Şemdin Sakık
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Şemdin Sakık (born 1959), also known by his ''
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' Şemo or ''Parmaksız Zeki'' (), is a Kurdish militant commander, former senior
Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...
(PKK) member. Michael M. Gunter (2010), ''Historical Dictionary of the Kurds'', Scarecrow Press, 4 November 2009. p266 He is best known for ordering the May 24, 1993 PKK ambush. He has been imprisoned since his capture in
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
by Turkish forces in 1998, shortly after his defection to the
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
. He was a key witness in the
Ergenekon trials The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Erge ...
.


Background

In statements to the
Ergenekon trials The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Erge ...
in 2012, he said that he became a PKK sympathizer in 1979, and joined after the
1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (), 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 memorandum. During ...
as a way of leaving the country''
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
'', 6 November 2012
Secret witness reveals identity, shady ties between PKK and Ergenekon
after a dispute with his father in which he shot and wounded him. His brother
Sırrı Sakık Sırrı Sakık (born 1 August 1957, Yörecik, Muş Province, Turkey) is a Turkish-Kurdish journalist and politician. He is a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Mayor of Ağrı. He was elected in the 2023 Turkish parliamentar ...
was a member of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...
for the
Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party (, , BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2008, following the closure of the latter party for its alleged conne ...
(BDP).


Bingöl massacre

Sakık later claimed that military commanders were aware of his planned
Bingöl massacre The 24 May 1993 PKK attack, sometimes referred to as the Bingöl massacre was a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) attack on unarmed Turkish military soldiers on the Elazığ-Bingöl highway, west of Bingöl. 33 Turkish soldiers and varying conflict ...
, and deliberately left the soldiers unarmed and unguarded. He identified a group within the military called the East Study Group ( Doğu Çalışma Grubu), saying it had used the ambush as part of its coup plans.
Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...
claims Sakık ordered the 1993 ambush as part of an
Ergenekon Ergenekon is a Turkish term that may refer to: *The Epic of Ergenekon, the founding myth of Turkic and Mongolic peoples * Necabettin Ergenekon (1926-2020), Turkish officer *Ergenekon, Turkish name of Agios Chariton, a village in Cyprus *Ergenekon ...
attempt to sabotage the peace process then ongoing between the PKK and the Turkish government, saying that Sakık had been used by Ergenekon.


Defection and capture

In the late 90s, he had an argument with the other commanders within the PKK, such as Duran Kalkan and Murat Karıyilan in which he told them they were not experienced enough in warfare. He himself was known for his warfare skills, and there was not much what they could do about it except complaining about to Öcalan.Marcus, Aliza (2009). 259–260 This led to a tense power struggle within the PKK. Then in 1998, he was ordered by Öcalan to lead the PKK in the
Hatay province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...
, an area not suitable for PKK guerrilla warfare as it was in a leveled environment. He therefore refused to enter deeply into the province and stayed with his troops just at the border. Öcalan then called him back to
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, and as he refused to obey his orders, later sent him into detention to the Gare camp in the
Dohuk Governorate Duhok Governorate (, , ) is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders ...
,
Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...
. From there he escaped and was received by
Masoud Barzani Masoud Barzani (; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017. Early life and career Barzani was bo ...
who provided him protection. But the Turkish armed forces were made aware of his presence in the region, and captured him on 13 April 1998. Some sources said that the 1998 Operation Murat, launched shortly after Sakık's capture, was based in part on information obtained from Sakık. He was prosecuted and sentenced to death being involved in the killing of 125 members of the security forces and 121 civilians, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment following Turkeys abolition of the death penalty.


Ergenekon testimony

Initially serving as
secret witness A secret witness (or anonymous witness) is a witness which is granted anonymity in a trial by the juridical authority. The identity of the witness is not disclosed to the defendant and the general public except if the secret witness agrees to it. I ...
in the
Ergenekon Trials The Ergenekon trials or the Ergenekon conspiracy, were a series of high-profile trials which took place in 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Erge ...
he later gave up on his anonymity voluntarily. The military leaders prosecuted in the trials were opposed to the fact that a former PKK leader would testify against them. Sakık says that Iran took back weapons it had provided to the PKK after the PKK declared a ceasefire in 1993. He said that
Veli Küçük Veli Küçük (born 9 May 1944)Today's Zaman, 16 June 2009Ultranationalist Ergenekon suspect is of Armenian origin, magazine reveals/ref> is a retired Turkish brigadier-general. He is thought to be the founder of the JİTEM intelligence arm of t ...
gave training to PKK militants. He also claimed that the PKK had prior notice of the 1980 coup. Sakık has written a book about supposed PKK's executions of internal dissidents - people who challenged the leadership or later renounced violence - which he says amounts to about 2000 people. Former Secretary-General of 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 n ...
Tuncer Kılınç has been reported as saying that Sakık's word could be trusted. Orhan Miroğlu,
Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
, 8 November 2012
Unsettling witness in Ergenekon case


Books

* ''Apo'', Şark Yayınları, 2005. * ''Şemdin Sakık anlatıyor : Kobralar üzerimize gelince aklımızı kaçırıyorduk / Tuncer Günay'',
Doğan Kitap Doğan is both a masculine Turkish given name and a Turkish surname meaning ''Falcon''. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Doğan Abukay, Turkish experimental physicist and academic * Doğan Akhanlı (1957–2021) Turkish-German wri ...
2007. * ''Eski Bir Militanın Kaleminden Şiddetin Sefaleti'', Lagin Yayınları / Araştırma-İnceleme Dizisi 2010 * ''İhanetin Tarihi'', Yakın Plan Yayınları / Türkiye Siyaseti Dizisi 2010 * ''İmralı'da Bir Tiran: Abdullah Öcalan'', Togan Yayıncılık 2012


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakik, Semdin 1959 births Living people Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party Turkish Kurdish people Prisoners and detainees of Turkey Prisoners sentenced to death by Turkey Apoists People charged with terrorism Susurluk scandal