Hasan Ocak
13 April 1965 -21 March/17 May 1995

Comrade Hasan Ocak was a man of his cause, a brave activist, a symbol of belief and willpower who breathed in the air of revolution 24 hours a day.  He was our party's founding member. Immediately after our unity revolution, during March 12-15, 1995 in the district of Gazi , in Istanbul, as a reaction to a fascist massacre, he was one of the leaders of the uprising that took place.  As a result of this he took the title of Gazi Commander.  After this uprising, on the 21st of March, comrade Hasan was kidnapped by political police.  On the 26th of March, after being severely tortured, he was murdered by being strangled with a wire.  He joined the list of people who went missing while in custody.  As a result of a mighty struggle that was led by our party, our comrade's family and by the relatives of other people missing in custody, comrade Hasan’s  body was found on the 19th of May 1995.  During a magnificent funeral ceremony in Gazi ten thousand people said farewell to comrade Hasan.  Our beloved Gazi Commander, with his smiling pictures, became a flag of our struggle to stop people going missing while in custody.

Comrade Hasan who was one of MLCP-K's governing frameworks, was a communist who possessed many valuable characteristics.  He was a person of the future communities.  Some of his characteristics included militancy, dedication, unyielding, self-dedication to not accepting boundaries, creativity and a spirit with dominating communist emotions.

Shortly after beginning his revolutionary struggle comrade Hasan Ocak fell into the hands of the torturers.  He headed a confidential printing operation.  He was caught with a new issue of an illegal newspaper, which the enemy had thought they had silenced.  Under increasing dosage of tortures lasting for two weeks comrade Hasan said nothing but his name.  "The raging chief of the contra-guerrilla team thrashed about.  He had lost in his own lair."

His second encounter with the torturers took place in the autumn of the same year.  At the interrogation, when the torturers' Team Chief Bayram Kartal begged him to name a man, it was in his manner to reply: "A man?  Here I am."  In this day and night battle where the tortures lasted for 17 days the torturers saw that he was more sharpened. Our beloved comrade won this battle again.

Since almost the end of 1988, Hasan is again at the head of the secret printing duty.  He would be doing his work with the highest standard of discipline, but with the pleasure he got when he was singing a song.  He would try to repair the printing equipment that frequently had maintenance problems.  To produce the illegal newspaper, leaflets and announcements on time, he would show extraordinary effort and would work with a big eagerness.  When he was in the state where they could not do any printing, he did not fold his arms and sit down.  What was the equipment that belonged to the government and the bourgeoisie there for?  He would find a way of going into the enemy's place, taking with him the required material, printing newspapers and leaflets till the morning hours and then he would deliver the heavy bags to his comrades. He continued doing this duty for years.  The illegal printing continues to be done since comrade Hasan has done.  However, only a very small number of communists and revolutionaries do the work of illegal printing, as well as the amount of publishing, printing and delivery of materials as he has done.  Hasan has achieved great accomplishments in the executive committee of an area considered important in Istanbul.  When the elections for a delegate for the Unity Assembly took place, Hasan received all the votes of his comrades and joined the assembly.  In the Assembly he was recognised as being a modest, hardworking and sympathetic comrade.  He took part in the team that was given the duty of security.  During the announcement of MLCP-K, which he was the founding member of, he was excited enough to note down the exact hour and minute and full of happiness he confirmed the unity.  After the unity, he was one of the comrades who used all the possibilities that came about in the unity, in the best, most thoughtful and most complete way.  He was very focused on the target of creating the party and making the fire of revolution greater.  He was an example of a person who used criticism as a weapon of remedy.

He fell to the ground as an expression of a pioneer's determination to fight, the power of insistence and knowing not to yield.  He is a symbol of victory and a flag up in the sky.  We promised Gazi Commander to follow the road where the power of consciousness shines radiantly, with all the styles of struggle being used masterfully, to create the political army of revolution and to make it possible for it to fight the battle.  Our slogans, songs and weapons are not going to stop. Forward to victory.