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Wikipedia

Kurdistan Workers' Party

April 14, 2023

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 utilized 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 just seeking autonomy and increased rights for Kurds within Turkey, rather than full separatism.

Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK)
Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê
Leaders
Dates of operation1978; 45 years ago (1978)
Allegiance
HeadquartersQandil Mountains
Ideology
Historical:
Political positionLeft-wing
Size5,000 (estimate)[note 1]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group by

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,[19] the United States,[20] the EU[21] and some other countries;[22][23] however, the labeling of the PKK as a terrorist organization is controversial,[24] and some analysts and organizations contend that the PKK no longer engages in organized terrorist activities or systemically targets civilians.[25][26][27][28][29][30] Turkey has often viewed the demand for education in Kurdish as supporting terrorist activities by the PKK.[31][32][33] 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.[34][35] Nevertheless, the EU has maintained the designation.[36]

The PKK's ideology was originally a fusion of revolutionary socialism and Marxism–Leninism with Kurdish nationalism, seeking the foundation of an independent Kurdistan.[37] 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.[38] Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.[39] Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.[40] The Turkish government denied the existence of Kurds and the PKK was portrayed trying to convince Turks of being Kurds.[41]

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.[42][43] In 1999, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was captured and imprisoned.[44] 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.[45] 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,[46][47][48] 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.[37] 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.[37] 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 the Kurdistan Revolutionaries.[37] The new group focused on the oppressed Kurdish population of Turkish Kurdistan in a capitalist world.[37] In 1973, several students who later would become founders of the PKK established the student organization ADYÖD, which would be banned the next year.[54] Then a group around Öcalan split from the Turkish left and held extensive discussions focusing on the colonization of Kurdistan by Turkey.[55] Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life.[39] Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.[40] At this time, expressions of Kurdish culture, including the use of the Kurdish language, dress, folklore, and names, were banned in Turkey.[56] In an attempt to deny their separate existence from Turkish people, the Turkish government categorized Kurds as "Mountain Turks" until 1991.[56][57][58][59] 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.[38]

Following several years of preparation, the Kurdistan Workers Party was established during a foundation congress on 26 and 27 November 1978 in a rural village called Fis in Kurdish and Ziyaret in Turkish. On 27 November 1978,[60] 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.[60] The party program Kürdistan Devrimci Yolu drew on Marxism[61] and saw Kurdistan as a colonized entity.[62] 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,[60] 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.[60]

Ideology and aims

 
Protest for freedom of Ocalan in Germany, January 21, 2016

The organization originated in the early 1970s from the radical left and drew its membership from other existing leftist groups, mainly Dev-Genç.[63]: 127  During the 1980s, the movement included and cooperated with other ethnic groups, including ethnic Turks, who were following the radical left.[63]: 127 [63]: 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[64] and democratic confederalism.[65][66][67]

Around 1995, the PKK ostensibly changed its aim from independence to a demand for equal rights and Kurdish autonomy within the Turkish state,[68][69][70] 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 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".[69]

Whilst this shift in the mid-nineties has been interpreted as one from a call for independence to an autonomous republic,[71] some scholars have concluded that the PKK still maintains independence as the ultimate goal, but through society-building rather than state-building.[72][73]

The PKK has in March 2016 also vowed to overthrow the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, through the 'Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement'.[74][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.[75] Followers of Öcalan and members of the PKK are known, after his honorary name, as Apocu (Apo-ites) under his movement, Apoculuk (Apoism).[76] The slogan Bijî Serok Apo, which translates into Long Live leader Apo, is often chanted by his sympathizers.[77][78][79]

Religion

While the PKK has no known Islamist or practicing religious member among its leadership, it has supported the creation of religious organizations.[80] It has also supported Friday prayers to be in Kurdish instead of the Turkish language.[81] Öcalans early writings did not have a positive view of Islam, but later works had a more favorable tone, specifically regarding the revolutionary symbol of Muhammed against an established order.[82] Öcalan viewed Zoroastrianism as the original religion of the Kurds.[83]

Organization

Even though the PKK has several prominent representatives in various countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Russia, and West European countries[84] Abdullah Öcalan stayed the unchallenged leader of the organization. Today, though serving life imprisonment, Öcalan is still considered the honorary leader and figurehead of the organization.[85]

Murat Karayılan led the organization from 1999 to 2013. In 2013 Cemil Bayik and Besê Hozat assumed as the first joint leadership.[86] 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.[87]

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 Öcalan.[88][89]

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.[90]

Armed wing

The PKK has an armed wing, originally formed in 1984 as the Kurdistan Freedom Brigades (Kurdish: Hêzên Rizgariya Kurdistan, HRK),[91] renamed to the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (Kurdish: Arteşa Rizgariya Gelî Kurdistan, ARGK) in 1986,[88] and again renamed to the People's Defense Forces (Kurdish: Hêzên Parastina Gel, HPG) in 1999.[92]

Women's armed wing

 
Female PKK guerrillas of YJA-STAR.

The Free Women's Units of Star (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Jinên Azad ên Star,[93] YJA-STAR) was established in 2004 as the women's armed wing of the PKK, emphasizing the issue of women's liberation.[94]

Youth wing

The Civil Protections Units (YPS) is the successor of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the youth wing of the PKK.[95] In February 2016 the ANF news agency reported the establishment of the women's branch of the YPS, the YPS-Jin.[96]

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.[97][98] In the third party congress of October 1986, the PKK established the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy in the Beqaa Valley.[99] After Turkey pressured Syria to enforce its closure in 1992, the academy moved to Damascus.[100] 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.[98] 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.[101] 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.[101] 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.[101] 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.[102]

Political representation

 
Percentage of the popular vote won by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2015 Turkish general election. "The HDP's elections results, which are a proxy indicator of popular support for the PKK, show that the group has followers throughout the country."[103]

The PKK could count on support from protests and demonstrations often directed against policies of the Turkish government.[104] 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.[105][106]

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.[107][104] In sequence HEP/DEP/HADEP/DEHAP/DTP and the BDP, which later changed its name to Democratic Regions Party (DBP) on 11 July 2014,[108] as well as the HDP 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[109] which resulted in its closure on 11 December 2009.[110] In 2021, against the HDP was also initiated a closure case during which the HDP is accused of being linked to the PKK.[111] 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 Tuğluk, published an article in Radikal in support of this policy.[112]

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.[113] 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.[114] In Iraq the political party Tevgera Azadî is said to have close to the PKK.[115]

Reported links with Turkish intelligence

See also: Ergenekon trials

During the controversial Ergenekon trials in Turkey, allegations have been made that the PKK is linked to elements of the Turkish intelligence community.[116]

Şamil Tayyar, author and member of 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.[117] 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.[118]

Former police special forces member Ayhan Çarkın 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.[119]

The secret witness "First Step" testified that General Levent Ersöz, former head of JITEM, had frequent contact with PKK commander Cemîl Bayik.[120]

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.[31][32][33] 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.[31] 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.[121] 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.[122] Politicians of pro-Kurdish like the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)[123] or the HDP were often prosecuted and sentenced to prison term for their alleged support of the PKK.[124] 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.[125][126]

