Maoist insurgency in Turkey explained

Conflict:	Maoist insurgency in Turkey
Date:	24 April 1972 – present
Place:	Turkey, mainly in Tunceli Province
Status:	Ongoing
Combatant1:	Government of Turkey
Combatant2:	TKP/ML TİKKO MKP-HKO-PHG Maoist Party Centre
Commander1:	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2014–present) Yaşar Güler (2023–present) Metin Gürak (2023–present) Ali Yerlikaya (2023–present)
Commander2:	İbrahim Kaypakkaya Süleyman Cihan Kazım Çelik Mehmet Demirdağ----Cüneyt Kahraman Cafer Cangöz Nubar Ozanyan
Units1:	Turkish Armed Forces Turkish Land Forces Turkish Air Force Turkish Naval Forces Turkish Gendarmerie Special Forces Command General Directorate of Security Riot Police Police Special Operation Department Ministry of Foreign Affairs National Defense Ministry of the Interior
Units2:
Strength1:	Unknown
Strength2:	Unknown
Casualties1:	Unknown
Casualties2:	Unknown

The Maoist insurgency in Turkey, referred by the Maoists as the People's War (Turkish: Halk savaşı), is an ongoing low-level insurgency in eastern Turkey between the Turkish government and Maoist rebels that began in the early 1970s. The insurgency declined in the late 1980s and 1990s and has been sidelined by the larger Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present). Low-level armed attacks continue to be carried out by Maoist insurgent groups, the most significant of which are the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (TİKKO) (the armed wing of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist) and the People's Liberation Army (HKO) and People's Partisan Forces (PHG), both armed wings of the Maoist Communist Party.

Background

On 24 April 1972, the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Partizan after the name of one of its publications) was formed by a radical group led by İbrahim Kaypakkaya, and intended to wage a people's war. However, a year later Kaypakkaya was captured, tortured and killed. In 1978, it had its first conference, affirming its plan for guerrilla warfare, although the idea of armed rebellion remained in theory with little progress made to fruition.^[1] The TKP/ML was involved in political violence between left and right wing groups in the 1970s.

In the late 1980s, the TKP/ML suffered from a series of splits following the party's second congress. In 1993, the TKP/ML attempted unsuccessfully to reunify with the Maoist Communist Party (Turkey)

On 17 May 1985, the TKP/ML broadcast a propaganda message to millions of television viewers in Istanbul, replacing the soundtrack for the evening news.^[2]

Insurgency

1970-80s

TKP/ML's military wing, the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (TİKKO), carried out militant and guerrilla actions in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, mainly in the Tunceli Province, whose inhabitants saw the Maoist guerrilla war as revenge for the repression of the Dersim rebellion in 1938.^[3] TİKKO reached its height during this period, carrying out guerrilla warfare in the mountainous areas of the Tunceli and Black Sea regions.^[4]

2000s

In 2000, Turkish security forces launched operations against TİKKO insurgents in the provinces of Tokat and Sivas. Discovering 12 hideouts, they recovered nine machine guns, four rocket launchers, grenades, and explosives, as well as 10 tonnes of food and medicine.^[5]

• On 11 December 2000, TİKKO insurgents open fire on a police special task force, killing two and wounding 12.^[6]
• In 2001, police captured five insurgents and weapons including two 9K111 Fagot anti-tank missiles.^[7]
• In March 2009, Tamer Bilici, a doctor in service during a 2000 hunger strike in Kandıra F-type prison, was "in front of his house punished with death" by MKP-HKO for being a public enemy because he was blamed for the deaths and permanent disabilities of inmates.^[8] In September 2009 MKP-HKO claimed responsibility for the death of a retired colonel, Aytekin İçmez.^[9]

2010s

2010–2014

• Tunceli: On 29 June 2010, two guerrillas of the TİKKO were killed in the mountains of Tunceli by the Turkish state forces.
• Tunceli: On 2 February 2011, five guerrillas of TİKKO in Tunceli died as a result of an avalanche.^{[10] [11]}
• Tunceli: On 15 November 2012, 24 guerrillas of HKO were surrounded and captured in Tunceli.^{[12] [13]}
• Tunceli: On 26 July 2013, the control building of a hydroelectric power plant regulator was bombed in the countryside of Tunceli Province by TİKKO militants.^[14]
• Tunceli: 14 March 2014, TİKKO guerrillas attacked a police station in Tunceli. TKP/ML declared that the attack was revenge for the death of Berkin Elvan.^{[15] [16]}
• Tunceli: On 8 July 2014, TİKKO guerrillas stopped a truck carrying five workers to a base station at Altınyüzük and set the vehicle on fire.^{[17] [18]}
• Tunceli: On 15 August 2014, TiKKO guerrillas attacked a Gendarmerie Station in Ovacik. No casualties were reported.

