Kurdish armed organization
The
Kurdistan Workers' Party
[a]
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
. Since 1984, the PKK 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 goals changed to seeking
autonomy
and increased
political and cultural rights for Kurds
within Turkey.
[27]
The PKK is
designated as a terrorist organization
by Turkey,
[28]
the United States,
[29]
the EU
[30]
and some other countries;
[31]
[32]
however, the labeling of the PKK as a terrorist organization is controversial to some analysts and organizations,
[33]
who believe that the PKK no longer engages in organized terrorist activities or systemically targets civilians.
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]
This view became controversial after 2016, however, as the PKK restarted its terror activities.
[40]
[41]
Turkey has often characterized the demand for education in
Kurdish
as supporting terrorist activities by the PKK.
[42]
[43]
[44]
Both in 2008 and 2018 the
Court of Justice of the European Union
ruled that the PKK was classified as a terror organization without due process.
[45]
[46]
Nevertheless, the EU has maintained the designation.
[47]
The PKK's ideology was originally a fusion of
revolutionary socialism
and
Marxism?Leninism
with
Kurdish nationalism
, seeking the foundation of an independent
Kurdistan
.
[48]
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 the Kurdish minority.
[49]
Following the
military coup of 1980
, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.
[50]
Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.
[51]
The Turkish government
denied the existence of Kurds
and the PKK was portrayed trying to convince Turks of being Kurds.
[52]
The PKK has been involved in armed clashes with Turkish security forces since 1979, but 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.
[53]
[54]
In 1999, PKK leader
Abdullah Ocalan
was
captured and imprisoned
.
[55]
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, 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.
[56]
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
,
[57]
[58]
[59]
while Turkey has depopulated and burned down
thousands of Kurdish villages
and massacred Kurdish civilians in an attempt to root out PKK militants.
[note 2]
Background
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 the
Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist?Leninist
(TKP-ML) were cracked down upon and forbidden.
[48]
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.
[48]
In 1972?1973 the organization's core ideological group was made up largely of students led by
Abdullah Ocalan
("Apo") in
Ankara
who made themselves known as the
Kurdistan Revolutionaries.
[48]
The new group focused on the oppressed Kurdish population of
Turkish Kurdistan
in a capitalist world.
[48]
In 1973, several students who later would become founders of the PKK established the student organization
Ankara Democratic Association of Higher Education
[
tr
]
(ADYOD), which would be banned the next year.
[65]
Then a group around Ocalan split from the Turkish left and held extensive discussions focusing on the
colonization
of Kurdistan by Turkey.
[66]
Following the
military coup of 1980
, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.
[50]
Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.
[51]
At this time, expressions of
Kurdish culture
, including the use of the
Kurdish language
, dress,
folklore
, and names, were banned in Turkey.
[67]
In an attempt to deny their separate existence from
Turkish people
, the Turkish government categorized
Kurds
as "Mountain Turks" until 1991.
[67]
[68]
[69]
[70]
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.
[49]
Following several years of preparation, the Kurdistan Workers Party was established during a foundation congress on 26 and 27 November 1978 in the rural village of
Fis
. On 27 November 1978,
[71]
a central committee consisting of seven people was elected, with Abdullah Ocalan as its head. Other members were: ?ahin Donmez,
Mazlum Dogan
, Baki Karer,
Mehmet Hayri Durmu?
[
ku
]
,
Mehmet Karasungur
[
tr
]
, Cemil Bayık.
[71]
The party program
Kurdistan Devrimci Yolu
drew on Marxism
[72]
and saw Kurdistan as a colonized entity.
[73]
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,
[71]
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.
[71]
Ideology and aims
The organization originated in the early 1970s from the radical left and drew its membership from other existing leftist groups, mainly
Dev-Genc
.
[74]
: 127
During the 1980s, the movement included and cooperated with other ethnic groups, including ethnic Turks, who were following the radical left.
[74]
: 127
[74]
: 129
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
[75]
a federation similar the one of Switzerland, Germany or the United States
[27]
and
democratic confederalism
.
[76]
[77]
[78]
Around 1995, the PKK ostensibly changed its aim from independence to a demand for equal rights and Kurdish autonomy within the Turkish state,
[79]
[27]
[80]
though all the while hardly suspending their military attacks on the Turkish state except for ceasefires in 1999?2004 and 2013?2015. In 1995, Ocalan said: "We are not insisting on 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".
[27]
Whilst this shift in the mid-nineties has been interpreted as one from a call for independence to an autonomous republic,
[81]
some scholars have concluded that the PKK still maintains independence as the ultimate goal, but through society-building rather than state-building.
[82]
[83]
The PKK has in March 2016 also vowed to overthrow the Turkish government of
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an
, through the '
Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement
'.
[84]
[
circular reference
]
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 a network of confederal councils.
[85]
Followers of Ocalan and members of the PKK are known, after his honorary name, as
Apocu
(Apo-ites) under his movement,
Apoculuk
(Apoism).
[86]
The slogan
Biji Serok Apo
, which translates into Long Live leader Apo, is often chanted by his sympathizers.
[87]
[88]
[89]
Religion
While the PKK has no known Islamist or practicing religious member among its leadership, it has supported the creation of religious organizations.
[90]
It has also supported
Friday prayers
to be in Kurdish instead of the Turkish language.
[91]
Ocalans 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.
[92]
The PKK was accused of having a presence in mosques in Germany to attract religious Muslim Kurds into their ranks.