Status in Germany

The PKK could count with a strong support from the diaspora in Germany where the Hunerkom, its cultural branch was based.[90] 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 [127] after sympathizers of the PKK launched several waves of attacks against Turkish institutions in Germany.[128] The PKK's activities were banned by the Minister of the Interior Manfred Kanther in November 1993.[129] In a meeting between German MP Heinrich Lummer of 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.[130] The PKK also demanded that it should be recognized as a legitimate entity and not as a terrorist organization in Germany,[131] a demand to which Germany did not accede to. In Germany several Kurdish entities such as the Association of Students from Kurdistan (YXK),[132] the Mesopotamia publishing house or the Mir Multimedia music label were deemed to be close to the PKK.[133] The latter two were eventually closed down by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who accused them of acting as a forefront of the PKK[133] and to support the PKKs activities in Europe with its revenue.[134] The Kurdish satellite channel Roj TV was also accused of being a branch of the PKK by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and had to end its activities in Germany in 2008.[135] The PKK has received political support for a lift of its prohibition by the Die Linke and its party leader Bernd Riexinger in 2016.[136]

Status in Israel

Relations between Israel and PKK have always been complex. During the 1982 Lebanon War the several PKK fighters in Lebanon fought against Israel for the Palestine Liberation Organization and other affiliated groups which they were training with at the time. In February 16, 1999, fugitive Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan was arrested at the Greek embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. After a news report claimed that Israel's Mossad agency helped Turkey track Ocalan, protests erupted in Europe. On February 17, 1999, three Kurdish protesters were shot and killed while trying to occupy the Israeli consulate in Germany.[137] In September 2017 IDF chief of staff, Yair Golan, said at The Washington Institute:

"I very much like the idea of an independent Kurdistan. Well, basically, I like the Kurdish people. And you know we’ve had good cooperation with the Kurdish people since the early 1960s. And looking at the Middle East today, I would say that the only positive development concerning the destiny of the Middle East is the emergence of some sort of Kurdish entity—independent entity."[138]

Shortly after that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted:

"Israel rejects the PKK and considers it a terrorist organization, as opposed to Turkey, which supports the terror org. Hamas. While Israel rejects terror in any form, it supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own."[139]

Netanyahu also replayed it on his state visit to Argentina.[140] In May 2018, Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party and Kurdistan Workers Party condemned the killings of Palestinians during Gaza border protests with Israeli troops after the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem. They also invited the involved sides to negotiate and compromise.[141] In October 2019, at the onset of Operation Peace Spring, Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted:

“Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies. Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people.”[142]

He also offered the People's Defense Units (YPG) Israeli assistance. During the offensive, Israel's deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, stated: Israel indeed has a salient interest in preserving the strength of the Kurds and the additional minorities in the north Syria area as moderate and pro-Western elements, The possible collapse of the Kurdish hold in north Syria is a negative and dangerous scenario as far as Israel is concerned.[143] The Turkish Army used 170 M60-A1 tanks upgraded by Israeli IMI Systems during the operation. These tanks were upgraded between 2003 and 2010 during the military cooperation between Israel and Turkey at a cost of $687 million.[144] Seymour Hersh said that the U.S. and Israel supported PJAK, the Iranian branch of the PKK.[145] The head of the PKK's militant arm, Murat Karayılan, said that Iran attempted to recruit the PKK to attack coalition forces, adding that Kurdish guerrillas had launched a clandestine war in north-western Iran, ambushing Iranian troops.[146] In 2022, During the peace negotiations of Turkey and Israel, Informed sources said that a delegation from Israel's Mossad spy agency had met with Turkish intelligence officials to discuss security issues. The Mossad agents told their Turkish counterparts that Israel is ready to cooperate with the PKK should Ankara continue its support for the Hamas military wing. Turkey admitted that it was concerned about the potential for Israel to back the Kurdish PKK militia in response to Ankara's alleged support for the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, Rai Al-Youm reported on Tuesday.[147]

Despite these statements from Israeli officials, several PKK leaders including Abdullah Öcalan,[148] Mustafa Karasu,[149][150] Duran Kalkan,[151] Cemîl Bayik, and Besê Hozat have made negative statements towards Israel and Zionism, even in recent years. Murat Karayilan, however, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post in 2020 said that the PKK supports a Two-state Solution when asked about the PKK's attitude towards Israel.[152]

Tactics

 
Demonstration in Paris for slain PKK founder and activists

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".[153] 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.[154] 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.[155] 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.[155] 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.[155]

Criticism

The PKK has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,[46][156] using suicide bombers,[157][158] and recruiting child soldiers.[48][159] 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.[160][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.[161][162] 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.[159]

Recruitment

 
PKK female fighters.
 
PKK and Peshmerga fighters, 11 August 2015

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.[163][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.[164]

By 2020, 40% of the fighting force were women.[165] 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.[163][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.[166] In 2007, approximately 1,100 of 4,500–5,000 total members were women.[163][better source needed]

According to the Jamestown Foundation, in the early years of the PKK existence, it recruited young women by abducting them.[163][better source needed] Families would also encourage family members to join the PKK in order to avenge relatives killed by the Turkish army.[163][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:[167]

The choice and origin of the traceable weapons (July 2007)[167]
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.[168] 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.[169]

Involvement in drug trafficking

PKK's involvement in drug trafficking has been documented since the 1990s.[170][171] 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.[172] 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".[173]

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 Zübeyir Aydar as foreign narcotics traffickers at the request of Turkey.[172] 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 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.[174] 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.[175]

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.[176]

 
Following the SDF capture of Raqqa, YPJ and YPG troops raised a large banner of Abdullah Öcalan in the city centre.[177]

The EUROPOL which has monitored the organization's activities inside the EU has also claimed the organization's involvement in the trafficking of drugs.[169]

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.[178] 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.[179]

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,[180][181] Cyprus,[182] Iran,[183] Iraq,[184] Russia,[185] Syria,[183] Finland,[186] Sweden[186] and the United States.[187] 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.[188]

Greece
According to Ali Külebi, 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." Külebi said in 2007 that PKK militants received training at a base in Lavrion, near Athens.[189] 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.[190] At the time it was reported that the general had assumed responsibility for training. Greeks also dispatched arms through the Republic of Cyprus.[190] During his trial, Öcalan admitted, as quoted in Hürriyet, 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.[191]
Republic of Cyprus
The Republic of Cyprus has been instrumental in helping Greece supply arms to the PKK.[192] Further suspicion of support was stated when Abdullah Öcalan was caught with a diplomatic Cypriot passport issued under the name of Mavros Lazaros, a nationalist reporter.[193][194]
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.[195] 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.[168][196]
Libya
In the 1990s Abdullah Öcalan appreciated the support for the "Kurdish Cause" by Muammar Gaddafi.[197]
Soviet Union and Russia
Former KGB-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko said that PKK's leader Abdullah Öcalan was trained by KGB-FSB.[198] 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.[199]
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 François Mitterrand, had active connections during the 1990s with elements of the organization's leadership that forced a downgrade in relationships between the two states.[200] 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 Gül summoned the Austrian ambassador and condemned Austria's action.[201] On 30 September 1995, while Öcalan was in Syria, Damascus initiated contact with high-ranking German CDU MP Heinrich Lummer and German intelligence officials. Sedat Laçiner, of the Turkish think tank ISRO, says that US support of the PKK undermines the US War on Terror.[202]

