On Vartan İhmalyan’s political autobiography, Bir Yaşam Öyküsü (A Life Story) (6)

From Vartan İhmalyan’s pen: Aram Pehlivanyan (3)

Early signs of a “malignant”

Aram Pehlivanyan (1961)

In his memoir, Bir Yaşam Öyküsü (A Life Story), Vartan İhmalyan claims that the first signs of the “malignant” character Aram Pehlivanyan would later display began to appear in the early 1940s, when he was just 25. He highlights traits in Pehlivanyan’s personality such as an inability to accept defeat, a fragile ego, megalomania and exhibitionism. To illustrate this point, he recounts a chess match they played by the seaside in the summer of 1942:

One day, while I was sitting at home, Aram Pehlivanyan came over.

“Come on, let’s go to Fenerbahçe beach for a swim. Bring your chess set too - we can play,” he said.

“You know I’m just a beginner. What pleasure would you get from playing with me?” I replied.

“No matter, we’ll play a game to pass the time,” he said, so I took the chess set along.

We took the tram from Bağlarbaşı to Fenerbahçe beach. At the beginning of the Fenerbahçe promontory, on the side facing Göztepe, there was a pebbly beach; we went and sat there. Aram took the chess set from me, set up the pieces, and we began to play. As I was inexperienced, I played slowly and carefully, while Aram, confident in his ability, played more freely. Then came a moment when, realising he was just one move away from being checkmated, he suddenly slammed the chessboard, sending the pieces flying in all directions. In his mind, since the game had not officially ended, he would not be considered defeated - and certainly not by a novice like me. No doubt my winning was purely a coincidence, but Aram’s outburst revealed his character - his inability to endure defeat and his megalomania. After all, it was only a game of chess. Without showing any reaction, I quietly began gathering the scattered pieces. (pp. 80-81)

This unsportsmanlike, crude and angry reaction from Pehlivanyan suggests that the 25-year-old had an immature ego. Moreover, the fact that the incident took place not in a private setting but on a public beach made the scene all the more shameful. However, according to İhmalyan’s account, it was not long before Pehlivanyan went even further, showing no hesitation in engaging in behaviour that was even more disturbing - indeed, downright disgraceful: 

“Come on, let’s go for a swim,” said Aram.

We undressed and went into the sea. After swimming for 15-20 minutes, we came out and dried ourselves. As I had my towel wrapped around my waist and was changing out of my wet swimsuit into my underwear, I turned around - and what did I see? Aram Pehlivanyan was standing there completely naked, not even glancing around.

“For heaven’s sake, Aram, have some decency!” I said. “There are women and girls around - get dressed at once!”

And what do you think his reply was?

“It’s fine - they might even enjoy the view,” he said!

“Honestly!” I thought to myself. (p. 81)

According to İhmalyan, the personality disorders revealed through these behaviours lay at the root of the harm that Aram Pehlivanyan - who would, years later, become a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) - would go on to inflict upon his comrades and the party itself. (We have previously criticised this “analysis” of İhmalyan’s as excessively impressionistic and un-Marxist, and shall not reiterate those points here.)

Hint of suspicion

Ultimately, İhmalyan implies that a dubious circumstance concerning Pehlivanyan arose in connection with the 1944 arrests targeting the TKP. He notes that in the books İnkâr Fırtınası (Storm of Denial) and Türkiye’de Sol Hareketler (Leftist Movements in Turkey) -written by the informant Aclan Sayılgan and largely based on documents and information obtained from the police- Pehlivanyan is conspicuously absent. İhmalyan points out that, while recounting the 1944 arrests, Sayılgan “makes no mention whatsoever of Aram Pehlivanyan, nor does his name appear among those detained,” and continues as follows: 

However, Aram had also been arrested in 1944. And because he betrayed his comrades during the 1946 arrests, no one in Harbiye Prison would speak to him anymore. I cannot fathom how the absence of Aram’s name among the detainees could be explained.

On the other hand, Aclan Sayılgan, in his book İnkâr Fırtınası (Storm of Denial), claims that Hasan Basri Alp was betrayed by Hayk Açıkgöz -which is an outright lie. If Hayk Açıkgöz had indeed betrayed Basri -who, in 1944, took his own life by jumping from the sixth floor of Sansaryan Han [*] (the First Bureau) onto the street below- then in 1946, just as the comrades in Harbiye Prison refused to speak to Aram Pehlivanyan, they would also have refused to speak to Hayk. On the contrary, the comrades in prison both liked and respected Dr Hayk Açıkgöz. Besides, Hayk Açıkgöz was not the sort of man who would betray his comrades. There is something fishy about this whole affair - though I do not know exactly what. (p. 99)

Pehlivanyan in Harbiye Prison

In his book, İhmalyan does not mention the -widely known and often strongly criticised- conduct displayed by the other two members of the triumvirate, İsmail Bilen and Zeki Baştımar, during their respective police interrogations in different years. However, the author takes a step we have not seen in any other source by suggesting that a similar suspicion might also apply to Aram Pehlivanyan.

Nevertheless, it should be emphasised that, on this matter, İhmalyan has only two pieces of indirect, second-hand evidence: the striking omissions and inconsistencies concerning Pehlivanyan and Hayk Açıkgöz in Aclan Sayılgan’s accounts of the 1944 arrests in his two books, and the fact that TKP inmates in Harbiye Prison in 1946 refused to speak to Pehlivanyan.

* * *

Thus, in these three articles, we have compiled, summarised, and partly analysed what İhmalyan says about Aram Pehlivanyan in his political autobiography.

[*] The correct spelling is Sanasaryan Han. It was a well-known detention and interrogation centre used by the Istanbul police headquarters at the time.

To be continued

See also:

Who was Vartan İhmalyan?

The period in which İhmalyan wrote his political autobiography

Vartan İhmalyan’s superficial impressionism

From Vartan İhmalyan’s pen: Aram Pehlivanyan (1)

From Vartan İhmalyan’s pen: Aram Pehlivanyan (2)

From Vartan İhmalyan’s pen: İsmail Bilen (1)