hope, confidence and belief. Farewell too, our brave heroine Sabo. Sleep well, if we were leaving the way of the revolution, we woukld be traitors. We became even stronger through your heroic resistance. For us and the people, you are now a unforgettable hero of the revolution. Well, comrade Sabo, you carried out you task succesfully, also this last time. You proved this bt thinking about the organization and the comrades first and leaving nothing to the enemies which they could have used against us. With your 22 years of revolutionary lifeand you examplary resistance you have left a great inheritance. You were an examplary revolutionary and a examplary wife. You were an examplary fighter of DEVRIMCI SOL. Your resistance together with the comrades EDA and TASKIN, with the weapons in hand and the victory sign have gone down in our consciousness as an important part of our history of revolution.

We will never forget and never shame comrade Sabo, member of the Central Committee of DEVRIMCI SOL, who fell on the 7th of April, 1992, at 7.25 a.m. in heroic resistance.

* Gecekondu: district of houses, built over one night on public ground. According to Turkish law, such unnoticed over night developed properties became private property.