Designation as a terrorist group

 
The PKK flag at a march in Cardiff for Welsh independence in May 2019

The PKK has been placed on Turkey's terrorist list, as well as a number of allied governments and organizations.[19] It is often referred as "Separatist terrorist organization" (Turkish: Bölücü terör örgütü) by the Turkish authorities.[203][204][205]

In the 1980s, the PKK was labeled as a terror organization by the Swedish government of Olof Palme.[206] 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[207] and closed the case as that person was no longer alive.[208]

In 1994, Germany prohibited the activities of the PKK.[209]

The PKK has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department since 1997.[210] In 2016, US Vice-president Joe Biden called the PKK a terrorist group "plain and simple" and compared it to the Islamic State.[211] In 2018, the United States also offered a $12 million reward for information on three PKK leaders.[212]

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.[213] However, EU officials dismissed the ruling, stating that the PKK would remain on the list regardless of the legal decision.[34] 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.[214] 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.[35]

The PKK is also a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000;[215] the then British Prime Minister Theresa May used the phrase "Kurdish terrorism" in 2018.[216]

France prosecutes Kurdish-French activists and bans organizations connected to the PKK on terrorism-related charges,[217] having listed the group as a terrorist organization since 1993.[218] 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][219]

The following other countries and organizations have listed or otherwise labelled the PKK in an official capacity as a terrorist organization:

Australia,[220][221] Austria,[222] Azerbaijan,[223] Canada,[224] Czech Republic,[225] Iran,[226] Japan,[227] Kazakhstan,[228] Kyrgyzstan,[229] New Zealand,[230] Spain,[231] Syria.[195]

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".[232] On 30 June 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Sweden made a "promise" to extradite "73 terrorists" wanted by Turkey.[233]

Refusal to designate PKK as a terrorist group

Russia has long ignored Turkish pressure to ban the PKK.[234] The government of Switzerland has also rejected Turkish demands to blacklist the PKK.[235] Switzerland does not have a list of terrorist organizations,[236] 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.[237]

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.[238][239] Following this, the Belgian Government announced that the ruling would not affect the current designation of the PKK as a terrorist organization.[240]

Flags

Party flags

 
Flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (1978–1995)[241]
 
Flag of the PKK (1995–2000)[241]
 
  • Flag of the PKK (2000–2002)
  • Flag of the KADEK (2002–2003)[241]
 
Flag of the Kongra-Gel (KGK) (2003–present)[241][242]
 
Flag of the PKK (2005–present)[243]

Flags of wings

 
Flag of the People's Defense Forces (HPG, Formerly HRK and ARGK)[244][245]
 
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)[241][246]
 
Former flag of the Free Women's Units of Star (YJA-STAR)[244]
 
Current flag of the YJA-STAR[247]

History

Main article: History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party

1970s

 
PKK supporters at 2003 march opposing the Iraq War, London

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.[105][106] In Turkey, this period was characterized by violent clashes that culminated in the 1980 military coup.

1980s

The 1980 Turkish coup d'état 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.[248] The PKK also managed to come to agreements with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP),[249] the Fatah of Yassir Arafat or the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) of Samir Ghawshah[250] and also with Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraqi Kurdistan[251] 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 (Hêzên Rizgariya Kurdistan – HRK) was announced on 15 August 1984.[252] 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.[253][254][255]

In addition to skirmishing with Turkish military, police forces and local village guards, the PKK has conducted bomb attacks on government and police installations.[256] 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.[257] 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 Özal. 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.[258]

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.[259] 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.[260] At the same time, the Turkish government started to use more violent methods to counter Kurdish militants. 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.[261][262][263][264]

In March 1993 Öcalan, 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 Türk from the People's Labor Party (HEP) and also Kemal Burkay also attended and declared their support for the ceasefire.[265] The ceasefire ended after the Turkish army killed 13 PKK members in Kulp, Diyarbakir province in May 1993.[266]

The fighting and violence augmented significantly following the presidential elections of June 1993 after which Tansu Çiller was elected prime minister.[267][268] 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.[267] Turkey was involved in serious human rights violations during the 1990s. The ECHR has condemned Turkey for executions of Kurdish civilians, torturing, forced displacements and massive arrests.

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.[269] 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[270] and Human Rights Watch.[271] Similar actions of the Turkish state have also been criticized by these same groups. In 1998 Turkey increased the pressure on Syria and ended its support for the PKK.[272][273][274] The leader of the organization, Abdullah Öcalan, 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.[275]

2000s

The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for human rights abuses during the conflict.[276][277] Some judgements are related to executions of Kurdish civilians,[278] torturing,[279] forced displacements,[280] destroyed villages,[281][282][283] arbitrary arrests,[284] murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists, activists and politicians.[285][286][287] 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.[288] 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 Öcalan was captured.[289]

Cease fire 1999–2004

The third phase (1999–2012), after the capture of Öcalan, 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 (Artêşa Rizgariya Gelê Kurdistan – ARGK) was succeeded by the People's Defense Forces (Hêzên Parastina Gel – HPG) and also declared that it wanted to aim for a democratic solution for the conflict.[290] 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.[290] 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.[291] Through further internal conflict during this period, it is reported that 1500 militants left the organization,[291] along with many of the leading reformists, including Nizamettin Taş and Abdullah Öcalan's younger brother Osman Öcalan.[292]

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).[293][294] 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.[295] In 2006 alone, the PKK claimed over 500 victims. On 1 October 2006, the PKK reportedly declared a unilateral cease-fire[296] 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."[297]

On 21 October 2011 Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced Iran would co-operate with Turkey in some military operations against the PKK.[298]

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.[299] 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.[300]

2010s

2013–2015 peace process

Main article: Kurdish–Turkish peace process

In late 2012, the Turkish government began secret talks with Öcalan for a ceasefire.[301] To facilitate talks, government officials transmitted letters between Öcalan in jail to PKK leaders in northern Iraq.[302][303] On 21 March 2013, a ceasefire was announced.[304] 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."[305] The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq welcomed the idea of refugees from its northern neighbor.[306] 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."[307]

The withdrawal began as planned with groups of fighters crossing the border from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq.[301] 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."[306] 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."[306]

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.[306] 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.[308]

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.[309] 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.[310]

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."[311]

2014 action against Islamic State and renewed tensions in Turkey

Main article: 2014 Kobanî protests
 
A Kurdish PKK guerrilla in 2014.

The PKK engaged the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces in Syria in mid-July 2014[312] 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.[313][314] PKK forces helped tens of thousands of Yazidis escape an encircled Mount Sinjar.[315] In September 2014, during the Siege of Kobanî, 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.[316] The PKK said Turkey was supporting ISIS. The PKK participated in many offensives against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.[317]

 
Mass demonstration for the PKK and freedom of Abdullah Ocalan in the Turkish city of Van during Newroz

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.[318] 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.[319]

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.[320] The PKK had already reported several Turkish attacks against their troops months before Turkish bombing started.

