The Maoist insurgency in Turkey, referred by the Maoists as the People's War in Turkey ( tr, Halk savaşı), is an ongoing low-level insurgency in eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

between the Turkish government and

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

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) The Kurdish–Turkish conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups who have either demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or attempted to secure autonomy and gr ...

. 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 The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (''Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist'' in Turkish language, Turkish, abbreviated as TKP/ML) is a Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist insurgent organization in Turke ...

) 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

(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 İbrahim Kaypakkaya (1949 – May 18, 1973) was a Turkish communist revolutionary, who was an important leader of the communist movement in Turkey and the founder of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML). He is revered by many to ...

, and intended to wage a

people's war People's war ( Chinese: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to main ...

. 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. 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 ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, replacing the soundtrack for the evening news.

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 Tunceli Province ( tr, Tunceli ili, ku, Parêzgeha Dêrsimê, Zazaki: ), formerly Dersim Province, is located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The least densely-populated province in Turkey, it was originally named ''Dersim Province' ...

, whose inhabitants saw the Maoist guerrilla war as revenge for the repression of the Dersim rebellion in 1938. TİKKO reached its height during this period, carrying out guerrilla warfare in the mountainous areas of the Tunceli and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

regions.

2000s

In 2000, Turkish security forces launched operations against TİKKO insurgents in the provinces of

Tokat Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155,00 ...

and

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

. Discovering 12 hideouts, they recovered nine machine guns, four rocket launchers, grenades, and explosives, as well as 10 tonnes of food and medicine. * On 11 December 2000, TİKKO insurgents open fire on a police special task force, killing two and wounding 12. * In 2001, police captured five insurgents and weapons including two

9K111 Fagot The 9K111 ''Fagot'' (russian: Фагот; "bassoon") is a second-generation tube-launched semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) wire-guided anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union for use from ground or vehicle mounts. The 9K111 ...

anti-tank missiles. * 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. In September 2009 MKP-HKO claimed responsibility for the death of a retired colonel, Aytekin İçmez.

2010s

2010–2014

* Tunceli: On 29 June 2010, two guerrillas of the TİKKO were killed in the mountains of

Tunceli 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. ...

by the Turkish state forces. * Tunceli: On 2 February 2011, five guerrillas of TİKKO in

died as a result of an avalanche. * Tunceli: On 15 November 2012, 24 guerrillas of HKO were surrounded and captured in Tunceli. * Tunceli: On 26 July 2013, the control building of a hydroelectric power plant regulator was bombed in the countryside of

by TİKKO militants. * 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 Berkin Elvan (5 January 1999 – 11 March 2014) was a 15-year-old boy who was hit on the head by a tear-gas canister fired by a police officer in Istanbul during the June 2013 2013 protests in Turkey, anti-government protests in Turkey. He died o ...

. * 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. * 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 Hozat ( ota, خوزات, ku, Xozat) is a small city and its surrounding district in Tunceli Province of Turkey. It has a population of 4,714. Seyfi Geyik from the Republican People's Party (CHP) was elected mayor in the local elections in March ...

. 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. * Tunceli: On 15 October, TİKKO guerrillas attacked the military base of Amukta, in

county. * Tunceli: On 21 October, three TİKKO guerrillas died in a clash with TSK in Ovacık. The funeral of guerrillas was attended by hundreds of people, who sang songs and shouted revolutionary slogans. * 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. * Istanbul: On 10 February 2017, TİKKO fighters set fire to the AKP headquarter in Pendik district. * 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. * Tunceli: On 1 August, three MKP-HKO guerrillas were killed in a clash with TSK in Ovacık. * Tunceli: 18 August, two MKP-HKO guerrillas died when they were surrounded in Hozat by the armed forces. * Tunceli: On 26 September, two MKP-HKO guerrillas were killed by TSK soldiers in Ovacık. * 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.

In culture

* Some songs of music bands such as

Grup Munzur Grup Munzur is a Turkish band known for their protest songwriting and some of the group members were arrested and tried for their artistic activities. Grup Munzur was founded in 1992 in İzmir. Grup Munzur has yearly performed at ''Munzur Doğa v ...

and Grup Yorum refer to insurgency in Dersim. * '' Dersim'de Doğan Güneş''

References

External links

New Turkey - revolutionary news portalÖzgür Gelecek - news portal related to TKP/MLKaypakkaya partizanHalkin Gunlugu - news portal related to MKPVideos from the People's War in Turkey
{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2020 Communist rebellions Far-left politics in Turkey Guerrilla wars History of Tunceli Province Insurgencies in Asia Maoism in Turkey Political history of Turkey Rebellions in Turkey Economic history of Turkey Communism-based civil wars Conflicts in Turkey Communism in Turkey