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92-759: The group presents itself as a break-away faction of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in open dissent with the PKK's readiness to compromise with the Turkish state. The PKK distances itself from the TAK, stating that the Turkish government uses the TAK to portray the PKK as a terrorist organization in the international arena, that the PKK only targets the Turkish Armed Forces or their proxies, that it always takes responsibility for its attacks, and that there are no links between

184-455: A Turkey expert at St Lawrence University in New York, the TAK is damaging the PKK's short-term and long-term goals, and it's unlikely that the TAK is under PKK control. PKK's spokesman Serhat Varto denied a link between the PKK and the TAK in an interview by saying that the PKK targets only military entities and that it always takes responsibility for its attacks. PKK leader Cemil Bayik also denied

276-502: A branch of the PKK by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and had to end its activities in Germany in 2008. The PKK has received political support for a lift of its prohibition by the Die Linke and its party leader Bernd Riexinger in 2016. The organization said that its violent actions against the government forces were used by "the need to defend Kurds in the context of what it calls as

368-522: A break-away faction of the PKK and is in open dissent with the PKK's readiness to compromise with the Turkish state. The TAK opposes, through militant action, the treatment of Kurds in Turkey and seeks retaliation for those Kurds who were killed at the hands of the Turkish government. The TAK seek an independent state of Kurdistan . The group violently opposes the Turkish government's policies towards its ethnic Kurdish citizens. TAK first appeared in 2004. There

460-521: A ceasefire followed by negotiations. However, Vera Eccarius-Kelly, a scholar of political science, has noted that there are no clear signs that indicate a struggle between the two groups. According to her, whilst TAK repeatedly damaged the PKK's efforts to negotiate cease-fires with "unapproved" bombings, in a way that has been compared to the Real IRA in the Northern Ireland conflict , the fact that there

552-518: A colonized entity. Initially the PKK concealed its existence and only announced their existence in a propaganda stunt when they attempted to assassinate a politician of the Justice Party , Mehmet Celal Bucak, in July 1979. Bucak was a Kurdish tribal leader accused by the PKK of exploiting peasants and collaborating with the Turkish state to oppress Kurds. The organization originated in the early 1970s from

644-678: A declaration in support of peace in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict were labelled and prosecuted for "spreading terrorist propaganda" on behalf of the PKK. In November 2020, a playground for children in Istanbul was dismantled after the municipality decided its design too closely resembled the symbol of the PKK. Politicians of pro-Kurdish like the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) or the HDP were often prosecuted and sentenced to prison term for their alleged support of

736-469: A detention warrant for Karayılan and Duran Kalkan , another PKK commander, as part of an investigation into the killing of the Kaymakam of Derik , Muhammet Fatih Safitürk. In March 2017, there were reports of a failed assassination attempt against Karayılan, but it was unclear as to whether the attempt was made by Turkish forces or a group within the PKK. Karayılan and two other PKK leaders were wanted by

828-492: A federation similar the one of Switzerland, Germany or the United States and democratic confederalism . Around 1995, the PKK ostensibly changed its aim from independence to a demand for equal rights and Kurdish autonomy within the Turkish state, though all the while hardly suspending their military attacks on the Turkish state except for ceasefires in 1999–2004 and 2013–2015. In 1995, Öcalan said: "We are not insisting on

920-626: A focus on western and central Turkey, including some tourist areas in Istanbul , Ankara , and southern Mediterranean resorts. TAK also claimed responsibility for the February 2016 Ankara bombing , which killed at least 28 people, the March 2016 Ankara bombing in the same city that killed another 37 people, and the December 2016 Istanbul bombings which killed 47 people. After several decades of oppressive measures by

1012-408: A link or any resemblance between the PKK and the TAK. He went on to claim that the Turkish government carries out attacks in the name of TAK to better characterise the PKK as a terrorist organization in the international arena. In 2015, a member of TAK denied links with the PKK, saying "The target perspectives, manner of action, and tactics pursued by the PKK and other Kurdish organisations in war have