July 2015–present: Third insurgency

Main article: Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
YBS and PKK guerrillas
 
 
YBŞ and PKK guerillas in Northern and Southern Kurdistan in 2017

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.[321] 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.[322] The bombings came a few days after PKK was suspected of assassinating two Turkish police officers in Ceylanpınar, Şanlıurfa, criticized by the PKK of having links with ISIS after the 2015 Suruç bombing.[323][324] 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.[325] The leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan has condemned the Turkish airstrikes in its autonomous region in the north of Iraq.[326]

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).[327] 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.[328][329]

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, TİKB [de; fr; tr; zh], DKP, DK and MLKP) with the aim of overthrowing the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[330]

In November 2022, an explosion took place on İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district that left at least six people dead and 81 injured. Minister of Interior Süleyman 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.[331]

See also

Related and/or associated organizations

Notes

  1. ^ Estimates range from 4,000 to 7,000 members.[6][7][8]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[49][50][51][52][53]
  3. ^ PKC automatic rifle, Dragunov Sniper Rifle, Arbiki, Heckler & Koch G3, M16 rifle, Heckler & Koch PSG1 (G-1), Mauser
  1. ^ Kurdish: پارتی کرێکارانی کوردستان, romanized: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan [pɑ:ɾti:jɑ: kɑ:ɾkɛre:n kʊrdɪstɑ:n] ( listen)

