Gülnaz Karataş (1971–25 October 1992),

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, Berîtan, was a female fighter of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK). She became a Kurdish cultural figure after dying, and a symbol of women within the guerrilla movement.

Early life and education

Gülnaz Karataş was born in 1971 in

Solhan Solhan ( ku, Bongilan, ) is a town (belde) and seat of the Solhan District of Bingöl Province in Turkey. The mayor is Abdulhakim Yıldız (AK Party The Justice and Development Party ( tr, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, ; AKP), abbreviated off ...

Bingöl Bingöl ( diq, Çolig; ku, Çewlik; hy, Ճապաղջուր, translit=Chapaghjur) is a city in Eastern Turkey and the capital of Bingöl Province. Etymology One of the historical names for the city, ''Bingöl'' literally means ''thousand lak ...

, Turkey. Her family was Alevi Kurdish from

Dersim Tunceli ( ku, Dêrsim) is a city and municipality in eastern Turkey. It is the capital of Tunceli Province, located in the middle of the Eastern Anatolia Region. The city has a Kurdish-majority population and was a site of the Dersim rebellion. ...

. She attended primary and secondary school in

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. It is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . El ...

. In 1989, she began to study at the Department of Economics at the

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

. It is reported that until 1990 she was unaware of her Kurdish heritage.

Adult life

In 1990 she got to know networks of the PKK and was arrested, but released shortly after in 1991. On the 9 May 1991 she entered the PKK in the Cudi Mountains,

Şırnak Şırnak ( ku, شرنەخ, Şirnex) is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Mardin and Siirt provinces. The Habur border gate with Iraq which is one of Turkey's main links to Arab ...

. In 1992, she was sent as a leader of a small group to

Şemdinli Şemdinli ( ku, Şemzînan, script=Latn, syr, ܫܲܡܙܕܝܼܢ, Šamzdīn) is a town and district located in the Hakkari Province of southeastern Turkey. It was previously in the Ottoman Vilayet of Van and the district centre was called Nevşehi ...

. In the 1990s she was often featured in PKK publications, including '' Serxwebûn'' and ''Berxwedan'' magazines. On October 25, 1992, she fought against the pro- Barzani

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

who have allied themselves with the Turkish army during

Iraqi Kurdish Civil War The Iraqi Kurdish Civil War was a civil war that took place between rival Kurdish people, Kurdish factions in Iraqi Kurdistan during the mid-1990s, mostly between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Over the ...

. The legend says, she fought until the last bullet. The commander of the adversary peshmerga called on her to surrender, but she threw herself off a cliff in order to avoid arrest.

Legacy

She became an iconic figure within the history of the PKK and many songs and newborns are named after her.

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

, the founder of the PKK, had often included her in his analysis.

Halil Uysal Halil Ibrahim Uysal (1973-April 2008) (Kurdish: Xelîl Uysal) was a journalist and film director mainly focused on reporting on the Kurdish liberation movement. He later changed his surname to Daĝ. Family and early life He was born in Germany ...

produced a film, ''Bêrîtan'' (2006) about her life. In 1993, her death served as an inspiration to Zeynap Kinaci for her suicide attack against the Turkish military. Her remains were found in 2005 and transported to an area controlled by the PKK, where she was buried.

References

External links

Bêrîtan
on IMDb {{DEFAULTSORT:Karatas, Gulnaz 1971 births 1992 deaths People from Tunceli Istanbul University alumni Kurdish_guerrillas killed in action Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party Turkish people of Kurdish descent Female guerrillas