Zübeyir Aydar (born 1961, in

Eruh Eruh ( ku, Dih) is a town and seat of Eruh District of Siirt Province of Turkey. The town is populated by Kurds of the Botikan tribe and had a population of 8,895 in 2021. Neighborhoods Eruh town is divided into the three neighborhoods of Fari ...

) is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

politician, lawyer and president of the

Kongra-Gel 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 ...

(People's Congress of Kurdistan), which is the parliament of the

Koma Civakên Kurdistan The Kurdistan Communities Union ( ku, Koma Civakên Kurdistanê, italic=yes, KCK) is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of democratic confederalism. Öcalan, Abdullahbr>Declaration of Democrati ...

(KCK), making him the de jure political leader of the outlawed

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).

Biography

Born in Yanıkses village in the

Eruh District Eruh District is a district of Siirt Province in Turkey which has the town of Eruh as its seat. The district had a population of 18,101 in 2021. Its area is 1,061 km2. Settlements The district encompasses the town of Eruh, fifty-six villa ...

Siirt Province Siirt Province, ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Sêrtê) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an ar ...

, he graduated from the Law Faculty of

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 ...

after which he worked as a lawyer in Siirt from 1986 to 1991. There he organized the local branch of the

Turkish Human Rights Association The Human Rights Association ( tr, İnsan Hakları Derneği, İHD) is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara. Establishment The İHD's origins can be traced to the victims of the purges in the ...

(IHD) and joined the first Kurdish party in Turkey, the

People's Labor Party The People's Labour Party ( tr, Halkın Emek Partisi, HEP), sometimes translated as the People's Work Party, was a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey. It was founded on 7 June 1990 by seven members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly expell ...

(HEP). He was elected to the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

in 1991 on a ticket with the Social Democratic Populist Party for the

Siirt province Siirt Province, ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Sêrtê) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an ar ...

. When HEP was banned in 1993, he joined the new Kurdish party, the Democracy Party (DEP). When DEP was banned in 1994, Aydar fled to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

as most party members were arrested by Turkish authorities. He has been living in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

since then. In Europe he joined the Kurdistan Parliament in Exile (PKDW) and later the

Kurdistan National Congress The Kurdistan National Congress (Kurdish: ''Kongreya Neteweyî ya Kurdistanê,'' KNC or KNK) is a multi-national platform of Kurdish groups and parties of all tendencies, which aims for the independence of Kurdistan. It was founded on 14 April 1 ...

(KNK) and Kurdistan Union of Communities (KCK), where he became head of the legislature in 2003. He is wanted in Turkey for being "member of an illegal political party" and since October 14, 2009 wanted by the U.S. for alleged "narcotics trafficking", along with

Murat Karayılan Murat Karayılan ( ku, Mirad Qarayîlan) (born 1954),Murat Karayılan yakalandı mı?< ...

and

Ali Riza Altun ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

. In June 2010, Belgian authorities arrested Aydar along with

Remzi Kartal Remzi is both a Turkish surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Remzi Başakbuğday (born 1989), Turkish taekwondo practitioner * Remzi Sedat İncesu (born 1972), Turkish basketball coach * Remzi Aydın Jön ...

, Adem Uzun and

Faruk Doru Farooq (also transliterated as Farouk, Faruqi, Farook, Faruk, Faroeq, Faruq, or Farouq, Farooqi, Faruque or Farooqui; ar, فاروق, Fārūq) is a common Arabic given and family name. ''Al-Fārūq'' literally means "the one who distinguishes b ...

for involvement with financial transactions to PKK accounts. Several academic and political figures in Europe protested the arrest as counter-productive to finding a political solution for the Kurdish movement. After three weeks, Aydar and his co-defendants were released on lack of evidence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aydar, Zubeyir 1961 births Turkish Kurdish people Turkish Kurdish politicians Living people Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Democracy Party (Turkey) politicians Exiled Turkish politicians People from Siirt Province