Hüseyin Aygün

Hüseyin Aygün (born 20 October 1970, Tunceli) is a Turkish lawyer and politician of Alevi Zaza origin.[1] Representing Tunceli Province, he was elected a Member of Parliament in the 2011 general election. Following controversies with his CHP party, he did not seek reelection in 2015.

Hüseyin Aygün
Member of the Grand National Assembly
In office
12 June 2011 – 7 June 2015
ConstituencyTunceli (2011)
Personal details
Born (1970-10-20) 20 October 1970
Tunceli, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Political partyRepublican People's Party (CHP)
Children2
EducationLaw
Alma materAnkara University, Law School
OccupationPolitician, lawyer

Biography

Hüseyin Aygün worked as a lawyer in his hometown after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Ankara University. Today, he is married and has two children.

Aygün is the writer of a number of books, mainly on the Dersim massacre, including the titles Dersim 1938 ve Zorlu İskan ("Dersim 1938 and the Forced Resettlement"), 0.0.1938 Resmiyet ve Hakikat ("0.0.1938 Formality and Reality"), Dersim 1938 ve Hacı Hıdır Ataç’ın Defteri ("Dersim 1938 and the Notebook of Hacı Hıdır Ataç"), Fişlemenin Kısa Tarihi ("The Brief History of Tagging") and his book in Zazaki language, Eve tarixe ho teri Amaene.

Kidnapping

Aygün was kidnapped by PKK militants around 19:00 hours local time on 12 August 2012 as he was returning from a visit in Ovacık, Tunceli accompanied with a newspaper reporter and his aide. The militants stopped his car on the highway and forced the passengers to get off. His companions were released, however he was dragged away into the woods by threatening him to kill him at site if he resisted.[2]

Aygün was freed unharmed on 14 August 2012.[3] In his first statements, he said he was in good health and that he had been treated with respect. "The young fellows who undertook this kidnapping are children of this country too, and they said they wanted to send a message of peace and a call for a cease-fire with this action."[4] Aygün's statements caused controversy within his CHP party. While hardliner Metin Feyzioğlu criticized him for “approaching a terror organization with sympathy,” the party's spokesperson Haluk Koç stressed that Aygün had made a call for peace.[5]

Controversy in his political party

Aygün made statements about his party's responsibility on the Dersim Massacre and later on the status of Alevism, causing controversy with his fellow deputies and the party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Due to those statements completely contradicting the policy of his party, some members of CHP requested to expel him from the party.[2]

In 2014, Aygün participated in the foundation of the United June Movement, a progressive organization in the wake of the Gezi protests. He urged the movement to stay free of turning into a party.[6]

Following Aygün's criticisms of fellow CHP lawmakers and mayors, he was cited to his party's Disciplinary Committee in January 2015.[7] Subsequently, he did not seek reelection in the June 2015 general election,[8] where the pro-Kurdish HDP finally won both Tunceli Province's parliamentary seats.

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References
  1. "huseyin-aygun-zazader-ziyareti" (in Turkish). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  2. "PKK kidnaps Turkish lawmaker". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  3. "Kurdish rebels release kidnapped Turkish opposition lawmaker". The Washington Post. Ankara. AP. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  4. "Kidnapping aimed at propaganda, says released MP". Hürriyet Daily News. 15 August 2012.
  5. "Freed MP's remarks on peace show rift in party". Hürriyet Daily News. 16 August 2015.
  6. "Interview with Hüseyin Aygün: The Political Dynamics of Turkey: The Legacy of the Past and the Increasing Challenges of Today – Part II". Research Turkey. 11 March 2015.
  7. "Interview with Hüseyin Aygün: The Political Dynamics of Turkey: The Legacy of the Past and the Increasing Challenges of Today – Part I". Research Turkey. 23 February 2015.
  8. "Main opposition CHP faces low numbers of candidate nominees". Daily Sabah. 3 March 2015.
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