[93]
Ocalan had respect for
Zoroastrianism
and saw it as the first religion of the Kurds.
[94]
Organization
Even though the PKK has several prominent representatives in various countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Russia, and West European countries
[95]
Abdullah Ocalan stayed the unchallenged leader of the organization. Today, though serving life imprisonment, Ocalan is still considered the honorary leader and figurehead of the organization.
[96]
Murat Karayılan
led the organization from 1999 to 2013. In 2013 Cemil Bayik and Bese Hozat assumed as the first joint leadership.
[97]
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 the long-standing solidarity among Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan.
[98]
Political and popular wing
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 the
peasantry
, workers, youth, and women. It was dissolved in 1999, after the
capture of Abdullah Ocalan
.
[99]
[100]
Cultural branch
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 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.
[101]
Armed wing
The PKK has an armed wing, originally formed in 1984 as the Kurdistan Freedom Brigades (
Kurdish
:
Hezen Rizgariya Kurdistan
, HRK),
[102]
renamed to the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (
Kurdish
:
Arte?a Rizgariya Geli Kurdistan
, ARGK) in 1986,
[99]
and again renamed to the
People's Defense Forces
(
Kurdish
:
Hezen Parastina Gel
, HPG) in 1999.
[103]
Women's armed wing
The
Free Women's Units
of Star (
Kurdish
:
Yekineyen Jinen Azad en Star
,
[104]
YJA-STAR) was established in 2004 as the women's armed wing of the PKK, emphasizing the issue of women's liberation.
[105]
Youth wing
The
Civil Protections Units
(YPS) is the successor of the
Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement
(YDG-H), the youth wing of the PKK.
[106]
In February 2016 the
ANF
news agency reported the establishment of the women's branch of the YPS, the
YPS-Jin
.
[107]
Training camps
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.
[108]
[109]
In the third party congress of October 1986, the PKK established the
Mahsum Korkmaz Academy
in the Beqaa Valley.
[110]
After Turkey pressured Syria to enforce its closure in 1992, the academy moved to
Damascus
.
[111]
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 Ocalan and shut down all camps established in the region.
[109]
At the time, Northern Iraq was experiencing a vacuum of control after the
Gulf War
-related
Operation Provide Comfort
. Instead of 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.
[112]
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 the camps have only minimal infrastructure.
[112]
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.
[112]
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 the organization had used training camps in Europe for political and ideological training.
[113]
Political representation
The PKK could count on support from protests and
demonstrations
often directed against policies of the Turkish government.
[115]
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 the population which PKK has denied.
[116]
[117]
Alleged political presentation
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.
[118]
[115]
In sequence
HEP
/
DEP
/
HADEP
/
DEHAP
/
DTP
and the
BDP
, which later changed its name to
Democratic Regions Party
(DBP) on 11 July 2014,
[119]
as well as 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 the PKK. In 2007 against the
DTP was initiated a closure case
before the
constitutional court
[120]
which resulted in its closure on 11 December 2009.
[121]
In 2021, against the
HDP was also initiated a closure case
during which the HDP is accused of being linked to the PKK.
[122]
It is reported that Turkey has used the PKK as an excuse to close Kurdish political parties. Senior DTP leaders maintained that they support a unified Turkey within a democratic framework. In May 2007, the co-president of DTP
Aysel Tu?luk
, published an article in
Radikal
in support of this policy.
[123]
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
.
[124]
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 was condemned to pay 33 million euros in damages in 567 cases. The majority of the cases were related to events that took place in southeastern Anatolia.
[125]
In Iraq the political party Tevgera Azadi is said to have close to the PKK.
[126]
Reported links with Turkish intelligence
During the controversial
Ergenekon trials
in Turkey, allegations have been made that the PKK is linked to elements of the Turkish intelligence community.
[127]
?amil Tayyar
, author and member of the ruling
AK Party
, said that Ocalan was released in 1972 after just three months' detention on the initiative of the
National Intelligence Organization
(Milli ?stihbarat Te?kilatı, M?T), and that his 1979 escape to Syria was aided by elements in M?T.
[128]
Ocalan 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.
[129]
Former police special forces member
Ayhan Carkın
said that 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.
[130]
The
secret witness
"First Step" testified that General
Levent Ersoz
, former head of
JITEM
, had frequent contact with PKK commander
Cemil Bayik
.
[131]
Status in Turkey
In Turkey, anything which could be perceived as a support of the PKK 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.
[42]
[43]
[44]
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
.
[42]
In January 2016, the
Academics for Peace
who signed a declaration in support of peace in the
Kurdish?Turkish conflict
were labelled and prosecuted for "spreading terrorist propaganda" on behalf of the PKK.
[132]
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.
[133]
Politicians of pro-Kurdish like the
Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP)
[134]
or the HDP were often prosecuted and sentenced to prison term for their alleged support of the PKK.
[135]
The possession of
Devran
, a book authored by the political prisoner
Selahattin Demirta?
, 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.
[136]
[137]
Status in Germany
The PKK could count with a strong support from the
diaspora in Germany
where the Hunerkom, its cultural branch was based.
[101]
During the 1990s, the PKK was able to organize blockades of highways and its sympathizers self-immolated for which the PKK official
Cemil Bayik
apologized in 2015
[138]
after sympathizers of the PKK launched several waves of attacks against Turkish institutions in Germany.