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1104-474: A militant front of the PKK". Business Insider has reported that "experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties". Istanbul-based Turkish independent security analyst Metin Gürcan , writing for Al-Monitor , described TAK as "a semi-autonomous, armed outfit that carries out attacks under the PKK umbrella", saying that while the PKK ideologically and financially supports TAK, it allows it to decide on

1196-401: A network of confederal councils. Followers of Öcalan and members of the PKK are known, after his honorary name, as Apocu (Apo-ites) under his movement, Apoculuk (Apoism). The slogan Bijî Serok Apo , which translates into Long Live leader Apo, is often chanted by his sympathizers. While the PKK has no known Islamist or practicing religious member among its leadership, it has supported

1288-488: A quite 'humanist' character in the face of the methods used by the existing Turkish state fascism against the Kurdish people. In this regard, we are not dependent on the target perspectives, manner of action and tactics of these organisations. We as TAK will determine and realize our independent action strategy, tactics and manner in line with the mission we have undertaken. According to Stratfor , TAK claims to be separate from

1380-557: A separate state under any condition. What we are calling for very openly is a state model where a people's basic economic, cultural, social, and political rights are guaranteed". Whilst this shift in the mid-nineties has been interpreted as one from a call for independence to an autonomous republic, some scholars have concluded that the PKK still maintains independence as the ultimate goal, but through society-building rather than state-building. The PKK has in March 2016 also vowed to overthrow

1472-738: A single training camp that could be easily destroyed, the organization created many small camps. During this period the organization set up a fully functioning enclave with training camps, storage facilities, and reconnaissance and communications centers. In 2007, the organization was reported to have camps strung out through the mountains that straddle the border between Turkey and Iraq, including in Sinaht, Haftanin, Kanimasi and Zap. The organization developed two types of camps. The mountain camps, located in Turkey, Iraq and Iran, are used as forward bases from which militants carry out attacks against Turkish military bases. The units deployed there are highly mobile and

1564-522: A small number of female fighters but over time the number increased significantly and by the early 1990s, 30 percent of its 17,000 armed fighting forces were women. While in 1989 the PKKs armed wing issued a so-called "Compulsory Military Service Law", the PKK had to temporarily suspend recruitment several times since the early 1990s, as the PKK had difficulties to provide training to the large number of volunteers, which wanted to join their ranks. By 2020, 40% of

1656-561: A terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, the European Union, and some other countries; however, the labeling of the PKK as a terrorist organization is controversial to some analysts and organizations, who believe that the PKK no longer engages in organized terrorist activities or systemically targets civilians. Turkey accused the PKK of terrorism in 2023 for killing 12 of its soldiers in Iraq. A suicide attack also occurred on

1748-613: A unified Turkey within a democratic framework. In May 2007, the co-president of DTP Aysel Tuğluk , published an article in Radikal in support of this policy. Several parliamentarians and other elected representatives have been jailed for speaking in Kurdish, carrying Kurdish colors or otherwise allegedly "promoting separatism", most famous among them being Leyla Zana . The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for arresting and executing Kurdish writers, journalists and politicians in numerous occasions. Between 1990 and 2006 Turkey

1840-565: A vocational college of machinery and joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 1979. He was active in his native province of Şanlıurfa until he fled to Syria at the time of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état . He called on Kurds to stop serving in the military of Turkey , stop paying taxes and stop using the Turkish language . On 13 December 2016, the Mardin 1st Criminal Court of Peace issued

1932-553: Is deemed unsuitable to be shown to the public. Turkey views the demand for education in Kurdish language or the teaching of the Kurdish language as supporting terrorist activities by the PKK. The fact that both the HDP and the PKK support education in Kurdish language was included in the indictment in the Peoples' Democratic closure case . In January 2016, the Academics for Peace who signed

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2024-504: Is no such struggle may have two explanations; the TAK may be operating outside the PKK's command structure, or it may be used by the PKK for "specific missions". TAK's origins however remain controversial. Some Turkish security analysts alleged that Bahoz Erdal may be the leader of TAK. Other analysts believe that the group was initially formed by PKK leaders in 2003, when it engaged in illegal demonstrations, roadblocks and occasional Molotov cocktails. TAK has since claimed to have split from

