Kurdish Hezbollah ( ku, Hizbullahî Kurdî)
, turkishweekly.net known in Turkey as Hizbullah,Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
Murder on the Bosporus
''Middle East Quarterly'', June 2000, pp. 15–22, Meforum.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-09. and known among Kurds as Sofîk is a Kurdish

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Islamist militant organization,German Jihad: On the Internationalisation of Islamist Terrorism by Guido Steinberg. Columbia University Press, 2013 https://books.google.com/books?id=RVY4AAAAQBAJ&q=Hizbullah active against Turkey, and the PKK (mainly in the period between 1992 and 1995). The group, founded by Kurdish-Turkish Islamist

Hüseyin Velioğlu Hüseyin Velioğlu (born Hüseyin Durmaz; 1952 – 17 January 2000) was the leader of the Kurdish Hezbollah, a militant extremist organization in the early 1990s. Velioğlu led one of the wings of this organization. He was killed in a police ope ...

, remains a primarily Kurdish group that has its roots in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey and among Kurds who migrated to the cities in Western Turkey.*German Jihad: On the Internationalisation of Islamist Terrorism by Guido Steinberg. Columbia University Press, 2013 https://books.google.com/books?id=RVY4AAAAQBAJ&q=Hizbullah The Hezbollah reestablished in 2003 in southeastern Turkey and "today its ideology might be more widespread then ever among Kurds there".*German Jihad: On the Internationalisation of Islamist Terrorism by Guido Steinberg. Columbia University Press, 2013 Turkish Hezbollah's influence was not limited to Turkey and it has also "left an imprint on Turkish

Kurds in Germany Kurds in Germany are residents or citizens of Germany of full or partial Kurdish origin. There is a large Kurdish community in Germany. The number of Kurds living in Germany is unknown. Many estimates assume that the number is in the million rang ...

." Despite similar names, Kurdish Hezbollah has no relationship whatsoever with the Kurdish Revolutionary Hezbollah or the Kurdish Hezbollah of Iran.

Background

In the 1970s various Kurdish Islamists sought to work through democratic means to develop Islamism in Turkey. It initially remained a Kurdish group that had its roots in the southeast of Turkey, and Kurdish Islamists who migrated to the prosperous cities in Western Turkey. The group utilized poor economical situations of the Kurdish population and had built its social bases in their areas. Many joined the National Turkish Student Association (Milli Türk Talebe Birliği, MTTB), the youth organization of the

National Salvation Party The National Salvation Party ( tr, Millî Selâmet Partisi, MSP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey, founded on 11 October 1972 as the successor of the banned National Order Party (''Millî Nizam Partisi'', MNP). The party was formed by a ...

.The Kurdish Ḥizbullāh in Turkey
Oxford Islamic Studies Online. By: Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Nader Entessar, Martin Kramer, Joseph A. Kéchichian, Emrullah Uslu. Source: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World With the closure of these after the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 12 Eylül Darbesi), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by ...

, it appeared clear that the military was too strongly dedicated to secularism for the democratic route to be an option, and a group of Islamists launched the Union Movement (''Vahdet Hareketi''). The movement organised around two bookshops in Diyarbakır – Fidan Gündör's ''Menzil'' and

's ''İlim''. Until 1987 the groups gathered around these bookshops worked together.Turkish sympathy for militants grows
Common Dreams News Center According to the Guido Steinberh, the Turkish government cooperated with the group against the PKK and it's believed that Kurdish Hezbollah's influence was not limited to Turkey and it has also left an imprint on some Kurds who had migrated to Germany. In 1987, when Hüseyin Velioğlu moved his bookshop to

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, different opinions on leadership and armed actions resulted in the split of the two wings.Mehmet Faraç, '' Cumhuriyet'', 19 January 2000
Hizbullah'ın kanlı yolculuğu
The so-called İlim-wing, under the leadership of Hüseyin Velioğlu insisted to start the armed struggle immediately. The dispute resulted in bloody fighting between the two factions. Human Rights Watch, 16 February 2000
''What is Turkey's Hizbullah?''
/ref> Between 1990 and 1993, the İlim group killed many members of the Menzil group, and ultimately emerged victorious. In 1993 the İlim group took the name ''Hizbullah''.

History

The group which became known as Hizbollah took this name in 1993, after emerging victorious from a bloody factional war between two wings of the Union Movement (''Vahdet Hareketi'') which had been established following the

's crushing of Islamist hopes for democratic success.

