Yar Publishing, one of the first names that comes to mind when socialist publishing in Turkey is mentioned, has maintained its determination to remain a socialist publishing house for 54 years despite persistent repression and obstacles. Today, the publishing house, run by Mahir Ulaş Yeşil, historically demonstrates what it means to persist in socialism in Turkey.
Founded by Osman Y. Çobanoğlu in the early 1970s, when socialist movements were becoming increasingly mass-based, and immediately after the March 12 military memorandum, Yar Publishing began its work with the aim of preserving the legacy of the global revolutionary tradition. From the very first book it published, the house focused on ensuring that this revolutionary heritage would not be lost.
To date, the publishing house has released more than 200 books, bringing numerous printed examples of the global revolutionary struggle to Turkey. Over the years, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against it, its books have been banned, its offices have been raided, and its owner has been imprisoned. Nevertheless, now continuing with a second generation, the publishing house remains committed to introducing the experiences of the world’s revolutionary movements to socialist and revolutionary audiences in Turkey.
A journey that began with storytelling evolved into publishing
Osman Y. Çobanoğlu, the founder of Yar Publishing, spoke to the ANF about the history of the publishing house and the experiences it has gone through.
Çobanoğlu explained that he initially came to Istanbul to work, but after his position in a public institution was not approved, he decided to move to Cağaloğlu, the historic center of publishing in the city. He described those years as follows: “When I arrived in Istanbul in the 1970s, I first started working at the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Administration (PTT). During that time, my appointment was not approved. I was writing short stories and wanted to pursue journalism. I took my stories to Varlık magazine because I wanted to meet Yaşar Kemal. There, I met Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, who supported me. I stayed at her home for about a month. During that period, she took me to Ant Publishing. There, I met Yaşar Kemal, Doğan Özgüden, Inci Özgüden, and Tilda Hanım, and I began writing stories. At the time, there was a magazine called May, where my stories started to be published. After my stories were published, I presented them to Yaşar Kemal, and he appreciated them.
Later, during the period of the March 12 military memorandum, we were working at Ant. We reorganized the publishing house, but after a disagreement with those who joined later, I left. After leaving, I wanted to establish myself in Cağaloğlu. I purchased 100 reams of paper from a paper supplier and sold 50 of them back to the same supplier at a slightly lower price. With that money, I was able to pay the translators for our first two books, and in 1972, we founded Yar Publishing. Our first book was titled Boran. Afterwards, we published Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done?”
Bookstores bombed and publications banned
Çobanoğlu explained that Yar Publishing was founded to continue the socialist publishing tradition of Ant Publishing. He noted that this legacy was sustained through the first books released by the publishing house and continued as follows: “We wanted to carry on the socialist publishing tradition of Ant Publishing prior to its transformation. At that time, Ant had published books on the history and theory of armed struggle. We printed similar works. Until the September 12 military coup, we published books focusing particularly on the experiences of revolutionary struggles around the world. We released titles such as Armed Struggle in Iran, Armed Struggle in Western Europe, Armed Struggle for Communism, and What Is to Be Done? During that period, we also began publishing Che Guevara’s books, several of which were released before the coup.”
Çobanoğlu stated that once the books began to be published, bans soon followed. He emphasized that the publishing house faced not only prohibitions but also severe repression, including bomb attacks on two bookstores they had opened. He continued: “After founding Yar Publishing, we opened two bookstores in Konya. One was in the city center and the other in Bozkır. The bookstores were registered under my brother’s name. Both were bombed because we were selling socialist books. Following these attacks, my brothers and I were taken into custody. My elder brother and another brother were subsequently arrested.
Until the September 12 period, we faced nearly forty investigations and trials related to the publications we had issued. Shortly before the coup, in February, I was detained during operations targeting the Habaş group affiliated with the FKHC. During this time, both my home and the publishing house were raided, and all our belongings and archives were looted. After fifteen days in detention, I was released. However, shortly after the coup, in November, I stopped on the road while traveling to my village and was arrested.
At the time of my arrest, I was already on trial for approximately thirty to forty of our books. After being imprisoned, sentences related to these publications began to be issued one after another. Before the completion of one sentence, another would follow. I was transferred through many prisons and ultimately spent nearly seven years in incarceration. During this period, the publishing house was forced to close. My wife continued to pay the rent for the first two years, believing that I would soon be released, but as my imprisonment was prolonged, she could no longer do so. Due to the books for which I was prosecuted, the publishing house was officially closed and sealed.”
After seven years in prison, first step was publishing banned books
Osman Y. Çobanoğlu explained that after his release from prison, he remained unemployed for a period and struggled to find work. He noted that many individuals and publishing houses known for their socialist identity did not offer him employment. During this time, Say Distribution, a book distribution company, provided him with space and encouraged him to return to publishing. Çobanoğlu continued his account as follows: “After I was released from prison, I began looking for a job. At that time, there was a company called Say Distribution. Its owner gave me a place in Cağaloğlu and said, ‘You can both handle our work here and follow your own.’ I stayed at Say Distribution’s premises for three to four years. During that time, I managed both my own affairs and their business.
After a while, a printer friend of mine said, ‘I have a printing house. Let’s buy paper and you should start again.’ This encouraged me to continue Yar Publishing. It was the late 1980s when I re-established Yar Publishing and resumed publishing activities.
The first book I published was The Principles of Philosophy, which had been banned before the 1980 military coup. I then published another of my previously banned works, The Principles of Party Formation. Rather than retreating, I decided to confront the repression directly. For this reason, I began by republishing banned books. Those were the years of Turgut Özal’s government, when many court cases had been suspended and sentences frozen. Following these two books, we also republished another previously banned work, The THKP-C Case File.”
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