2116-429: Is still considered the honorary leader and figurehead of the organization. Murat Karayılan led the organization from 1999 to 2013. In 2013 Cemil Bayik and Besê Hozat assumed as the first joint leadership. Cemil Bayik was one of the core leaders since its foundation. The organization appointed "Doctor Bahoz", nom de guerre of Fehman Huseyin , a Syrian Kurd , in charge of the movement's military operations signifying

2208-489: Is substantial debate on the origin, composition, and affiliations of the group. Some Turkish analysts claim that the group is either a small splinter of or an alias for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the most active Kurdish militant group. Others suggest that the group may be totally independent of the PKK, or only loosely connected to it. PKK leaders deny having any control over the TAK. There are some indications that

2300-634: The Association of Students from Kurdistan (YXK), the Mesopotamia publishing house or the Mir Multimedia music label were deemed to be close to the PKK. The latter two were eventually closed down by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who accused them of acting as a forefront of the PKK and to support the PKKs activities in Europe with its revenue. The Kurdish satellite channel Roj TV was also accused of being

2392-532: The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Abdullah Öcalan in Damascus in 1996, Öcalan assured Lummer that it was the PKKs aim to find a peaceful solution for their activities in Germany. The PKK also demanded that it should be recognized as a legitimate entity and not as a terrorist organization in Germany, a demand to which Germany did not accede to. In Germany several Kurdish entities such as

2484-522: The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP-ML) were cracked down upon and forbidden. Following, several of the resting political actors of the Turkish left organized away from the public in university dorms or in meetings in shared apartments. In 1972–1973 the organization's core ideological group was made up largely of students led by Abdullah Öcalan ("Apo") in Ankara who made themselves known as

2576-511: The HDP and then DEM have been criticized of sympathizing with the PKK, since they have refused to brand it as a terrorist group. Political organizations established in Turkey are banned from propagating or supporting separatism. Several political parties supporting Kurdish rights have been reportedly banned on this pretext. The constitutional court stated to find direct links between the HEP / DEP / HADEP and

2668-522: The Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey in the 1990s. Other Kurdish observers saw the Freedom Hawks as a socially disrooted youth, a new urban guerrilla born out of despair. According to the Jamestown Foundation , the TAK has been a rival to the PKK since 2006. From then on, the group's operations have been repeatedly at odds with Murat Karayılan 's and other PKK leaders' repeated calls for

2760-470: The Kurdistan Revolutionaries. The new group focused on the oppressed Kurdish population of Turkish Kurdistan in a capitalist world. In 1973, several students who later would become founders of the PKK established the student organization Ankara Democratic Association of Higher Education  [ tr ] (ADYÖD), which would be banned the next year. Then a group around Öcalan split from

2852-539: The People's Defense Forces ( Kurdish : Hêzên Parastina Gel , HPG) in 1999. The Free Women's Units of Star ( Kurdish : Yekîneyên Jinên Azad ên Star , YJA-STAR) was established in 2004 as the women's armed wing of the PKK, emphasizing the issue of women's liberation. The Civil Protections Units (YPS) is the successor of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the youth wing of

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2944-543: The government of the United States and the government of Turkey ; the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States European Union and Turkey. PKK-affiliated groups operating in Iraq have been accused by human rights organisations of recruiting child soldiers . From 28 October 2015, he was in the red category of the "most wanted terrorists" list published by the Ministry of Interior of

3036-613: The peasantry , workers, youth, and women. It was dissolved in 1999, after the capture of Abdullah Öcalan . In 1983, the Association of Artists ( Hunerkom  [ ku ] ) was established in Germany under the lead of the music group Koma Berxwedan  [ ku ] . Its activities spread over Kurdish community centers in France , Germany and the Netherlands . In 1994 the Hunerkom

3128-574: The 1990s. A report by Interpol published in 1992 states that the PKK, along with nearly 178 Kurdish organizations were suspected of illegal drug trade involvement. Members of the PKK have been designated narcotics traffickers by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , Germany's domestic security agency, echoed this report in its 2011 Annual Report on