[139]
The PKK's activities were banned by the Minister of the Interior
Manfred Kanther
in November 1993.
[140]
In a meeting between German MP
Heinrich Lummer
of the
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
(CDU) and Abdullah Ocalan in
Damascus
in 1996, Ocalan assured Lummer that it was the PKKs aim to find a peaceful solution for their activities in Germany.
[141]
The PKK also demanded that it should be recognized as a legitimate entity and not as a terrorist organization in Germany,
[142]
a demand to which Germany did not accede to. In Germany several Kurdish entities such as the
Association of Students from Kurdistan
(YXK),
[143]
the Mesopotamia publishing house or the Mir Multimedia music label were deemed to be close to the PKK.
[144]
The latter two were eventually closed down by Interior Minister
Horst Seehofer
who accused them of acting as a forefront of the PKK
[144]
and to support the PKKs activities in Europe with its revenue.
[145]
The Kurdish satellite channel
Roj TV
was also accused of being a branch of the PKK by Interior Minister
Wolfgang Schauble
and had to end its activities in Germany in 2008.
[146]
The PKK has received political support for a lift of its prohibition by the
Die Linke
and its party leader
Bernd Riexinger
in 2016.
[147]
Tactics
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 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".
[148]
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.
[
citation needed
]
In 1995 the PKK declared that it would comply with
Geneva Conventions
of 1949 and also its
amendment of 1977
.
[149]
The PKK divides the combat area within Turkey into several regions which comprise a number of
Turkish provinces
, of which each one is headed by its commander.
[150]
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.
[150]
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.
[150]
Criticism
The PKK has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,
[57]
[151]
using
suicide bombers
,
[152]
[153]
and recruiting child soldiers.
[59]
[154]
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.
[155]
[
better source needed
]
In 2013 the PKK stated it would prohibit the recruitment of children under the age of 16 as well as keep 16-18 year olds away from combat.
[156]
[157]
Human Rights Watch
has documented 29 cases of children being recruited into the HPG (the PKK's armed wing) and the
YB?
since 2013. Some children were recruited under the age of 15, constituting a war crime according to international law.
[154]
Recruitment
Since its foundation, the PKK has recruited new fighters mainly from Turkey, but also from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Western countries
[
which?
]
using various recruitment methods, such as using nationalist propaganda and its gender equality ideology. At its establishment, it included 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.
[158]
[
better source needed
]
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.
[159]
By 2020, 40% of the fighting force were women.
[160]
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
.
[158]
[
better source needed
]
It was reported by a Turkish university that 88% of the subjects initially reported that equality was a key objective, and that they joined the organization based on this statement.
[161]
In 2007, approximately 1,100 of 4,500?5,000 total members were women.
[158]
[
better source needed
]
According to the
Jamestown Foundation
, in the early years of the PKK existence, it recruited young women by abducting them.
[158]
[
better source needed
]
Families would also encourage family members to join the PKK in order to avenge relatives killed by the Turkish army.
[158]
[
better source needed
]
Weapons
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:
[162]
The choice and origin of the traceable weapons (July 2007)
[162]
|
Type
|
Quantity
|
Sources
|
AK-47 Kalashnikovs
|
4,500
|
71.6% from the
USSR
, 14.7% from China, 3.6% from Hungary, 3.6% from Bulgaria
|
Rifles
[note 3]
|
5,713 (959 traceable)
|
45.2% from Russia, 13.2% from United Kingdom, and 9.4% from United States.
|
Rocket launchers
|
1,610 (313 traceable)
|
85% from Russia, 5.4% from Iraq, and 2.5% from China in origin.
|
Pistols
|
2,885 (2,208 traceable)
|
21.9% from
Czechoslovakia
, 20.2% from Spain, 19.8% from Italy
|
Grenades
|
3,490 (136 traceable)
|
72% from Russia, 19.8% from United States, 8% from Germany,
|
Land mines
|
11,568 (8,015 traceable)
|
60.8% from Italy, 28.3% from Russia, 6.2% from Germany
|
Resources
Funding
Parties and concerts are organized by branch groups.
[163]
According to the
European Police Office (EUROPOL)
, 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.
[164]
Involvement in drug trafficking
PKK's involvement in
drug trafficking
has been documented since the 1990s.
[165]
[166]
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.
[167]
The
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
, Germany's domestic security agency, echoed this report in its 2011
Annual Report on 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".
[168]
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 the PKK, and high-ranking members Ali Riza Altun and
Zubeyir Aydar
as foreign narcotics traffickers at the request of Turkey.
[167]
On 20 April 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of PKK founders
Cemil 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 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.
[169]
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 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.
[170]
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 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.
[171]
The
EUROPOL
which has monitored the organization's activities inside the EU has also claimed the organization's involvement in the trafficking of drugs.
[164]
Human resources
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.
[173]
With the new wave of fighting from 2015 onwards, observers said that active support for 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.
[174]
Alleged international support
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,
[175]
[176]
Cyprus,
[177]
Iran,
[178]
Iraq,
[179]
Russia,
[180]
Syria,
[178]
Finland,
[181]
Sweden
[181]
and the United States.
[182]
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.
[183]
- Greece
- According to Ali Kulebi, president of an Ankara-based nationalist think tank TUSAM, "It is obvious that the PKK is supported by Greece, considering the PKK's historical development with major support from Greece." Kulebi said in 2007 that PKK militants received training at a base in
Lavrion
, near Athens.