2015–2018

• In June 2015, MKP-PHG killed former colonel Fehmi Altinbilek.
• Tunceli: On 22 July, TİKKO guerrillas attacked a Gendarmerie Station in Hozat. No casualties were reported.
• Tunceli: 10 October, guerrillas of the PKK and the TKP / ML-TİKKO attacked the military base of Geyiksuyu in the province of Tunceli.^[19]
• Tunceli: On 15 October, TİKKO guerrillas attacked the military base of Amukta, in Hozat county.^[20]
• Tunceli: On 21 October, three TİKKO guerrillas died in a clash with TSK in Ovacık.^[21] The funeral of guerrillas was attended by hundreds of people, who sang songs and shouted revolutionary slogans.^[22]
• Tunceli: 9 May 2016, two TİKKO guerrillas were killed in Geyiksuyu, Tunceli during a clash with TSK Soldiers.
• Tunceli: During 24–28 November, twelve guerrillas of TKP/ML TİKKO died during an army operation at Aliboğazı region of the Tunceli province.^[23]
• Istanbul: On 10 February 2017, TİKKO fighters set fire to the AKP headquarter in Pendik district.^[24]
• Tunceli: On 18 June, MKP-HKO guerrillas attacked the military base of Kuşluca in Tunceli, Halkin Günlüğü claimed the attack killed two soldiers and wounded one.^[25]
• Tunceli: On 1 August, three MKP-HKO guerrillas were killed in a clash with TSK in Ovacık.^{[26] [27]}
• Tunceli: 18 August, two MKP-HKO guerrillas died when they were surrounded in Hozat by the armed forces.^{[28] [29]}
• Tunceli: On 26 September, two MKP-HKO guerrillas were killed by TSK soldiers in Ovacık.^{[30] [31] [32]}
• On 16 November, four MKP-HKO guerrillas were killed in clashes with TSK.
• Tunceli: On 24 April 2018, two female TİKKO guerrillas were killed and another was captured by TSK Soldiers in.
• Tunceli: On 5/6 August, six TİKKO guerrillas were killed by the Turkish Army.

Popular support

The TKP-ML came to be the most influential socialist organisation within Dersim's society to the point that they became an organic component of their politico-cultural collective belonging.^[33] Individuals supported by ideological descendants of the TKP-ML in Dersim received a third of votes in elections in 2009.^[34]

In culture

• Some songs of music bands such as Grup Munzur and Grup Yorum refer to insurgency in Dersim.
• Dersim'de Doğan Güneş

See also

• Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency
• Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980)
• DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey
• Gezi Park protests
• Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990)
• New People's Army rebellion
• Colombian conflict
• Peruvian conflict
• Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

External links

• New Turkey - revolutionary news portal
• Banned Thought - Turkey
• Özgür Gelecek - news portal related to TKP/ML
• Kaypakkaya partizan
• Halkin Gunlugu - news portal related to MKP
• List of maoist guerillas killed in Turkey
• Videos from the People's War in Turkey