3220-594: The Kingpin Act, the designation freezes any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these individuals. On 1 January 2012, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation of Moldovan-based individuals Zeyneddin Geleri, Cerkez Akbulut, and Omer Boztepe as specially designated narcotics traffickers for drug trafficking on behalf of

3312-427: The Kurdish minority. Following the military coup of 1980 , the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life. Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned. The Turkish government denied the existence of Kurds and the PKK was portrayed trying to convince Turks of being Kurds. The PKK has been involved in armed clashes with Turkish security forces since 1979, but

3404-517: The Ministry of Interior's headquarters in Ankara took place by the PKK on the same year. However, whether the Istanbul attack was an isolated incident or a general shift of strategy back to terror tactics remains unclear. Turkey has often characterized the demand for education in Kurdish as supporting terrorist activities by the PKK. Both in 2008 and 2018 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that

3496-458: The PKK and TAK. Analysts and experts disagree on whether or not the two groups are in reality linked. The group first appeared in August 2004, just weeks after the PKK called off the 1999 truce , assuming responsibility for two hotel bombings in Istanbul which claimed two victims. Since then, TAK has followed a strategy of escalation, committing numerous violent bomb attacks throughout Turkey , with

3588-615: The PKK but is in fact the PKK's specialized urban terrorism wing. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UK and Australian governments, as well as by the European Union . The Turkish government regards the group as part of the PKK and does not list it separately. TAK has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against police officers, soldiers, government and business institutions since 2004. Its earliest attacks were small, non-lethal bombings in public places which

3680-426: The PKK declared a ceasefire and began slowly withdrawing its fighters to Iraqi Kurdistan as part of a peace process with the Turkish state. The ceasefire broke down in July 2015. Both the PKK and the Turkish state have been accused of engaging in terror tactics and targeting civilians . The PKK has bombed city centres and recruited child soldiers , and conducted several attacks that massacred civilians, with

3772-533: The PKK had become a "mass phenomenon" in majority ethnic Kurdish cities in the southeast of the Republic of Turkey, with large numbers of local youth joining PKK-affiliated local militant groups. At the height of its campaign, it is alleged that the organization received support from a range of countries. According to Turkey, those countries the PKK previously or currently received support from include: Greece, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Syria, Finland, Sweden and

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3864-576: The PKK in Europe . According to the OFAC, Zeynedding Geleri was identified as a high-ranking member of the PKK while two others were activists. The OFAC stated that the drug trafficking is still one of the organization's criminal activities it uses to obtain weapons and materials. According to research conducted by journalist Aliza Marcus, the PKK accepted the support of smugglers in the region. Aliza Marcus stated that some of those Kurdish smugglers who were involved in

3956-579: The PKK was able to organize blockades of highways and its sympathizers self-immolated for which the PKK official Cemil Bayik apologized in 2015 after sympathizers of the PKK launched several waves of attacks against Turkish institutions in Germany. The PKK's activities were banned by the Minister of the Interior Manfred Kanther in November 1993. In a meeting between German MP Heinrich Lummer of

4048-513: The PKK was classified as a terror organization without due process. Nevertheless, the EU has maintained the designation. The PKK's ideology was originally a fusion of revolutionary socialism and Marxism–Leninism with Kurdish nationalism , seeking the foundation of an independent Kurdistan . The PKK was formed as part of a growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for

4140-505: The PKK, accusing it of being "passive", most recently in December 2015, when they criticized the PKK's "humanist character" as inept in the face of "the methods used by the existing Turkish state fascism." Some experts say that TAK is affiliated to the PKK; according to France24 's correspondent in Turkey, "most" analysts share the view that whilst the TAK is affiliated to the PKK, it enjoys some operational autonomy. The National Consortium for

4232-462: The PKK, and high-ranking members Ali Rıza Altun and Zübeyir Aydar . Pursuant to the Kingpin Act , the designation froze any assets the designees may have had under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited U.S. citizens from conducting financial or commercial transactions with them. As of 2011, Karayılan still had the designation. The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution stated in