[184]
Retired Greek L.T. General Dimitris Matafias and retired Greek Navy Admiral Antonis Naxakis had visited the organization's Mahsun Korkmaz base camp in Lebanon's
Beqaa Valley
in October 1988 along with parliamentarians from the center-left
PASOK
.
[185]
At the time it was reported that the general had assumed responsibility for training. Greeks also dispatched arms through the Republic of Cyprus.
[185]
During his trial, Ocalan admitted, as quoted in
Hurriyet
, that "Greece has for years supported the PKK movement. They even gave us arms and rockets. Greek officers gave guerrilla training and explosives training to our militants" at a camp in Lavrion, Greece.
[186]
- Republic of Cyprus
- The Republic of Cyprus has been instrumental in helping Greece supply arms to the PKK.
[187]
Further suspicion of support was stated when
Abdullah Ocalan
was caught with a diplomatic Cypriot passport issued under the name of Mavros Lazaros, a nationalist reporter.
[188]
[189]
- Syria
- From early 1979 to 1999, Syria had provided valuable safe havens to PKK in the region of
Beqaa Valley
. However, after
the undeclared war
between Turkey and Syria, Syria placed restrictions on PKK activity on its soil such as not allowing the PKK to establish camps and other facilities for training and shelter or to have commercial activities on its territory. Syria recognized the PKK as a terrorist organization in 1998.
[190]
Turkey was expecting positive developments in its cooperation with Syria in the long term, but even during the course of 2005, there were PKK operatives of Syrian nationality operating in Turkey.
[163]
[191]
- Libya
- In the 1990s Abdullah Ocalan appreciated the support for the "Kurdish Cause" by
Muammar Gaddafi
.
[192]
- Soviet Union
and Russia
- Former
KGB
-
FSB
officer
Alexander Litvinenko
said that PKK's leader Abdullah Ocalan was trained by
KGB
-
FSB
.
[193]
As of 2008, Russia is still not among the states that list PKK as a terrorist group despite intense Turkish pressure.
- Support of various European states
- The Dutch police reportedly raided the 'PKK paramilitary camp' in the Dutch village of
Liempde
and arrested 29 people in November 2004, but all were soon released.
[194]
- Various PKK leaders, including Hidir Yalcin, Riza Altun, Zubeyir Aydar, and Ali Haydar Kaytan all lived in Europe and moved freely. The free movement was achieved by strong ties with influential persons.
Danielle Mitterrand
, the wife of the former
President of France
Francois Mitterrand
, had active connections during the 1990s with elements of the organization's leadership that forced a downgrade in relationships between the two states.
[195]
After harboring Ali Riza Altun, Austria arranged a flight to Iraq for him, a suspected key figure with an
Interpol
arrest warrant on his name. Turkish foreign minister
Abdullah Gul
summoned the Austrian ambassador and condemned Austria's action.
[196]
On 30 September 1995, while Ocalan was in Syria,
Damascus
initiated contact with high-ranking German
CDU
MP
Heinrich Lummer
and German intelligence officials.
Sedat Laciner
, of the Turkish think tank
ISRO
, says that US support of the PKK undermines the US
War on Terror
.
[197]
Designation as a terrorist group
The PKK has been designated as a terrorist group by a number of governments and organizations.
[28]
It is often referred as "Separatist terrorist organization" (
Turkish
:
Bolucu teror orgutu
) by the Turkish authorities.
[198]
[199]
[200]
In the 1980s, the PKK was labeled as a terror organization by the
Swedish government
of
Olof Palme
.
[201]
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
[202]
and closed the case as that person was no longer alive.
[203]
In 1994, Germany prohibited the activities of the PKK.
[204]
The PKK has been designated as a
Foreign Terrorist Organization
by the
US State Department
since 1997.
[205]
In 2016, US Vice-president
Joe Biden
called the PKK a terrorist group "plain and simple" and compared it to the
Islamic State
.
[206]
In 2018, the United States also offered a $12 million reward for information on three PKK leaders.
[207]
First designated as a terror organization by the
European Union
in 2002, the PKK was ordered to be removed from the EU terror list on 3 April 2008 by the
European Court of First Instance
on the grounds that the EU had failed to give a proper justification for listing it in the first place.
[208]
However, EU officials dismissed the ruling, stating that the PKK would remain on the list regardless of the legal decision.
[45]
The EU in 2011 renewed its official listing of the PKK as group or entity subject to "specific [EU] measures to combat terrorism" under its
Common Foreign and Security Policy
.
[209]
In 2018, Prakken d'Oliveira Human Rights Lawyers reported that the PKK won another case against its listing as a terror organization by the EU, but the EU kept the PKK on the list as the ruling only concerned the years from 2014 until 2017.
[46]
The PKK is also a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the
Terrorism Act 2000
;
[210]
the then
British Prime Minister
Theresa May
used the phrase "Kurdish terrorism" in 2018.
[211]
France prosecutes Kurdish-French activists and bans organizations connected to the PKK on terrorism-related charges,
[212]
having listed the group as a terrorist organization since 1993.
[213]
However, French courts often refuse to extradite captured individuals criticized of PKK connections to Turkey due to technicalities in French law, frustrating Turkish authorities.