References

  1. ^ "Kurdistan Workers' Party". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 September 2020. Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) ... militant Kurdish nationalist organization ...
  2. ^ . Federal Criminal Office (in German). 10 July 2020. p. 159. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020. ... der inzwischen stärker durch kurdischen Nationalismus geprägten PKK. [... the PKK, which is now more strongly influenced by Kurdish nationalism.]
  3. ^ "Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 15 May 2021. In 2003, Öcalan reformulated the ideological basis of the PKK. Inspired by eco-anarchists Murray Bookchin and Janet Beihl, he advocated for a new anti-nationalist approach he referred to as 'democratic confederalism.'
  4. ^ O'Connor, Francis (1 January 2017). "The Kurdish Movement in Turkey: Between Political Differentiation and Violent Confrontation". Peace Research Institute Frankfurt: 16–17. The PKK has explicitly renounced its demand for an independent state... [Öcalan] describes [his theory] as 'an anti-Nationalist movement [...]'
  5. ^ a b de Jong, Alex (18 March 2016). "The New-Old PKK". Jacobin Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. ^ Wali, Zhelwan Z. "Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 19 April 2021. The PKK has an estimated 5,000 fighters stationed largely in Iraqi Kurdish region's rugged mountainous areas
  7. ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism 2019". United States Department of State. Retrieved 19 April 2021. The PKK is estimated to consist of 4,000 to 5,000 members
  8. ^ "Terrorism Profile – Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)". The Mackenzie Institute. Retrieved 19 April 2021. The exact number of fighters in the PKK is unknown, however, it is widely believed to be approximately 7000
  9. ^ "Assyrian Nationalists Cooperate with Kurdish PKK Insurgents". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  10. ^ "MLKP salutes the PKK on the anniversary of 15 August". Firat News Agency. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe". 16 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions" (PDF). European Commission. 29 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations".
  14. ^ "Currently listed entities". 21 December 2018.
  15. ^ "MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like". www.mofa.go.jp.
  16. ^ . Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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  19. ^ a b "Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe". Radio France Internationale. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
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  23. ^ "MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like". from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  24. ^ Haner, Murat; Cullen, Francis T.; Benson, Michael L. (13 February 2019). "Women and the PKK: Ideology, Gender, and Terrorism". International Criminal Justice Review. 30 (3): 279–301. doi:10.1177/1057567719826632. ISSN 1057-5677. S2CID 150900998.
  25. ^ "Kurdish Fighters Aren't Terrorists". Bloomberg News. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Levy, Bernard-Henri (22 October 2014). "Stop Calling Our Closest Allies Against ISIS 'Terrorists'". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  27. ^ Rubin, Michael (7 February 2020). "US should follow Belgium's lead and end PKK terror designation". American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ Beklevic, Tuna (22 October 2019). "Trump says the PKK is worse than ISIS. I say he's wrong — and I'm a Turk". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 March 2021. I am Turkish. I am a former government official. And I believe that the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK... is not a terrorist organization.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ "The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization". Lawfare. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
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  33. ^ a b Protesting as a terrorist offense (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 2010. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-1564327086. Retrieved 11 December 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ a b Schomberg, William (3 April 2008). Robert Woodward (ed.). "EU was wrong to include PKK on terror list". Reuters (UK). Retrieved 5 February 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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April 14, 2023
kurdistan, workers, party, kurdish, militant, political, organization, armed, guerrilla, movement, which, historically, operated, throughout, kurdistan, primarily, based, mountainous, kurdish, majority, regions, southeastern, turkey, northern, iraq, since, 198. 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 utilized 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 just seeking autonomy and increased rights for Kurds within Turkey rather than full separatism Kurdistan Workers Party PKK Partiya Karkeren KurdistaneLeadersAbdullah Ocalan POW Murat KarayilanCemil BayikDuran KalkanBese HozatSozdar AvestaBahoz ErdalMustafa KarasuDates of operation1978 45 years ago 1978 AllegiancePeople s Defence Forces HPG Free Women s Units YJA STAR Civil Defense Units YPS Kurdistan Communities Union KCK Peoples United Revolutionary Movement HBDH HeadquartersQandil MountainsIdeologyKurdish nationalism 1 2 3 4 disputed Democratic confederalism 5 Libertarian socialism 5 Anti capitalism Communalism JineologyHistorical Communism Marxism LeninismPolitical positionLeft wingSize5 000 estimate note 1 AlliesPYD YPG YPJ PJAK YBS YJE MUB 9 IFB BOG MLKP 10 TIKKO PUKOpponents Turkey Turkey s Village Guards Islamic StateBattles and warsKurdish Turkish conflict1982 Lebanon WarKurdistan Region PKK conflictIraqi Kurdish Civil WarSyrian Civil War2017 Iraqi Kurdish conflictDesignated as a terrorist group by Turkey 11 EU 12 United States 13 Canada 14 Japan 15 Australia 16 United Kingdom 17 New Zealand 18 The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey 19 the United States 20 the EU 21 and some other countries 22 23 however the labeling of the PKK as a terrorist organization is controversial 24 and some analysts and organizations contend that the PKK no longer engages in organized terrorist activities or systemically targets civilians 25 26 27 28 29 30 Turkey has often viewed the demand for education in Kurdish as supporting terrorist activities by the PKK 31 32 33 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 34 35 Nevertheless the EU has maintained the designation 36 The PKK s ideology was originally a fusion of revolutionary socialism and Marxism Leninism with Kurdish nationalism seeking the foundation of an independent Kurdistan 37 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 38 Following the military coup of 1980 the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life 39 Many who spoke published or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned 40 The Turkish government denied the existence of Kurds and the PKK was portrayed trying to convince Turks of being Kurds 41 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 42 43 In 1999 PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured and imprisoned 44 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 45 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 46 47 48 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 Contents 1 Background 2 Ideology and aims 2 1 Religion 3 Organization 3 1 Political and popular wing 3 2 Cultural branch 3 3 Armed wing 3 4 Women s armed wing 3 5 Youth wing 3 6 Training camps 3 7 Political representation 3 7 1 Alleged political presentation 3 8 Reported links with Turkish intelligence 4 Status in Turkey 5 Status in Germany 6 Status in Israel 7 Tactics 7 1 Criticism 7 2 Recruitment 7 3 Weapons 8 Resources 8 1 Funding 8 1 1 Involvement in drug trafficking 8 2 Human resources 8 3 Alleged international support 9 Designation as a terrorist group 9 1 Refusal to designate PKK as a terrorist group 10 Flags 10 1 Party flags 10 2 Flags of wings 11 History 11 1 1970s 11 2 1980s 11 3 1990s 11 4 2000s 11 4 1 Cease fire 1999 2004 11 4 2 Second insurgency 2004 2006 11 4 3 Cease fire and renewed conflict 11 5 2010s 11 5 1 2013 2015 peace process 11 5 2 2014 action against Islamic State and renewed tensions in Turkey 11 5 3 July 2015 present Third insurgency 12 See also 12 1 Related and or associated organizations 13 Notes 14 References 15 Further readingBackgroundAs 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 37 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 37 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 37 The new group focused on the oppressed Kurdish population of Turkish Kurdistan in a capitalist world 37 In 1973 several students who later would become founders of the PKK established the student organization ADYOD which would be banned the next year 54 Then a group around Ocalan split from the Turkish left and held extensive discussions focusing on the colonization of Kurdistan by Turkey 55 Following the military coup of 1980 the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life 39 Many who spoke published or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned 40 At this time expressions of Kurdish culture including the use of the Kurdish language dress folklore and names were banned in Turkey 56 In an attempt to deny their separate existence from Turkish people the Turkish government categorized Kurds as Mountain Turks until 1991 56 57 58 59 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 38 Following several years of preparation the Kurdistan Workers Party was established during a foundation congress on 26 and 27 November 1978 in a rural village called Fis in Kurdish and Ziyaret in Turkish On 27 November 1978 60 a central committee consisting of seven people was elected with Abdullah Ocalan as its head Other members were Sahin Donmez Mazlum Dogan Baki Karer Mehmet Hayri Durmus ku Mehmet Karasungur tr Cemil Bayik 60 The party program Kurdistan Devrimci Yolu drew on Marxism 61 and saw Kurdistan as a colonized entity 62 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 60 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 60 Ideology and aims Protest for freedom of Ocalan in Germany January 21 2016 The organization originated in the early 1970s from the radical left and drew its membership from other existing leftist groups mainly Dev Genc 63 127 During the 1980s the movement included and cooperated with other ethnic groups including ethnic Turks who were following the radical left 63 127 63 129 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 64 and democratic confederalism 65 66 67 Around 1995 the PKK ostensibly changed its aim from independence to a demand for equal rights and Kurdish autonomy within the Turkish state 68 69 70 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 69 Whilst this shift in the mid nineties has been interpreted as one from a call for independence to an autonomous republic 71 some scholars have concluded that the PKK still maintains independence as the ultimate goal but through society building rather than state building 72 73 The PKK has in March 2016 also vowed to overthrow the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan through the Peoples United Revolutionary Movement 74 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 75 Followers of Ocalan and members of the PKK are known after his honorary name as Apocu Apo ites under his movement Apoculuk Apoism 76 The slogan Biji Serok Apo which translates into Long Live leader Apo is often chanted by his sympathizers 77 78 79 Religion While the PKK has no known Islamist or practicing religious member among its leadership it has supported the creation of religious organizations 