4324-557: The PKK, and high-ranking members Ali Riza Altun and Zübeyir Aydar as foreign narcotics traffickers at the request of Turkey. On 20 April 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of PKK founders Cemîl Bayik and Duran Kalkan and other high-ranking members as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNT) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Pursuant to

4416-817: The PKK. In February 2016 the ANF news agency reported the establishment of the women's branch of the YPS, the YPS-Jin . The first training camps were established in 1982 in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and also in Beqaa Valley with the support of the Syrian government. In the third party congress of October 1986, the PKK established the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy in the Beqaa Valley. After Turkey pressured Syria to enforce its closure in 1992,

4508-456: The PKK. The possession of Devran , a book authored by the political prisoner Selahattin Demirtaş , was viewed as an evidence for a membership in a terrorist organization in 2019 because according to the prosecution it described events involving the PKK. The PKK could count with a strong support from the diaspora in Germany where the Hunerkom, its cultural branch was based. During the 1990s,

4600-458: The PKK. In 2007 against the DTP was initiated a closure case before the constitutional court which resulted in its closure on 11 December 2009. In 2021, against the HDP was also initiated a closure case during which the HDP is accused of being linked to the PKK. It is reported that Turkey has used the PKK as an excuse to close Kurdish political parties. Senior DTP leaders maintained that they support

4692-402: The Protection of the Constitution , stating that despite the U.S. Department of Treasury designation, there was "no evidence that the organizational structures of the PKK are directly involved in drug trafficking". On 14 October 2009, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the senior leadership of the PKK, designating Murat Karayılan, the head of

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4784-404: The Republic of Turkey. The Ministry offered a reward of up to 10 million ₺ for his capture. Murat Karayilan was also the author of a book called Bir Savaşın Anatomisi (Anatomy of War). On 14 October 2009, the U.S. Department of the Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated senior leaders of the PKK as significant foreign narcotics traffickers : Karayılan, as head of

4876-623: The Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism , an academic research centre funded by the US Department of Homeland Security , describes the TAK as the "special urban terrorism wing" of the PKK. This view is shared by the White House , which called TAK the PKK's "urban terrorism wing" in October 2016. According to The Guardian , "Turkish officials as well as some security analysts say TAK still acts as

4968-483: The TAK was founded by disgruntled or former members of the PKK. Little is known about the internal structure of the TAK. An employee of the later banned Kurdish German news agency MHA told Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2005 that representatives of the TAK would always remain anonymous and tight-lipped. The Freedom Hawks recruited a new generation of "frustrated young Kurds", raised in the Kurdish diaspora slums of Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, after their parents had to flee

5060-550: The Turkish army. In July 2007, the weapons captured between 1984 and 2007 from the PKK operatives and their origins published by the Turkish General Staff indicates that the operatives erased some of the serial numbers from their weapons. The total number of weapons and the origins for traceable ones were: Parties and concerts are organized by branch groups. According to the European Police Office (EUROPOL) ,

5152-502: The Turkish authorities. In the 1980s, the PKK was labeled as a terror organization by the Swedish government of Olof Palme . After Palme was murdered in 1986, the PKK was considered a potential suspect – however, this theory was soon abandoned and in September 2020, the state prosecutor Krister Petersson announced he believed he had found the murderer and closed the case as that person

5244-539: The Turkish government categorized Kurds as "Mountain Turks" until 1991. The PKK was then formed, as part of a growing discontent over the suppression of Kurds in Turkey , in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority. Following several years of preparation, the Kurdistan Workers Party was established during a foundation congress on 26 and 27 November 1978 in

5336-559: The Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , through the ' Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement '. The organization has adapted the new democratic confederalist views of its arrested leader, which aim to replace the United Nations , capitalism and nation state with the democratic confederalism which is described as a system of popularly elected administrative councils, allowing local communities to exercise autonomous control over their assets while linking to other communities via