[
failed verification
]
[214]
The following other countries and organizations have listed or otherwise labelled the PKK in an official capacity as a terrorist organization:
Australia,
[215]
[216]
Austria,
[217]
Azerbaijan,
[218]
Canada,
[219]
Czech Republic,
[220]
Iran,
[221]
Japan,
[222]
Kazakhstan,
[223]
Kyrgyzstan,
[224]
New Zealand,
[225]
Spain,
[226]
Syria
[190]
and Iraq.
[227]
In May 2022, Finland and Sweden submitted applications to join the
NATO
alliance as a response to the
invasion of Ukraine
, Turkey has opposed their admission to the alliance unless they crack down on local PKK,
PYD
and
YPG
networks. On 28 June, the first day of the
2022 NATO summit
in Madrid, the Turkish delegation softened their opposition to Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications and signed a tripartite memorandum addressing Turkey's concerns regarding arms exports and Kurdish relations. Finland and Sweden affirmed that the PKK is "a terrorist organization".
[228]
On 30 June 2022, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an
said that Sweden made a "promise" to extradite "73 terrorists" wanted by Turkey.
[229]
Refusal to designate PKK as a terrorist group
Russia has long ignored Turkish pressure to ban the PKK.
[230]
The
government of Switzerland
has also rejected Turkish demands to blacklist the PKK.
[231]
Switzerland does not have a list of terrorist organizations,
[232]
but it has taken its own measures to monitor and restrict the group's activities on Swiss soil, including banning the collection of funds for the group in November 2008.
[233]
In 2020, the supreme court of Belgium ruled that the PKK was not a terrorist organization, instead labeling the group as an actor in an internal armed conflict.
[234]
[235]
Following this, the Belgian Government announced that the ruling would not affect the current designation of the PKK as a terrorist organization.
[236]
Flags
Party flags
Flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (1978?1995)
[237]
Flag of the PKK (1995?2000)
[237]
- Flag of the PKK (2000?2002)
- Flag of the KADEK (2002?2003)
[237]
Flag of the Kongra-Gel (KGK) (2003?present)
[237]
[238]
Flag of the PKK (2005?present)
[239]
Flags of wings
Flag of the People's Defense Forces (HPG, Formerly HRK and ARGK)
[240]
[241]
Variant of the flag of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK), inscribed with the group's acronym (1986?1999)
Flag of the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) (1985?2000)
[237]
[242]
Former flag of the Free Women's Units of Star (YJA-STAR)
[240]
Current flag of the YJA-STAR
[243]
History
1970s
During the 1970s, the PKK was involved in
urban warfare
. PKK tactics were based on
ambush
,
sabotage
, riots, protests, and
demonstrations
against the Turkish government. During these years, the PKK also fought a turf war against Kurdish and Turkish radical Islamist organisations in Turkey. Turkish newspapers said that the PKK effectively used the prison force to appeal to the general population, which the PKK has denied.
[116]
[117]
In Turkey, this period was characterized by violent clashes that culminated in the
1980 military coup
.
1980s
The
1980 Turkish coup d'etat
brought a difficult environment for the PKK, with members being executed, or being jailed. Other fled to Syria, where they were allowed to establish bases by
Hafez al-Assad
.
[244]
The PKK also managed to come to agreements with the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(DFLP),
[245]
the
Fatah
of
Yassir Arafat
or the
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
(PPSF) of
Samir Ghawshah
[246]
and also with
Masoud Barzani
's
Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP) in Iraqi Kurdistan
[247]
which would facilitate their activities.
In a second phase, which followed the return of civilian rule in 1983, escalating attacks were made on the government's military and vital institutions all over the country. The objective was to destabilize the Turkish authority through a long, low-intensity confrontation. The establishment of the Kurdistan Liberation Force (
Hezen Rizgariya Kurdistan
? HRK) was announced on 15 August 1984.
[248]
From 1984, the PKK became a paramilitary group with training camps in
Turkish Kurdistan
,
Iraqi Kurdistan
, Syria, Lebanon and France. The PKK received significant support from the Syrian government, which allowed it to maintain headquarters in Damascus, as well as some support from the governments of Iran, Iraq, and Libya. It began to launch attacks and bombings against Turkish governmental installations, the military, and various institutions of the state. The organization focused on attacks against Turkish military targets, although civilian targets were also hit.
[249]
[250]
[251]
In addition to skirmishing with Turkish military, police forces and local
village guards
, the PKK has conducted bomb attacks on government and police installations.
[252]
Kidnapping
and assassination against government and military officials and Kurdish tribal leaders who were named as puppets of the state were performed as well. Widespread
sabotages
were continued from the first stage. Turkish sources had also stated that the PKK carried out kidnappings of tourists, primarily in
Istanbul
, but also at different resorts. However, the PKK had in its history arrested 4 tourists and released them all after warning them to not enter the war zone. The vast majority of PKK's actions have taken place mainly in Turkey against the Turkish military, although it has on occasions co-operated with other Kurdish nationalist paramilitary groups in neighboring states, such as Iraq and Iran.
[253]
The PKK has also attacked Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities across Western Europe in the late 1980s. In effect, the Turkish state has led a series of
counter-insurgency
operations against the PKK, accompanied by political measures, starting with an explicit denunciation of separatism in the
1982 Constitution
, and including proclamation of the
state of emergency
in various PKK-controlled territories starting in 1983 (when the military relinquished political control to the civilians). This series of administrative reforms against terrorism included in 1985 the creation of
village guard system
by the then prime minister
Turgut Ozal
. The establishment of the Village Guards resulted into a change of policy by the PKK, who reorganized its military wing at the 3rd party congress in October 1986 and made the joining of its military wing the Kurdistan People's Liberation Force compulsory.
