Hasan Oraltay
Hasan Oraltay was an ethnically Kazakh journalist, historian, and writer, best known for leading the Kazakh-language editorial office of Radio Free Europe for seven years. He was known by the alias C. Kazakbalası on his Turkish-language works.
Early life and education
Oraltay was born in 1933 in the Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang, China. His exact date of birth is unknown. He is from the Jantekey family of the Kerey tribe.From 1939 to 1941, he received traditional Islamic education from his uncle Adilbek Rahimbekoğlu, and Oraltay studied at the Sergazi School of Mollas of East Turkestan. He started modern pedagogical studies at the Sabit School of Pedagogical Sciences in 1944.
In 1946, in an attempt to escape the Kuomintang, Qalibek Häkim, his father, escapes through the Himalayas. From 1951 to 1954, the family lived in Kashmir. They settle in Salihli, Turkey in 1955. There, Oraltay starts his social and political activism.
Career
From 1954 to 1967, Oraltay published newspapers, magazines, and books. Afterwards, in 1968, he was hired in Munich by Radio Free Europe. From 1988 to 1995, he led the Kazakh-language editoral office of the organization.As historian, he researched the history of the Alash Autonomy and Kazakh nationalism in general. As writer, he wrote historical books. His first book, "On the Way to Liberty: Kazakh Turks of East Turkestan", was published in 1961. In 2006, he published his last book, "Elimay-Lap Ötken Ömirden".