5428-465: The Turkish government towards the ethnic Kurdish population of Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was formed in 1978 in an aim to establish equal rights and self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey , who comprise between 18% and 25% of the population. Since 1984, however, an armed conflict began between the PKK and the Turkish security forces resulting in the deaths of around 7,000 Turkish security personnel and over 30,000 Kurds. Throughout

5520-513: The Turkish left and held extensive discussions focusing on the colonization of Kurdistan by Turkey. Following the military coup of 1980 , the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life. Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned. At this time, expressions of Kurdish culture , including the use of the Kurdish language , dress, folklore , and names, were banned in Turkey. In an attempt to deny their separate existence from Turkish people ,

5612-434: The United States. The level of support given has changed throughout this period. Between the PKK and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) a cooperation has been agreed on in April 1980 in Sidon , Lebanon. The PKK has been designated as a terrorist group by a number of governments and organizations. It is often referred as "separatist terrorist organization" ( Turkish : Bölücü terör örgütü ) by

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5704-454: The academy moved to Damascus . After the Iran-Iraq War and the Kurdish Civil War , the PKK moved all its camps to Northern Iraq in 1998. The PKK had also completely moved to Qandil Mountains from Beqaa Valley, under intensive pressure, after Syria expelled Öcalan and shut down all camps established in the region. At the time, Northern Iraq was experiencing a vacuum of control after the Gulf War -related Operation Provide Comfort . Instead of

5796-443: The camps have only minimal infrastructure. The other permanent camps, in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq, have more developed infrastructure—including a field hospital, electricity generators and a large proportion of the PKK's lethal and non-lethal supplies. The organization is also using the Qandil mountain camps for its political activities. It was reported in 2004 that there was another political training camp in Belgium, evidence that

5888-532: The combat area within Turkey into several regions which comprise a number of Turkish provinces , of which each one is headed by its commander. A province is further also divided into several sub regions, in which a number of fighting battalions of between 100 and 170 militants are stationed. The battalions are again divided into companies of 60 to 70 fighters of which at least one needs to constituted by female and two by male militants. The PKK has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for

5980-417: The conflict, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for thousands of human rights abuses. The judgments are related to executions of Kurdish civilians, torturing, forced displacements, destroyed villages, arbitrary arrests, and murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists. As a result of a brief PKK cease-fire in 2004, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks were formed, a group that presents itself as

6072-417: The creation of religious organizations. It has also supported Friday prayers to be in Kurdish instead of the Turkish language. Öcalans early writings did not have a positive view of Islam, but later works had a more favorable tone, specifically regarding the revolutionary activity of Muhammad against an established order, as well as the role Islam can play in reconciliation between Kurds and Turks. The PKK

6164-402: The drug trade, either because they truly believed in the PKK—or because they thought it a good business practice (avoid conflicts)—frequently donated money to the PKK rebels. However, according to Aliza Marcus, it does not seem that the PKK, as an organization, directly produced or traded in narcotics. The EUROPOL which has monitored the organization's activities inside the EU has also claimed

6256-428: The fighting force were women. In much of rural Turkey, where male-dominated tribal structures, and conservative Muslim norms were commonplace, the organization increased its number of members through the recruitment of women from different social structures and environments, also from families that migrated to several European countries after 1960 as guest workers . It was reported by a Turkish university that 88% of

6348-488: The full-scale insurgency did not begin until 15 August 1984 , when the PKK announced a Kurdish uprising. Since the conflict began, more than 40,000 people have died, most of whom were Kurdish civilians. In 1999, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was captured and imprisoned . In May 2007, serving and former members of the PKK set up the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organisation of Kurdish organisations in Turkish, Iraqi, Iranian , and Syrian Kurdistan . In 2013,

6440-440: The group described as "warning actions." These warnings, however, had become deadly by the summer of 2005. Kurdistan Workers Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement which historically operated throughout Kurdistan but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq . It

6532-411: The killing of teachers and civil servants, using suicide bombers , and recruiting child soldiers. According to the TEPAV, an Ankara-based think tank, a survey conducted using data from 1,362 PKK fighters who lost their lives between 2001 and 2011 estimated that 42% of the militants were recruited under 18, with roughly 9% under 15 at the time of recruitment. In 2013 the PKK stated it would prohibit