[254]
1990s
From the mid-1990s, the organization began to lose
the upper hand in its operations
as a consequence of a change of tactics by Turkey and Syria's steady abandonment of support for the group. The group also had lost its support from
Saddam Hussein
.
[255]
As during the international operation Poised Hammer the collaboration between Barzani and Turkey embittered, the situation for the PKK became even more difficult, with Barzani condemning terrorist attacks by the PKK during a Newroz festival.
[256]
At the same time, the Turkish government started to use more violent methods to counter Kurdish militants. After in 1992 a high-profile Turkish Delegation visited Damascus, the Syrian Government seemed to have ordered the closure of the PKK camp in the Bekaa valley and told the PKK to keep a low profile for some time.
[257]
In March 1993 Ocalan, in presence of PUK leader
Jalal Talabani
declared a
unilateral ceasefire
for a month in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Turkey. At an other press conference which took place on 16 April 1993 in
Bar Elias
, Lebanon, the ceasefire was prolonged indefinitely. To this event, the Kurdish politicians Jamal Talabani,
Ahmet Turk
from the
People's Labor Party
(HEP) and also
Kemal Burkay
also attended and declared their support for the ceasefire.
[258]
The ceasefire ended after the Turkish army killed 13 PKK members in
Kulp
,
Diyarbakir province
in May 1993.
[259]
The fighting and violence augmented significantly following the
presidential elections of June 1993
after which
Tansu Ciller
was elected prime minister.
[260]
[261]
In December 1995 the PKK announced another unilateral ceasefire to give a new Government an opportunity to articulate a more peaceful approach towards the conflict. The government elected in December 1995 did not initiate negotiations and kept on evacuating Kurdish populated villages. Despite the violent approach of the Government to the ceasefire, it was upheld by the PKK until August 1996.
[260]
Turkey was involved in serious human rights violations during the 1990s.
From 1996 to 1999, the organization began to use suicide bombers, VBIED, and ambush attacks against military and police bases. The role of suicide bombers, especially female ones were encouraged and mythologised by giving them the status of a "goddess of freedom", and shown as role models for other women after their death. On 30 July 1996,
Zeynep Kınacı
, a female PKK fighter, carried out the organization's first suicide attack, killing 8 soldiers and injuring 29 others. The attacks against the civilians, especially the Kurdish citizens who refused to cooperate with them were also reported at the same years. On 20 January 1999, a report published by
HRW
, stated that the PKK was reported to have been responsible for more than 768 executions. The organization had also reportedly committed 25 massacres, killing more than 300 people. More than a hundred victims were children and women.
[262]
[263]
[264]
[265]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, in an effort to win increased support from the Kurdish peasantry, the PKK altered its leftist secular ideology to better accommodate and accept Islamic beliefs. The group also abandoned its previous strategy of attacking Kurdish and Turkish civilians who were against them, focusing instead on government and military targets.
[266]
In its campaign, the organization has been criticized of carrying out atrocities against both Turkish and Kurdish civilians and its actions have been criticised by human rights groups such as
Amnesty International
[267]
and
Human Rights Watch
.
[268]
Similar actions of the Turkish state have also been criticized by these same groups. The ECHR has investigated Turkey for executions of Kurdish civilians, torturing, forced displacements and massive arrests.
[269]
In 1998 Turkey increased the pressure on Syria and ended its support for the PKK.
[270]
[271]
[272]
The leader of the organization, Abdullah Ocalan, was captured,
prosecuted and sentenced to death
, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment as part of the government's seeking
European Union membership
.
[273]
2000s
The
European Court of Human Rights
has condemned Turkey for human rights abuses during the conflict.
[274]
[275]
Some judgements are related to executions of Kurdish civilians,
[276]
torturing,
[277]
forced displacements,
[278]
destroyed villages,
[279]
[280]
[281]
arbitrary arrests
,
[282]
murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists, activists and politicians.
[283]
[284]
[285]
As a result of increasing Kurdish population and activism, the Turkish parliament began a controlled process of dismantling some anti-Kurdish legislation, using the term "normalization" or "rapprochement", depending on the sides of the issue. It partially relaxed the bans on broadcasting and publishing in the
Kurdish language
, although significant barriers remain.
[286]
At the same time, the PKK was blacklisted in many countries. On 2 April 2004, the
Council of the European Union
added the PKK to its list of terrorist organizations. Later that year, the
US Treasury
moved to freeze assets of branches of the organization. The PKK went through a series of changes, and in 2003 it ended the unilateral truce declared when Ocalan was captured.
[287]
Cease fire 1999?2004
The third phase (1999?2012), after the capture of Ocalan, PKK reorganized itself and new leaders were chosen by its members. The organization made radical changes to survive, such as changing its ideology and setting new goals. During the 7th Party congress in January 2000, the former military wing the Peoples Liberation Army of Kurdistan (
Arte?a Rizgariya Gele Kurdistan
? ARGK) was succeeded by the People's Defense Forces (
Hezen Parastina Gel
?
HPG) and also declared that it wanted to aim for a democratic solution for the conflict.
[288]
At the same time, the PKK continued to recruit new members and sustain its fighting force.
According to Paul White, in April 2002, the PKK changed its name to the
Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK)
and proclaimed a commitment to nonviolent activities.