80 It has also supported Friday prayers to be in Kurdish instead of the Turkish language 81 Ocalans early writings did not have a positive view of Islam but later works had a more favorable tone specifically regarding the revolutionary symbol of Muhammed against an established order 82 Ocalan viewed Zoroastrianism as the original religion of the Kurds 83 OrganizationEven though the PKK has several prominent representatives in various countries such as Iraq Iran Syria Russia and West European countries 84 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 85 Murat Karayilan led the organization from 1999 to 2013 In 2013 Cemil Bayik and Bese Hozat assumed as the first joint leadership 86 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 87 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 88 89 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 90 Armed wing The PKK has an armed wing originally formed in 1984 as the Kurdistan Freedom Brigades Kurdish Hezen Rizgariya Kurdistan HRK 91 renamed to the People s Liberation Army of Kurdistan Kurdish Artesa Rizgariya Geli Kurdistan ARGK in 1986 88 and again renamed to the People s Defense Forces Kurdish Hezen Parastina Gel HPG in 1999 92 Women s armed wing Female PKK guerrillas of YJA STAR The Free Women s Units of Star Kurdish Yekineyen Jinen Azad en Star 93 YJA STAR was established in 2004 as the women s armed wing of the PKK emphasizing the issue of women s liberation 94 Youth wing The Civil Protections Units YPS is the successor of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement YDG H the youth wing of the PKK 95 In February 2016 the ANF news agency reported the establishment of the women s branch of the YPS the YPS Jin 96 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 97 98 In the third party congress of October 1986 the PKK established the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy in the Beqaa Valley 99 After Turkey pressured Syria to enforce its closure in 1992 the academy moved to Damascus 100 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 98 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 101 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 101 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 101 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 102 Political representation Percentage of the popular vote won by the pro Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party HDP in the 2015 Turkish general election The HDP s elections results which are a proxy indicator of popular support for the PKK show that the group has followers throughout the country 103 The PKK could count on support from protests and demonstrations often directed against policies of the Turkish government 104 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 105 106 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 107 104 In sequence HEP DEP HADEP DEHAP DTP and the BDP which later changed its name to Democratic Regions Party DBP on 11 July 2014 108 as well as the HDP 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 109 which resulted in its closure on 11 December 2009 110 In 2021 against the HDP was also initiated a closure case during which the HDP is accused of being linked to the PKK 111 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 Tugluk published an article in Radikal in support of this policy 112 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 113 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 114 In Iraq the political party Tevgera Azadi is said to have close to the PKK 115 Reported links with Turkish intelligence See also Ergenekon trials During the controversial Ergenekon trials in Turkey allegations have been made that the PKK is linked to elements of the Turkish intelligence community 116 Samil 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 Istihbarat Teskilati MIT and that his 1979 escape to Syria was aided by elements in MIT 117 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 118 Former police special forces member Ayhan Carkin 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 119 The secret witness First Step testified that General Levent Ersoz former head of JITEM had frequent contact with PKK commander Cemil Bayik 120 Status in TurkeyIn 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 31 32 33 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 31 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 121 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 122 Politicians of pro Kurdish like the Peace and Democracy Party BDP 123 or the HDP were often prosecuted and sentenced to prison term for their alleged support of the PKK 124 The possession of Devran a book authored by the political prisoner Selahattin Demirtas 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 125 126 Status in GermanyThe PKK could count with a strong support from the diaspora in Germany where the Hunerkom its cultural branch was based 90 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 127 after sympathizers of the PKK launched several waves of attacks against Turkish institutions in Germany 128 The PKK s activities were banned by the Minister of the Interior Manfred Kanther in November 1993 129 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 130 The PKK also demanded that it should be recognized as a legitimate entity and not as a terrorist organization in Germany 131 a demand to which Germany did not accede to In Germany several Kurdish entities such as the Association of Students from Kurdistan YXK 132 the Mesopotamia publishing house or the Mir Multimedia music label were deemed to be close to the PKK 133 The latter two were eventually closed down by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who accused them of acting as a forefront of the PKK 133 and to support the PKKs activities in Europe with its revenue 134 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 135 The PKK has received political support for a lift of its prohibition by the Die Linke and its party leader Bernd Riexinger in 2016 136 Status in IsraelRelations between Israel and PKK have always been complex During the 1982 Lebanon War the several PKK fighters in Lebanon fought against Israel for the Palestine Liberation Organization and other affiliated groups which they were training with at the time In February 16 1999 fugitive Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested at the Greek embassy in Nairobi Kenya After a news report claimed that Israel s Mossad agency helped Turkey track Ocalan protests erupted in Europe On February 17 1999 three Kurdish protesters were shot and killed while trying to occupy the Israeli consulate in Germany 137 In September 2017 IDF chief of staff Yair Golan said at The Washington Institute I very much like the idea of an independent Kurdistan Well basically I like the Kurdish people And you know we ve had good cooperation with the Kurdish people since the early 1960s And looking at the Middle East today I would say that the only positive development concerning the destiny of the Middle East is the emergence of some sort of Kurdish entity independent entity 138 Shortly after that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted Israel rejects the PKK and considers it a terrorist organization as opposed to Turkey which supports the terror org Hamas While Israel rejects terror in any form it supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own 139 Netanyahu also replayed it on his state visit to Argentina 140 In May 2018 Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party and Kurdistan Workers Party condemned the killings of Palestinians during Gaza border protests with Israeli troops after the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem They also invited the involved sides to negotiate and compromise 141 In October 2019 at the onset of Operation Peace Spring Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people 142 He also offered the People s Defense Units YPG Israeli assistance During the offensive Israel s deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely stated Israel indeed has a salient interest in preserving the strength of the Kurds and the additional minorities in the north Syria area as moderate and pro Western elements The possible collapse of the Kurdish hold in north Syria is a negative and dangerous scenario as far as Israel is concerned 143 The Turkish Army used 170 M60 A1 tanks upgraded by Israeli IMI Systems during the operation These tanks were upgraded between 2003 and 2010 during the military cooperation between Israel and Turkey at a cost of 687 million 144 Seymour Hersh said that the U S and Israel supported PJAK the Iranian branch of the PKK 145 The head of the PKK s militant arm Murat Karayilan said that Iran attempted to recruit the PKK to attack coalition forces adding that Kurdish guerrillas had launched a clandestine war in north western Iran ambushing Iranian troops 146 In 2022 During the peace negotiations of Turkey and Israel Informed sources said that a delegation from Israel s Mossad spy agency had met with Turkish intelligence officials to discuss security issues The Mossad agents told their Turkish counterparts that Israel is ready to cooperate with the PKK should Ankara continue its support for the Hamas military wing Turkey admitted that it was concerned about the potential for Israel to back the Kurdish PKK militia in response to Ankara s alleged support for the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas Rai Al Youm reported on Tuesday 147 Despite these statements from Israeli officials several PKK leaders including Abdullah Ocalan 148 Mustafa Karasu 149 150 Duran Kalkan 151 Cemil Bayik and Bese Hozat have made negative statements towards Israel and Zionism even in recent years Murat Karayilan however in an interview with The Jerusalem Post in 2020 said that the PKK supports a Two state Solution when asked about the PKK s attitude towards Israel 152 Tactics Demonstration in Paris for slain PKK founder and activists 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 153 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 154 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 155 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 155 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 155 Criticism The PKK has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants 46 156 using suicide bombers 157 158 and recruiting child soldiers 48 159 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 160 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 161 162 Human Rights Watch has documented 29 cases of children being recruited into the HPG the PKK s armed wing and the YBS since 2013 Some children were recruited under the age of 15 constituting a war crime according to international law 159 Recruitment PKK female fighters PKK and Peshmerga fighters 11 August 2015 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 163 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 164 By 2020 40 of the fighting force were women 165 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 163 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 166 In 2007 approximately 1 100 of 4 500 5 000 total members were women 163 better source needed According to the Jamestown Foundation in the early years of the PKK existence it recruited young women by abducting them 163 better source needed Families would also encourage family members to join the PKK in order to avenge relatives killed by the Turkish army 163 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 167 The choice and origin of the traceable weapons July 2007 167 Type Quantity SourcesAK 47 Kalashnikovs 4 500 71 6 from the USSR 14 7 from China 3 6 from Hungary 3 6 from BulgariaRifles 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 ItalyGrenades 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 GermanyResourcesFunding Parties