6624-474: The long-standing solidarity among Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan. In 1985, the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan ( Kurdish : Eniye Rizgariye Navata Kurdistan , ERNK) was established by the PKK as its popular front wing, with the role of both creating propaganda for the party, and as an umbrella organization for PKK organizations in different segments of the Kurdish population, such as

6716-513: The massive cultural suppression of Kurdish identity (including the 1983 Turkish Language Act Ban) and cultural rights carried out by other governments of the region". The areas in which the group operates are generally mountainous rural areas and dense urban areas. The mountainous terrain offers an advantage to members of the PKK by allowing them to hide in a network of caves. In 1995 the PKK declared that it would comply with Geneva Conventions of 1949 and also its amendment of 1977 . The PKK divides

6808-540: The most notorious incidents being the Pınarcık massacre and the Ortabağ Massacre . Turkey has depopulated and burned down thousands of Kurdish villages and massacred Kurdish civilians in an attempt to root out PKK militants. As a result of the military coup of 1971 , many militants of the revolutionary left were deprived of a public appearance, movements like the People's Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO) or

6900-584: The nature and timing of its attacks. Gürcan further wrote that the TAK was set up by the PKK but then split from it. Aliza Marcus , an expert on the PKK, also expressed her skepticism of the claims of separation by saying, "It would be the first time in the history of the PKK that they allow the existence of any other group representing the Kurds than themselves. In the 1990s, the PKK fought with rival Kurdish groups in Europe, it has killed dissidents within its own ranks. I see no reason why they would allow another group on

6992-472: The organization collects money from its members, using labels like 'donations' and 'membership fees' which are seen as a fact extortion and illegal taxation by the authorities. There are also indications that the organization is actively involving in money laundering, illicit drugs and human trafficking, as well as illegal immigration inside and outside the EU for funding and running its activities. PKK's involvement in drug trafficking has been documented since

7084-418: The organization had used training camps in Europe for political and ideological training. The PKK could count on support from protests and demonstrations often directed against policies of the Turkish government. The PKK also fought a turf war against other radical Islamist Kurdish and Turkish organizations in Turkey. Turkish newspapers said that the PKK effectively used the prison force to gain appeal among

7176-563: The organization's involvement in the trafficking of drugs. In 2008, according to information provided by the Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists the strength of the organization in terms of human resources consists of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 militants of whom 3,000 to 3,500 are located in northern Iraq. With the new wave of fighting from 2015 onwards, observers said that active support for

7268-589: The population which PKK has denied. The organization had sympathizer parties in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey since the beginning of the early 1990s. The existence of direct links between the parties and the PKK have several times been a question in Turkish politics but also in Turkish and European courts. In sequence HEP / DEP / HADEP / DEHAP / DTP and the BDP , which later changed its name to Democratic Regions Party (DBP) on 11 July 2014, as well as

7360-422: The radical left and drew its membership from other existing leftist groups, mainly Dev-Genç . During the 1980s, the movement included and cooperated with other ethnic groups, including ethnic Turks, who were following the radical left. The organization initially presented itself as part of the worldwide communist revolution . Its aims and objectives have evolved over time towards the goals of national autonomy

7452-707: The recruitment of children under the age of 16 as well as keep 16–18 year olds away from combat. Human Rights Watch has documented 29 cases of children being recruited into the HPG (the PKK's armed wing) and the YBŞ since 2013. Some children were recruited under the age of 15, constituting a war crime according to international law. Since its foundation, the PKK has recruited new fighters mainly from Turkey, but also from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Western countries using various recruitment methods, such as using nationalist propaganda and its gender equality ideology. At its establishment, it included

7544-624: The ruling AK Party , said that Öcalan was released in 1972 after just three months' detention on the initiative of the National Intelligence Organization (Millî İstihbarat Teşkilatı, MİT), and that his 1979 escape to Syria was aided by elements in MİT. Öcalan has admitted making use of money given by the MIT to the PKK, which he says was provided as part of MIT efforts to control him. Former police special forces member Ayhan Çarkın said that