[288]
A PKK/KADEK spokesman stated that its armed wing, the HPG, would not disband or surrender its weapons for reasons of self-defense. This statement by the PKK/KADEK avowing it would not lay down its arms underscores that the organization maintained its capability to carry out armed operations. PKK/KADEK established a new ruling council in April, its membership virtually identical to the PKK's Presidential Council. The PKK/KADEK did not conduct an armed attack in 2002; however, the group periodically issued veiled threats that it will resume violence if the conditions of its imprisoned leader are not improved and its forces are attacked by Turkish military, and it continued its military training like before.
In November 2003, another congress was held which lead to renaming itself as the
People's Congress of Kurdistan
or
Kongra-Gel (KGK)
. The stated purpose of the organizational change was to leave behind nationalistic and state-building goals, in favor of creating a political structure to work within the existing nation-states.
[289]
Through further internal conflict during this period, it is reported that 1500 militants left the organization,
[289]
along with many of the leading reformists, including
Nizamettin Ta?
and
Abdullah Ocalan
's younger brother
Osman Ocalan
.
[290]
Second insurgency 2004?2006
Kongra-Gel called off the cease-fire at the start of June 2004, saying Turkish security forces had refused to respect the truce. Turkish security forces were increasingly involved in clashes with Kurdish separatist fighters. Ankara stated that about 2,000 Kurdish fighters had crossed into Turkey from hideouts in mountainous northern Iraq in early June 2004.
While the fight against the Turkish security forces between 2004 and 2010 continued, the PKK and its ancillary organizations continued to enjoy substantial support among the Kurds of Turkey. In 2005, the original name of the organization
PKK
was restored, while the Kongra-Gel became the legislature of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).
[291]
[292]
Turkey's struggle against the Kongra-Gel/PKK was marked by increased clashes across Turkey in 2005. In the southeast, Turkish security forces were active in the struggle against the Kongra-Gel/PKK. There were bombings and attempted bombings in resort areas in western Turkey and Istanbul, some of which resulted in civilian casualties. A radical Kurdish separatist group calling itself the
Kurdish Freedom Hawks (TAK)
claimed responsibility for many of these attacks. The TAK is a rival to PKK that since 2006 repeatedly damaged the PKK's efforts to negotiate cease-fires and unlike the PKK, is seeking to establish independent Kurdistan.
[293]
In 2006 alone, the PKK claimed over 500 victims. On 1 October 2006, the PKK reportedly declared a unilateral cease-fire
[294]
that slowed the intensity and pace of its attacks, but attacks continued in response to Turkish security forces significant counterinsurgency operations, especially in the southeast.
Cease-fire and renewed conflict
On 13 April 2009, the
PKK declared a cease fire
after the DTP won 99 municipalities and negotiations were spoken about. The AKP first spoke of the
"Kurdish Opening"
, then it was renamed in the "Democratic Opening" to appease nationalist interests and then the "National Unity Project".
[295]
On 21 October 2011 Iranian foreign minister
Ali Akbar Salehi
announced Iran would co-operate with Turkey in some military operations against the PKK.
[296]
2012 was the most violent year in the armed conflict between the Turkish State and PKK since 1999. At least 541 individuals lost their lives as a result of the clashes including 316 militants and 282 soldiers. In contrast, 152 individuals lost their lives in 2009 until the Turkish government initiated negotiations with the PKK leadership.
[297]
The failure of this negotiations contributed to violence that were particularly intensified in 2012. The PKK encouraged by the rising power of the Syrian Kurds increased its attacks in the same year.
During the
Syrian Civil War
, the Kurds in Syria have established control over their own region with the help of the PKK as well as with support from the Kurdistan Regional Government in
Erbil
, under President Masoud Barzani.
[298]
2010s
2013?2015 peace process
In late 2012, the Turkish government began secret talks with Ocalan for a
ceasefire
.
[299]
To facilitate talks, government officials transmitted letters between Ocalan in jail to PKK leaders in northern Iraq.
[300]
[301]
On 21 March 2013, a ceasefire was announced.
[302]
On 25 April, it was announced that the PKK would leave Turkey. Commander
Murat Karayılan
remarked "As part of ongoing preparations, the withdrawal will begin on May 8, 2013. Our forces will use their right to retaliate in the event of an attack, operation or bombing against our withdrawing guerrilla forces and the withdrawal will immediately stop."
[303]
The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq welcomed the idea of refugees from its northern neighbor.
[304]
The BDP held meetings across the region to state the pending withdrawal to concerned citizens. "The 8th of May is a day we both anticipate and fear," said party leader Pinar Yilmaz. "We don't trust the government at all. Many people here are afraid that once the guerrillas are gone, the Turkish military will crack down on us again."
[305]
The withdrawal began as planned with groups of fighters crossing the border from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq.
[299]
Iraqi leadership in Baghdad, however, declared that it would not accept armed groups into its territory. "The Iraqi government welcomes any political and peaceful settlement", read an official statement. "[But] it does not accept the entry of armed groups to its territories that can be used to harm Iraq's security and stability."
[304]
The prospect of armed Kurdish forces in northern Iraq threatens to increase tensions between the region and Baghdad who are already at odds over certain oil producing territory. PKK spokesman Ahmet Deniz sought to ease concerns stating the plan would boost democracy. "The [peace] process is not aimed against anyone," he said "and there is no need for concerns that the struggle will take on another format and pose a threat to others."