Notes and References

1. Web site: History of the Communist Movement in Turkey. www.bannedthought.net. 11 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012063333/http://www.bannedthought.net/India/PeoplesMarch/PM1999-2006/archives/2001/apr2k1/History.htm. 12 October 2017. live. dmy-all.
2. A World to Win Magazine, 1985, "TKP/ML seizes the airwaves 8PM News Break"
3. Construction of a Nation: The Early Years of the Turkish Republic and Dersim Events
4. Turkey and the War on Terror: "For Forty Years we Fought Alone", page 27
5. Web site: Hürriyet Daily News . 4 June 2014 . 15 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190515020239/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/operations-underway-against-tkp-ml-tikko-2000-01-03 . dead .
6. Web site: RAND - NSRD - Projects - RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents. Smapp.rand.org. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141219115108/http://smapp.rand.org/rwtid/incident_detail.php?id=14960. 19 December 2014. live. dmy-all.
7. Web site: Hürriyet Daily News . 4 June 2014 . 15 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190515192419/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/police-seize-anti-tank-missiles-2001-05-02 . dead .
8. Web site: MKP: F Tipi katillerinden biri cezalandırıldı. Sosyalistforum.net. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141219115120/http://www.sosyalistforum.net/politik-gundem/23829-mkp-f-tipi-katillerinden-biri-cezalandirildi.html. 19 December 2014. dead. dmy-all.
9. Web site: MKP-HKO emekli albayı öldürdü. Hüseyin TÜCCAR- Erdoğan PAÇİN. 2009-09-30. Sabah. 26 August 2012.
10. Web site: To the Press and the Public: 5 martyrs of TKP/ML-TİKKO died in Tunceli. Bannedthought.net. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923182118/http://www.bannedthought.net/Turkey/TKP-ML/2011/FiveDieInAvalanche-110420.pdf. 23 September 2015. live. dmy-all.
11. Web site: Turkey: Five Communist Fighters Killed in Avalanche . Mike Ely . Kasama Project . 28 November 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141013003427/http://kasamaproject.org/imperialism-war/3192-24turkey-five-communist-fighters-killed-in-avalanche . 13 October 2014 .
12. Web site: 24 MKP/HKO Militanı Teslim Oldu İddiası . Dersim News, Dersim Haber, Dersim, Tunceli Haber, Dersim Haber Sitesi, Dersim Haberleri, Tunceli Haberleri,Dersim 38, Kırmancki, Zazaca, Dersimce, Alevi Haberleri, Pülümür, Hozat, Ovacık, Mazgirt, Nazımiye, Çemişgezek, Erzincan, Erzincan Haber, Varto, Varto Haber, Kiğı, Kiğı Haber, Bingöl, Bingöl Haber, Gündem, Haber, Haberler, Avrupa Haber, Alevi Haber, Alevi Haberleri . 28 November 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141012132237/http://dersimnews.com/dersim/24-mkphko-militani-teslim-oldu-iddiasi.html . 12 October 2014 .
13. Web site: Arkadaşlar, siz de teslim olun askerler bize çok iyi davranıyor. Dersimnews.com. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714150147/http://haber.stargazete.com/politika/arkadaslar-siz-de-teslim-olun-askerler-bize-cok-iyi-davraniyor/haber-705225. 14 July 2014. live. dmy-all.
14. Web site: Hydroelectric Plant Regulator Bombed in Tunceli. Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141012103335/http://www.bianet.org/english/environment/148775-hydroelectric-plant-regulator-bombed-in-dersim. 12 October 2014. live. dmy-all.
15. Web site: TİKKO'dan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi . BestaNûçe Bestanuce.com . 28 November 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150109052514/http://www.bestanuce1.com/haber/91388/tikkodan-berkin-elvan-icin-misilleme-eylemi . 9 January 2015 .
16. Web site: Gerilladan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi. Özgür Gelecek. Ozgurgelecek.nl. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141012191152/http://www.ozgurgelecek.net/manset-haberler/9016-gerilladan-berkin-elvan-icin-misilleme-eylemi.html. 12 October 2014. live. dmy-all.
17. Web site: Dersim'de gerilladan baz istasyonu eylemi. Özgür Gelecek. Ozgurgeleck.net. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141204135924/http://www.ozgurgelecek.net/manset-haberler/10432-dersimde-gerilladan-baz-istasyonu-eylemi.html. 4 December 2014. live. dmy-all.