7636-456: The rural village of Fîs , Lice, Diyarbakır. On 27 November 1978, a central committee consisting of seven people was elected, with Abdullah Öcalan as its head. Other members were: Şahin Dönmez, Mazlûm Dogan , Baki Karer, Mehmet Hayri Durmuş  [ ku ] , Mehmet Karasungur  [ tr ] , Cemil Bayık. The party program Kürdistan Devrimci Yolu drew on Marxism and saw Kurdistan as

7728-449: The stage now." Marcus believes that it is unlikely that the TAK gets direct orders from PKK but thinks that the PKK has control over TAK's actions. Newsweek and Al-Arabiya have written that the group is linked to the PKK while Deutsche Welle has described it as a breakaway from the PKK. In 2012, Human Rights Watch mentioned the TAK in its January 2012 report, calling the TAK "a group linked to PKK". According to Howard Eissenstat,

7820-403: The state, using the clandestine Ergenekon network , colluded with militant groups such as the PKK, Dev-Sol and Turkish Hezbollah , with the goal of profiting from the war. The secret witness "First Step" testified that General Levent Ersöz , former head of JITEM , had frequent contact with PKK commander Cemîl Bayik . In Turkey, anything which could be perceived as a support of the PKK

7912-432: The subjects initially reported that equality was a key objective, and that they joined the organization based on this statement. In 2007, approximately 1,100 of 4,500–5,000 total members were women. According to the Jamestown Foundation , in the early years of the PKK existence, it recruited young women by abducting them. Families would also encourage family members to join the PKK in order to avenge relatives killed by

8004-440: Was accused of having a presence in mosques in Germany to attract religious Muslim Kurds into their ranks. Öcalan had respect for Zoroastrianism and saw it as the first religion of the Kurds. Even though the PKK has several prominent representatives in various countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Russia, and Europe, Abdullah Öcalan stayed the unchallenged leader of the organization. Today, though serving life imprisonment, Öcalan

8096-424: Was condemned to pay €33 million in damages in 567 cases. The majority of the cases were related to events that took place in southeastern Anatolia. In Iraq the political party Tevgera Azadî is said to have close to the PKK. During the controversial Ergenekon trials in Turkey, allegations have been made that the PKK is linked to elements of the Turkish intelligence community. Şamil Tayyar , author and member of

8188-464: Was founded in Ziyaret, Lice on 27 November 1978 and has been involved in asymmetric warfare in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (with several ceasefires between 1993 and 2013–2015 ). Although the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state, in the 1990s its official platform changed to seeking autonomy and increased political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey. The PKK is designated as

8280-754: Was no longer alive. In 1994, Germany prohibited the activities of the PKK. The PKK has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department since 1997. In 2016, US Vice-president Joe Biden called the PKK a terrorist group "plain and simple" and compared it to the Islamic State . In 2018, the United States also offered a $ 12 million reward for information on three PKK leaders. Murat Karay%C4%B1lan Murat Karayılan ( Kurdish : Mirad Qarayîlan ; born 5 June 1954 in Birecik , Şanlıurfa , Turkey), also nicknamed Cemal ,

8372-459: Was one of the co-founders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). He became the PKK's acting leader after its original founder and leader, Abdullah Öcalan , was captured in 1999 by Turkish intelligence agents. On 2014, he left the PKK leader position and was assigned as the new commander-in-chief of the PKK's armed wing, the People's Defence Forces . Karayılan was born on 5 June 1954, in Birecik , Şanlıurfa , Karayılan finished his studies at

8464-587: Was renamed into the 'Kurdish Academy of Culture and Arts'. Koma Berxwedans songs, which often were about the PKK resistance, were forbidden in Turkey and had to be smuggled over the border. The PKK has an armed wing, originally formed in 1984 as the Kurdistan Freedom Brigades ( Kurdish : Hêzên Rizgariya Kurdistan , HRK), renamed to the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan ( Kurdish : Arteşa Rizgariya Gelî Kurdistan , ARGK) in 1986, and again renamed to

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