's group had previously been known as ''İlim'', named for his bookshop. In March of the same year, soon after

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 ...

was expelled from Syria, there were reports of an Iranian-brokered peace accord between KH and PKK. According to Turkish security officials, Hezbollah was financed by and trained in post-revolutionary Iran, with Iran allegedly using terror groups to establish Islamic governments throughout the Middle East. Further groups within Hezbollah were named as ''Tevhid'', led by Nurettin Şirin and Mehmet Şahin and ''Yeryüzü'', led by Burhan Kavuncu. Besides the town of Batman, Hezbollah was strongest in

Cizre Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Dis ...

district of Şırnak, Nusaybin district of

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

and Silvan district of Diyarbakır province. For a long time the village Yolaç was used as their base. In the early 1990s the organization became a direct threat to the already rising Kurdish separatist movement. The Hezbollah viewed the "PKK's claim to be the only true spokesman of Kurdish nationalism" as a "threat to its own identity", and dubbed the PKK as the "''Partiya Kafirin Kurdistan''" meaning Kurdistans Infidels' Party. As an Islamist organization, KH began as an oppositional force against the PKK, but have targeted both PKK militants and other people they considered "immoral" (people who drank alcohol, wore mini-skirts etc.). Between 1992 and 1995 they killed around 500 PKK members, for the loss of around 200 of its own. In 2007, after the Assassination of Hrant Dink, his friend Orhan Alkaya suggested that the three-shot assassination technique was a signature mark of the Kurdish Hezbollah. KH also targeted journalists who wrote about its activities, particularly those who wrote about connections between them and the Turkish state. It was believed that the group gets support from Turkish army for its conflict against the PKK. Journalists, mainly Kurds, associated with ''

2000'e Doğru ''2000'e Doğru'' ( tr, Towards 2000) was a weekly Turkish news magazine. It was published between 1987 and 1992. History and profile ''2000'e Doğru'' was established in January 1987 by Doğu Perinçek. The publisher was Sistem Yayıncılık. I ...

'' and '' Özgür Gündem'' were particularly targeted (see List of journalists killed in Turkey). Some of KH's major attacks allegedly include an April 1999 suicide bombing in Bingöl, and the February 2001 assassination of Diyarbakir police chief

Gaffar Okkan Ali Gaffar Okkan (1952 – January 24, 2001) was a Turkish police chief who was assassinated in an ambush in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. Early life Ali Gaffar Okkan was born in Hendek, Sakarya Province in 1952. He graduated from Police C ...

(and five other police).

Evan Kohlmann Evan F. Kohlmann (born 1979) is an American terrorism consultant who has worked for the FBI and other governmental organizations.National Review'', 25 November 2003
Terrorized Turkey: Pointing fingers at al Qaeda
/ref>

Turkish military support

The weekly ''

'' of 16 February 1992 reported that eyewitnesses and sympathizers of Hezbollah had informed them that members of the organization were educated in the headquarters of Turkey's rapid deployment force (''

Çevik Kuvvet The Çevik Kuvvet ( en, Agile Force or ''Rapid Response Force'') is the riot control, riot squad of the General Directorate of Security (Turkey), General Directorate of Security (Turkish National Police). It was established in 1982, replacing the ...

'') in Diyarbakır. Two days after the article was published its author, Halit Güngen was killed by unidentified murderers. Namik Taranci, the Diyarbakir representative of the weekly journal ''Gerçek'' (Reality), was shot dead on November 20, 1992 on his way to work in Diyarbakır. Again, the previous edition of the magazine had examined relations between the state and Hizbullah. Hafiz Akdemir, reporter for '' Özgür Gündem'' (Free Agenda), was shot dead in a Diyarbakır street on June 8, 1992, after reporting that a man who had given refuge to assassins fleeing a Hezbollah-style double killing in Silvan was released after only six weeks in custody, without even appearing in court. The 1993 report of Turkey's Parliamentary Investigation Commission referred to information that Hezbollah had a camp in the Batman region where they received political and military training and assistance from the security forces. Former Minister Fikri Sağlar said in an interview with the paper ''Siyah-Beyaz'' (Black-White) that the army not only used Hezbollah, but actually founded and sponsored the organization. He maintained that such a decision had been taken in 1985 at the highest levels – the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

. On 17 January 2011

Arif Doğan Arif Doğan (born Kırıkhan, Hatay Province, 1945 – 17 October 2014) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and in ...

, a retired colonel in the Turkish army who also claims to be a founder of

JİTEM Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı (abbr. ''JİTEM'' or ''JİT''; English: "Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism" or "Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization") is the unofficial and illegal intel ...

, while testifying in court in the Ergenekon case, declared that he set up Hezbollah as a contra group to force to fight and kill militants of the PKK. The organization was originally to be called ''Hizbul-Kontr'' ("Party of the Contras"). According to journalist

Faik Bulut Faik Bulut (born 1950, Kağızman, Kars) is a Kurdish journalist, historian, writer from Turkey. He speaks Turkish, Kurdish, English, Arabic and French. Biography He graduated from Ankara Gazi University in 1980. He started journalism in 1985. He ...

, some Hizbollah members were caught in Istanbul with 40 kg of C-4 explosive and valid Turkish National Intelligence Organization identity cards.