[304]
It is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 PKK fighters resided in Turkey at the time.
[
citation needed
]
The withdrawal process was expected to take several months even if Iraq does not intervene to try to stop it.
[304]
On 14 May 2013, the first groups of 13 male and female fighters entered Iraq's Heror area near the Metina mountain after leaving Turkey. They carried with them Kalashnikov assault rifles, light machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers before a welcoming ceremony.
[306]
On 29 July 2013, the PKK issued an ultimatum in saying that the peace deal would fail if reforms were not begun to be implemented within a month.
[307]
In October, Cemil Bayik warned that unless Turkey resumed the peace process, the PKK would resume operations to defend itself against it. He also criticized Turkey of waging a proxy war against Kurds during the
Syrian Civil War
by supporting other extremist rebels who were
fighting them
.
[308]
Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani backed the initiative saying, alongside Erdogan: "This is a historic visit for me ... We all know it would have been impossible to speak here 15 or 20 years ago. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has taken a very brave step towards peace. I want my Kurdish and Turkish brothers to support the peace process."
[309]
2014 action against Islamic State and renewed tensions in Turkey
The PKK engaged the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) forces in Syria in mid-July 2014
[310]
as part of the Syrian Civil War. In August the PKK engaged IS in Northern Iraq and pressured the Government of Turkey to take a stand against IS.
[311]
[312]
PKK forces helped tens of thousands of
Yazidis
escape an encircled
Mount Sinjar
.
[313]
In September 2014, during the
Siege of Kobani
, some PKK fighters engaged with
Islamic State
forces in Syria who were attacking Kurdish city Kobane, which resulted in conflicts with Turks on the border and an end to a cease-fire that had been in place over a year.
[314]
The PKK said Turkey was supporting ISIS. The PKK participated in many offensives against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
[315]
A number of Turkish Kurds rallied in large-scale street protests, demanding that the government in Ankara take more forceful action to combat IS and to enable Kurdish militants already engaged against IS to more freely move and resupply. These protests included a PKK call for its supporters to turn out.
[316]
Clashes between police and protesters killed at least 31 people. The Turkish government continued to restrict PKK-associated fighters' movement across its borders, arresting 260
People's Protection Units
fighters who were moving back into Turkey. On 14 October, Turkish Air Force fighter-bombers attacked PKK positions in the vicinity of Daglica, Hakkari Province.
[317]
Turkish military statements stated that the bombings were in response to PKK attacks on a Turkish military outpost in the area. The Firat news agency, which Al Jazeera describes as "close to the PKK", stated that Turkish forces had been shelling the PKK positions for days beforehand and that the PKK action had itself been retaliation for those artillery strikes.
[318]
The PKK had already reported several Turkish attacks against their troops months before Turkish bombing started.
July 2015?present: Third insurgency
| This section needs to be
updated
.
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
(
January 2021
)
|
In the months before the parliamentary election of 2015, as the "Kurdish-focused" HDP's likelihood of crossing the 10% threshold for entry into the government seemed more likely, Erdogan gave speeches and made comments that repudiated the settlement process and the existence of a Kurdish problem and refusing to recognize the HDP as having any role to play despite their long participation as intermediaries.
[319]
These announcements increased distrust of the government's good faith among Kurdish leaders.
In July 2015, Turkey finally became involved in the war against ISIL. While they were doing so, they decided to bomb PKK targets in Iraq.
[320]
The bombings came a few days after PKK was suspected of assassinating two Turkish police officers in
Ceylanpınar
,
?anlıurfa
, criticized by the PKK of having links with ISIS after the
2015 Suruc bombing
.
[321]
[322]
The PKK has blamed Turkey for breaking the truce by bombing the PKK in 2014 and 2015 continuously.
[
citation needed
]
In August 2015, the PKK announced that they would accept another ceasefire with Turkey only under
US
guarantees.
[323]
The leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan has condemned the Turkish airstrikes in its autonomous region in the north of Iraq.
[324]
The number of casualties since 23 July was stated by Turkish government to be 150 Turkish officers and over 2,000 Kurdish rebels killed (by September).
[325]
In December 2015, Turkish military operation in southeastern Turkey has killed hundreds of civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands and caused massive destruction in residential areas.
[326]
[327]
In March 2016, the PKK helped to launch the
Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement
with nine other Kurdish and Turkish revolutionary leftist, socialist and communist groups (including the
TKP/ML
,
THKP-C/MLSPB
,
MKP
,
TKEP/L
,
T?KB
[
de
;
fr
;
tr
;
zh
]
,
DKP
,
DK
and
MLKP
) with the aim of overthrowing the Turkish government of
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an
.
[328]
In November 2022, an
explosion
took place on
?stiklal Avenue
in
Istanbul
's
Beyo?lu
district that left at least six people dead and 81 injured.
Minister of Interior
Suleyman Soylu
formally accused the PKK of being behind the attack and announced the arrest of the bomber who had alleged links to the organization and twenty-one others.
[329]
See also
Related and/or associated organizations
Notes
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KCK has an assembly. This assembly is Kongra-Gel. Furthermore, within Kongra-Gel there's an elected executive council... The PKK is a limited segment within the movement which is given the name KCK. Abdullah Ocalan takes the highest position. After that there's the Assembly, and following that the Executive Council. The chairman of the 31-member Executive Council is Murat Karayılan
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Further reading
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PKK
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