18. Web site: Communist terrorist group sets truck ablaze in eastern Turkey. dailysabah.com. 9 July 2014. 28 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141205014753/http://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2014/07/09/communist-terrorist-group-sets-truck-ablaze-in-eastern-turkey. 5 December 2014. live. dmy-all.
19. Web site: Turquie : La guérilla maoïste et la guérilla kurde mènent une opération conjointe . 2017-06-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181009052727/https://secoursrouge.org/Turquie-La-guerilla-maoiste-et-la-guerilla-kurde-menent-une-operation-conjointe . 2018-10-09 . live .
20. Web site: TKP/ML -TİKKO'dan Ankara şehitlerinin anısına eylem - ATİK Online. www.atik-online.net. 11 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113004640/http://www.atik-online.net/blog/tkpml-tikkodan-ankara-sehitlerinin-anisina-eylem.html. 13 January 2017. live. dmy-all.
21. Web site: Özgür Gelecek - Paşêroja Azad - Günlük Haber Bülteni - YDG: Halk Savaşçıları Ölümsüzdür! Mücadeleniz, Mücadelemizdir!. www.ozgurgelecek.org. 11 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012064059/http://www.ozgurgelecek.org/manset-haberler/17220-ydg-halk-savaclar-oeluemsuezduer-muecadeleniz-muecadelemizdir.html. 12 October 2017. dead. dmy-all.
22. Web site: Mercan şehitleri:Cengiz, Hakan, Özgüç. Seyri Sokak. 4 November 2015. 11 September 2017. YouTube.
23. Web site: Özgür Gelecek - Paşêroja Azad - Günlük Haber Bülteni - TİKKO Rojava "12'leri anmak, onların boş kalan mevzilerini doldurmaktır". https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171012064059/http://ozgurgelecek1.net/manset-haberler/24456-tkko-rojava-12leri-anmak-onlarn-bo-kalan-mevzilerini-doldurmaktr.html. dead. 12 October 2017. ozgurgelecek1.net. 11 September 2017.
24. Web site: Özgür Gelecek - Paşêroja Azad - Günlük Haber Bülteni - TİKKO militanları Kürdistan için AKP binasını ateşe verdi. www.ozgurgelecek.org. 11 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012064839/http://www.ozgurgelecek.org/manset-haberler/18958-tkko-militanlar-kuerdistan-icin-akp-binasn-atee-verdi.html. 12 October 2017. dead. dmy-all.
25. Web site: MKP/HKO gerillalarından eylem!. 19 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180920045444/http://halkingunlugu2.org/index.php/guncel/item/11044-mkp-hko-gerillalarindan-eylem. 20 September 2018. dead. dmy-all.
26. Web site: MKP/HKO'dan Ovacık muharebesine ilişkin açıklama! . 2017-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170913140304/http://www.halkingunlugu1.org/index.php/guncel/item/11452-mkp-hko-dan-ovacik-muharebesine-iliskin-aciklama . 2017-09-13 . dead .
27. Web site: Ovacık'ta 3 MKP/HKO gerillası şehit düştü . 2017-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905220647/http://etha.com.tr/Haber/2017/08/02/guncel/ovacikta-3-mkphko-gerillasi-sehit-dustu/ . 2017-09-05 . dead .
28. Web site: Hozat'ta iki MKP/HKO gerillası ölümsüzleşti . 2017-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183018/http://adhk.de/?p=14551 . 2017-09-13 . live .
29. Web site: MKP/HKO gerillaları ölümsüzlük yolculuğunda . 2017-09-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135221/http://alinteri.org/mkp-hko-gerillalari-olumsuzluk-yolculugunda.html . 2017-09-13 . live .
30. Web site: Dersim-Ovacık'ta 2 MKP/HKO gerillası ölümsüzleşti . 2017-09-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171012063726/http://www.partizanmlm2.net/dersim-ovacikta-2-mkphko-gerillasi-olumsuzlesti.html . 2017-10-12 . dead .
31. Web site: Özgür Gelecek | Paşêroja Azad | Günlük Haber Bülteni | Ovacık’ta 2 MKP/HKO gerillası ölümsüzleşti. wayback.archive-it.org.
32. Web site: Ovacık'ta ölümsüzleşen HKO savaşçılarının isimleri netleşti! . 2017-09-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170929233357/https://www.halkingunlugu1.org/index.php/manset/3154-ovacik-ta-olumsuzlesen-hko-savascilarinin-isimleri-netlesti . 2017-09-29 . dead .
33. Sözen, Ü. (2019). Culture, Politics and Contested Identity among the “Kurdish” Alevis of Dersim: The Case of the Munzur Culture and Nature Festival. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(1), 65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48710205
34. Sözen, Ü. (2019). Culture, Politics and Contested Identity among the “Kurdish” Alevis of Dersim: The Case of the Munzur Culture and Nature Festival. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(1), 65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48710205