Human resources

In December 2003 Corry Görgü put the number of militants as high as 20,000Corry Görgü
"Die Anschläge auf die Synagogen in Istanbul und die Rolle von Staat und Hizbullah"
/ref> a figure presented by the

Center for Defense Information The Center for Defense Information (CDI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. It specialized in analyzing and advising on military matters. History The Center for Defense Information was founded in 1971 by an indepen ...

as well. Information provided by the Intelligence Resource Program of the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

based on the 2002 Patterns of Global Terrorism report suggests that the organisation possibly has a few hundred members and several thousand supporters.Turkish Hizballah
Fas.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-09. Ufuk Hiçyılmaz stated that the group had about 1,000 armed members.

Trials (2000–2011)

After the kidnapping of several businessmen in Istanbul and the subsequent raid of a house in Beykoz quarter a nationwide hunt on Hezbollah supporters followed. During the operation in Beykoz on 17 January 2000 Hüseyin Velioğlu was killed and Edip Gümüş and Cemal Tutar were detained. Edip Gümüş, born 1958 in Batman was alleged to lead the military wing of Hezbollah and Cemal Tutar was said to be a member of the armed wing.An online edition of th
Annual Report 2000 of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
is available on the website of the Democratic Turkey Forum In this period nearly 6000 KH members were arrested. In the time to follow many trials were conducted in Diyarbakır and other places against alleged members of Hezbollah. In several instances defendants raised torture allegations. Such allegations are documented in Urgent Actions (UA) of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. In the trial in which Edip Gümüş and Cemal Tutar were indicted the defendant Fahrettin Özdemir said on 10 July 2000 that he had been held in custody for 59 days and had been tortured. In the hearing of 11 September 2000 Cemal Tutar said that he had been held in police custody for 180 days. The Turkish Hezbollah trial was concluded in December 2009. The defendants received varying terms of imprisonment. Eighteen members of Turkish Hezbollah, amongst them Edip Gümüs and Cemal Tutar, were released from jail on 4 January 2011, in accordance with a recent amendment to the Turkish criminal code that set a limit of 10 years on the time detainees can be held without being sentenced in a final verdict. The juridic authorities demanded a re-arrest of the released, but the police failed in locating them.

Movement of the Oppressed and Hüda-Par (2002–present)

Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, sympathizers of Hizbollah's Menzil group founded an association called "Solidarity with the Oppressed" (tr: ''Mustazaflar ile Dayanışma Derneği'' or short Mustazaf Der) in 2003.Compare an article in the daily Radikal of 13 April 2013
Hizbullah: Tebliğ, Cemaat, Cihat
accessed on 15 April 2013 It also became known as the Movement of the Oppressed (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''Mustazaflar Hareketi''). On 18 April 2010 Mustazaf Der organized a mass meeting in Diyarbakir to celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday (known as

Mawlid Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronunciations; sometimes , ) ...

). The Turkish police estimated that the event was attended by 120,000 people. The organizers put the figure at over 300,000.See an article of the International Relation and Security Network in Zurich of 15 June 2010 written by Gareth Jenkin
A New Front in the PKK Insurgency
accessed on 15 April 2013 On 20 April 2010 a court in Diyarbakir ordered the closure of the Association for the Oppressed (Mustazaf-Der) on the grounds that it was "conducting activities on behalf of the terrorist organization Hizbollah." The decision was confirmed by the Court of Cassation on 11 May 2012. In late 2012, the Movement of the Oppressed announced its will to found a political party, basically to challenge the hegemony of the Peace and Democracy Party. In December 2012, a political party with the name

Free Cause Party The Free Cause Party (Turkish: ''Hür Dava Partisi'', abbreviated as HÜDA PAR, ) is Sunni Kurdish Islamist political party in Turkey. Origin Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, activists of the Hizbullah's Menzil group foun ...

(''Hür Dava Partisi'') was founded.Hür Dava Partisi (Hüda-Par) Resmen Kuruldu
. Haberdiyarbakir.com (2012-12-17). Retrieved on 2013-02-09. Hüda-Par, the abbreviated form of the party's name is synonymous with Hizbollah, both interpreted as the "God's Party", emphasising that the party is a front for the otherwise illegal Hizbollah. Societies affiliated with Hüda-Par operate under the umbrella organisation Lovers of Prophet (

: ''Peygamber Sevdalıları'', Kurdish: ''Evindarên Pêyxamber'') particularly active in Kurdish

meetings.

References

External links

*Levitsky, Olga, "
In the Spotlight: Turkish Hezbollah
'". Terrorism. Center for Defense Information. December 10, 2003.

* ttp://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0317 Hizbullah (Oxford) {{Authority control 1983 establishments in Turkey Banned Islamist parties in Turkey Banned Kurdish parties in Turkey Islamic terrorism in Turkey Jihadist groups Organizations designated as terrorist by Turkey Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Organizations based in Europe designated as terrorist Political parties established in 1983 Rebel groups in Turkey Kurdish Islamic organisations Kurdish Islamism