and concerts are organized by branch groups 168 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 169 Involvement in drug trafficking PKK s involvement in drug trafficking has been documented since the 1990s 170 171 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 172 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 173 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 Karayilan the head of the PKK and high ranking members Ali Riza Altun and Zubeyir Aydar as foreign narcotics traffickers at the request of Turkey 172 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 174 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 175 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 176 Following the SDF capture of Raqqa YPJ and YPG troops raised a large banner of Abdullah Ocalan in the city centre 177 The EUROPOL which has monitored the organization s activities inside the EU has also claimed the organization s involvement in the trafficking of drugs 169 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 178 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 179 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 180 181 Cyprus 182 Iran 183 Iraq 184 Russia 185 Syria 183 Finland 186 Sweden 186 and the United States 187 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 188 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 189 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 190 At the time it was reported that the general had assumed responsibility for training Greeks also dispatched arms through the Republic of Cyprus 190 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 191 Republic of Cyprus The Republic of Cyprus has been instrumental in helping Greece supply arms to the PKK 192 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 193 194 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 195 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 168 196 Libya In the 1990s Abdullah Ocalan appreciated the support for the Kurdish Cause by Muammar Gaddafi 197 Soviet Union and Russia Former KGB FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko said that PKK s leader Abdullah Ocalan was trained by KGB FSB 198 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 199 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 200 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 201 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 202 Designation as a terrorist group The PKK flag at a march in Cardiff for Welsh independence in May 2019 The PKK has been placed on Turkey s terrorist list as well as a number of allied governments and organizations 19 It is often referred as Separatist terrorist organization Turkish Bolucu teror orgutu by the Turkish authorities 203 204 205 In the 1980s the PKK was labeled as a terror organization by the Swedish government of Olof Palme 206 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 207 and closed the case as that person was no longer alive 208 In 1994 Germany prohibited the activities of the PKK 209 The PKK has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department since 1997 210 In 2016 US Vice president Joe Biden called the PKK a terrorist group plain and simple and compared it to the Islamic State 211 In 2018 the United States also offered a 12 million reward for information on three PKK leaders 212 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 213 However EU officials dismissed the ruling stating that the PKK would remain on the list regardless of the legal decision 34 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 214 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 35 The PKK is also a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000 215 the then British Prime Minister Theresa May used the phrase Kurdish terrorism in 2018 216 France prosecutes Kurdish French activists and bans organizations connected to the PKK on terrorism related charges 217 having listed the group as a terrorist organization since 1993 218 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 219 The following other countries and organizations have listed or otherwise labelled the PKK in an official capacity as a terrorist organization Australia 220 221 Austria 222 Azerbaijan 223 Canada 224 Czech Republic 225 Iran 226 Japan 227 Kazakhstan 228 Kyrgyzstan 229 New Zealand 230 Spain 231 Syria 195 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 232 On 30 June 2022 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Sweden made a promise to extradite 73 terrorists wanted by Turkey 233 Refusal to designate PKK as a terrorist group Russia has long ignored Turkish pressure to ban the PKK 234 The government of Switzerland has also rejected Turkish demands to blacklist the PKK 235 Switzerland does not have a list of terrorist organizations 236 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 237 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 238 239 Following this the Belgian Government announced that the ruling would not affect the current designation of the PKK as a terrorist organization 240 FlagsParty flags Flag of the Kurdistan Workers Party PKK 1978 1995 241 Flag of the PKK 1995 2000 241 Flag of the PKK 2000 2002 Flag of the KADEK 2002 2003 241 Flag of the Kongra Gel KGK 2003 present 241 242 Flag of the PKK 2005 present 243 Flags of wings Flag of the People s Defense Forces HPG Formerly HRK and ARGK 244 245 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 241 246 Former flag of the Free Women s Units of Star YJA STAR 244 Current flag of the YJA STAR 247 HistoryMain article History of the Kurdistan Workers Party 1970s PKK supporters at 2003 march opposing the Iraq War London 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 105 106 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 248 The PKK also managed to come to agreements with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine DFLP 249 the Fatah of Yassir Arafat or the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front PPSF of Samir Ghawshah 250 and also with Masoud Barzani s Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP in Iraqi Kurdistan 251 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 252 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 253 254 255 In addition to skirmishing with Turkish military police forces and local village guards the PKK has conducted bomb attacks on government and police installations 256 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 257 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 258 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 259 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 260 At the same time the Turkish government started to use more violent methods to counter Kurdish militants 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 Kinaci 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 261 262 263 264 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 265 The ceasefire ended after the Turkish army killed 13 PKK members in Kulp Diyarbakir province in May 1993 266 The fighting and violence augmented significantly following the presidential elections of June 1993 after which Tansu Ciller was elected prime minister 267 268 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 267 Turkey was involved in serious human rights violations during the 1990s The ECHR has condemned Turkey for executions of Kurdish civilians torturing forced displacements and massive arrests 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 269 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 270 and Human Rights Watch 271 Similar actions of the Turkish state have also been criticized by these same groups In 1998 Turkey increased the pressure on Syria and ended its support for the PKK 272 273 274 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 275 2000s The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for human rights abuses during the conflict 276 277 Some judgements are related to executions of Kurdish civilians 278 torturing 279 forced displacements 280 destroyed villages 281 282 283 arbitrary arrests 284 murdered and disappeared Kurdish journalists activists and politicians 285 286 287 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 288 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 289 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 Artesa 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 290 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 290 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 291 Through further internal conflict during this period it is reported that 1500 militants left the organization 291 along with many of the leading reformists including Nizamettin Tas and Abdullah Ocalan s younger brother Osman Ocalan 292 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 293 294 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 295 In 2006 alone the PKK claimed over 500 victims On 1 October 2006 the PKK reportedly declared a unilateral cease fire 296 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 297 On 21 October 2011 Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced Iran would co operate with Turkey in some military operations against the PKK 298 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 299 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 300 2010s 2013 2015 peace process Main article Kurdish Turkish peace process In late 2012 the Turkish government began secret talks with Ocalan for a ceasefire 301 To facilitate talks government officials transmitted letters between Ocalan in jail to PKK leaders in northern Iraq 302 303 On 21 March 2013 a ceasefire was announced 304 On 25 April it was announced that the PKK would leave Turkey Commander Murat Karayilan 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 305 The semi autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq welcomed the idea of refugees from its northern neighbor 306 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 307 The withdrawal began as planned with groups of fighters crossing the border from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq 301 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 306 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 306 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 306 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 308 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 309 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 310 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 311 2014 action against Islamic State and renewed tensions in Turkey Main article 2014 Kobani protests A Kurdish PKK guerrilla in 2014 The PKK engaged the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL forces in Syria in mid July 2014 312 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 313 314 PKK forces helped tens of thousands of Yazidis escape an encircled Mount Sinjar 315 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 316 The PKK said Turkey was supporting ISIS The PKK participated in many offensives against ISIS in Iraq and Syria 317 Mass demonstration for the PKK and freedom of Abdullah Ocalan in the Turkish city of Van during Newroz 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 318 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 319 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 320 The PKK had already reported several Turkish attacks against their troops months before Turkish bombing started July 2015 present Third insurgency Main article Kurdish Turkish conflict 2015 present This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information January 2021 YBS and PKK guerrillas YBS and PKK guerillas in Northern and Southern Kurdistan in 2017 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 321 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 322 The bombings came a few days after PKK was suspected of assassinating two Turkish police officers in Ceylanpinar Sanliurfa criticized by the PKK of having links with ISIS after the 2015 Suruc bombing 323 324 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 325 The leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan has condemned the Turkish airstrikes in its autonomous region in the north of Iraq 326 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 327 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 328 329 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 TIKB de fr tr zh DKP DK and MLKP with the aim of overthrowing the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan 330 In November 2022 an explosion took place on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul s Beyoglu 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 331 See alsoPeshmerga List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil WarRelated and or associated organizations Civil Protection Units Turkey Communist Labour Party of Turkey Leninist Communist Party of Turkey Marxist Leninist Dawronoye secular leftist nationalist movement among the Assyrian people Democratic Union Party Syria Devrimci Karargah former far left organization in Turkey Ezidxan Protection Force Yazidi militia in Syria Ezidxan Women s Units Yazidi women s militia in Syria International Freedom Battalion Kurdistan Communities Union Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party Kurdistan Free Life Party Kurdistan Freedom Hawks Maoist Communist Party Marxist Leninist Armed Propaganda Unit Marxist Leninist Communist Party Marxist Leninist Party Communist Reconstruction Peoples United Revolutionary Movement Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan Revolutionary People s Party Sinjar Alliance Sinjar Resistance Units United Freedom Forces Women s Protection Units YDG H YPG InternationalNotes Estimates range from 4 000 to 7 000 members 6 7 8 Attributed to multiple references 49 50 51 52 53 PKC automatic rifle Dragunov Sniper Rifle Arbiki Heckler amp Koch G3 M16 rifle Heckler amp Koch PSG1 G 1 Mauser Kurdish پارتی کرێکارانی کوردستان romanized Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan pɑ ɾti jɑ kɑ ɾkɛre n kʊrdɪstɑ n listen References Kurdistan Workers Party Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 7 September 2020 Kurdistan Workers Party PKK militant Kurdish nationalist organization Handbuch Extremismuspravention Federal Criminal Office in German 10 July 2020 p 159 Archived from the original on 3 October 2020 Retrieved 7 September 2020 der inzwischen starker durch kurdischen Nationalismus gepragten PKK the PKK which is now more strongly influenced by Kurdish nationalism Kurdistan Workers Party PKK Counter Extremism Project Retrieved 15 May 2021 In 2003 Ocalan reformulated the ideological basis of the PKK Inspired by eco anarchists Murray Bookchin and Janet Beihl he advocated for a new anti nationalist approach he referred to as democratic confederalism O Connor Francis 1 January 2017 The Kurdish Movement in Turkey Between Political Differentiation and Violent Confrontation Peace Research Institute Frankfurt 16 17 The PKK has explicitly renounced its demand for an independent state Ocalan describes his theory as an anti Nationalist movement a b de Jong Alex 18 March 2016 The New Old PKK Jacobin Magazine Retrieved 6 February 2019 Wali Zhelwan Z Kurd vs Kurd Fears of full scale war rise in northern Iraq Al Jazeera Retrieved 19 April 2021 The PKK has an estimated 5 000 fighters stationed largely in Iraqi Kurdish region s rugged mountainous areas Country Reports on Terrorism 2019 United States Department of State Retrieved 19 April 2021 The PKK is estimated to consist of 4 000 to 5 000 members Terrorism Profile Kurdistan Workers Party PKK The Mackenzie Institute Retrieved 19 April 2021 The exact number of fighters in the PKK is unknown however it is widely believed to be approximately 7000 Assyrian Nationalists Cooperate with Kurdish PKK Insurgents Jamestown Foundation Retrieved 3 October 2021 MLKP salutes the PKK on the anniversary of 15 August Firat News Agency Retrieved 28 October 2021 Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder launches probe 16 January 2014 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament the Council the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions PDF European Commission 29 May 2019 Foreign Terrorist Organizations Currently listed entities 21 December 2018 MOFA Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like www mofa go jp Listed terrorist organisations Australian National Security Archived from the original on 24 December 2018 Retrieved 30 November 2019 Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations Home Office Retrieved 24 December 2021 Designation of Terrorist Entities New Zealand Government 18 February 2010 a b Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder launches probe Radio France Internationale 16 January 2014 Retrieved 5 February 2014 Foreign Terrorist Organizations United States Department of State Retrieved 10 March 2021 Turkey 2019 Report PDF ec europa eu p 5 Retrieved 16 December 2019 department Attorney General s Listed terrorist organisations www nationalsecurity gov au Archived from the original on 5 February 2016 Retrieved 18 December 2019 MOFA Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like Archived from the original on 6 April 2013 Retrieved 21 November 2013 Haner Murat Cullen Francis T Benson Michael L 13 February 2019 Women and the PKK Ideology Gender and Terrorism International Criminal Justice Review 30 3 279 301 doi 10 1177 1057567719826632 ISSN 1057 5677 S2CID 150900998 Kurdish Fighters Aren t Terrorists Bloomberg News 20 August 2014 Retrieved 18 March 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link Levy Bernard Henri 22 October 2014 Stop Calling Our Closest Allies Against ISIS Terrorists The New Republic ISSN 0028 6583 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Rubin Michael 7 February 2020 US should follow Belgium s lead and end PKK terror designation American Enterprise Institute Retrieved 18 March 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Beklevic Tuna 22 October 2019 Trump says the PKK is worse than ISIS I say he s wrong and I m a Turk The Washington Post Retrieved 18 March 2021 I am Turkish I am a former government official And I believe that the Kurdistan Workers Party the PKK is not a terrorist organization a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link The Case for Delisting the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization Lawfare 11 February 2016 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Bodette Meghan 23 October 2018 It s time for the US to delist the PKK here s why The Region Retrieved 18 March 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link a b c Can Osman 17 June 2021 The Motion before Turkey s 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terrorist organizations annulled Prakken d Oliveira Human Rights Lawyers in Dutch 15 November 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2020 tagesschau de EU Gericht PKK zu Unrecht auf EU Terrorliste tagesschau de in German Retrieved 17 January 2021 a b c d e Jongerden Joost 1 October 2017 Gender equality and radical democracy Contractions and conflicts in relation to the new paradigm within the Kurdistan Workers Party PKK Anatoli De l Adriatique a la Caspienne Territoires Politique Societes 8 233 256 doi 10 4000 anatoli 618 ISSN 2111 4064 a b Joseph J 2006 Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges Basingstoke England Palgrave Macmillan p 100 ISBN 0230598587 a b Toumani Meline Minority Rules The New York Times 17 February 2008 a b Aslan Senem 2014 Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco Cambridge University Press p 134 ISBN 978 1107054608 Scalbert Yucel Clemence Ray Marie Le 31 December 2006 Knowledge ideology and power Deconstructing Kurdish Studies European Journal of Turkish Studies Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey 5 doi 10 4000 ejts 777 ISSN 1773 0546 Michael Gasper 2019 Lust Ellen ed The Middle East CQ Press p 37 ISBN 978 1544358215 The Turkish military responded with a ferocious counterinsurgency campaign that led to the deaths of nearly 40 000 people most of them Turkish Kurdish civilians and the displacement of more than three million Kurds from southeastern Turkey Abadi Cameron 17 October 2019 Why Is Turkey Fighting Syria s Kurds Foreign Policy Hooper John Kundnani Hans Morris Chris 18 February 1999 Military action and three deaths after Ocalan s capture The Guardian Retrieved 29 November 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link PKK group says Turkish ceasefire over Rudaw Retrieved 1 January 2016 a b No Security Without Human Rights Amnesty International Retrieved 1 February 2021 Roth Mitchel P Sever Murat 2007 The Kurdish Workers Party PKK as Criminal Syndicate Funding Terrorism 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Ataturk had imagined White Paul 2015 The PKK Coming Down from the Mountains Zed Books Ltd ISBN 978 1783600403 Retrieved 24 July 2017 a b Stanton Jessica A 2016 Violence and Restraint in Civil War Civilian Targeting in the Shadow of International Law Cambridge University Press p 217 ISBN 978 1107069107 Retrieved 24 July 2017 Turkish lecturer to be put on trial for posing exam question on PKK leader The Guardian 2 February 2016 Retrieved 24 July 2017 Yavuz M Hakan 2009 Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey Cambridge University Press pp 176 177 ISBN 978 0521888783 Casier Marlies Beyond Mesopotamia The Mesopotamia Social Forum and the appropriation and re imagination of Mesopotamia by the Kurdish movement in Gambetti Zeynep Jongerden Joost eds 2015 The Kurdish Issue in Turkey A Spatial Perspective Routledge ISBN 978 1317581529 Akkaya Ahmet Hamdi Jongerden Joost The PKK in the 2000s in Marlies Casier Jongerden Joost eds 2010 Nationalisms and Politics in Turkey Political Islam Kemalism 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href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Zubeyir Aydar Military operations are going to begin Archived 3 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Interview in English dated 29 April 2010 In this interview Zubeyir Aydar stated 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 Karayilan Gunter Michael M Kongra Gel Historical Dictionary of the Kurds Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Archived from the original on 2 October 2017 Retrieved 23 May 2019 Brandon James The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Emerges as a Rival to the PKK The Jamestown foundation The Jamestown foundation Archived from the original on 25 December 2010 Retrieved 17 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Constanze 7 May 2013 Kurds dare to hope as PKK fighters ceasefire with Turkey takes hold The Guardian Retrieved 13 June 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link PKK sets date for withdrawal from Turkey Al Jazeera Retrieved 13 June 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link a b c d Baghdad opposes PKK armed groups in Iraq Al Jazeera 9 May 2013 Retrieved 10 May 2013 Letsch Constanze 7 May 2013 Kurds dare to hope as PKK fighters ceasefire with Turkey takes hold The Guardian Retrieved 10 May 2013 PKK fighters arrive in Iraq under peace deal Middle East Al Jazeera Retrieved 15 July 2013 PKK sets ultimatum for Turkey peace deal Europe Al Jazeera Retrieved 14 August 2014 PKK threatens to renew fight in Turkey Europe Al Jazeera Retrieved 14 August 2014 Iraq s Kurdistan backs Turkey peace efforts Middle East Al Jazeera Retrieved 14 August 2014 PKK joins battle against Isil Gulf News 15 July 2014 Retrieved 14 August 2014 Dorian Jones Turkish Kurds Want Ankara to Declare Stance on ISIL Voice of America Retrieved 14 August 2014 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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