The Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (, abbreviated as ''MLKP'') is an underground Hoxhaist communist party in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was founded in 1994, and has been involved in the

Rojava conflict The Rojava Conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Syrian Kurdistan, Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began ...

since 2012.

History

MLKP was formed in September 1994, through the unification of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist - Hareketi (TKP/ML-Hareketi) and the Communist Workers Movement of Turkey (TKİH). TKP/ML-Hareketi was the larger of the two. Both groups came from the pro- Albanian camp. The unity process of negotiations between the groups had started in 1989. Initially MLKP called itself MLKP-Kuruluş (MLKP-Foundation). In September 1995, at the first congress of MLKP-K, the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (New Build-Up Organization) (TKP/ML (YİÖ)) merged into the party, and the name was changed to MLKP. Later the same year a split occurred, and the Communist Party - Build-up Organization (KP-İÖ) was formed. MLKP is designated as an active terrorist organisation in Turkey by the Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of the General Directorate of Security. During the Ergenekon investigation, it was claimed by prosecutors that Ergenekon planned to take over the MLKP, as well as the PKK, and that it was successful to a certain extent. In the same investigation, it was found that the hand grenades found in Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Dönmez' had the same series number as those used by the MLKP.

Organisation

The youth wing of MLKP is called the Communist Youth Organization (' in Turkish, abbreviated as ''KGÖ''). MLKP maintains an armed wing named Armed Forces of the Poor and the Oppressed (''Fakirlerin ve Ezilenlerin Silahlı Kuvvetleri'' in Turkish, abbreviated as ''FESK''). The group had international exposure at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus bombing prior to 2004 Istanbul summit where four people were killed. In April 2015, it was announced that MLKP founded a permanent military training centre in PKK-controlled areas of the

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 ...

. In July 2015, they attempted bomb attack on Star Media Group (Turkey). The organisation has had three periodicals: (''The Leap'') (or ' (The New Leap)), a daily news bulletin, ' (The Voice of the Party), an institutional publication and ' (The Direction in Theory), a theoretical-political journal). The 26th and last issue of was published in 2006.

Human Resources

A study carried out by the Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of General Directorate of Security over a sample of files about people convicted of being a terrorist under Turkish laws including 826 militants from the organisation and the three other currently active left-wing organisations (see reference 1) 65% of the members are aged 14 to 25, 16.8% 25 to 30 and 17.5% are older than 30. University graduates make up 20.4% of the members, high school graduates 33.5%, secondary school graduates 14%, primary school graduates 29.9% and illiterates 1.9% (while they have no sampled literate non-graduate members).

Involvement in Syrian Civil War

MLKP has reportedly been sending volunteers to Syria to fight with the PYD's

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostl ...

(YPG) of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) since 2012. At least four of these fighters have been killed in battle as of February 2015—one during the Battle of Ras al-Ayn, and three during the Siege of Kobanî. MLKP has also declared its intention to form a leftist international brigade within the YPG, modeled after the famous

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

who fought on the side of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The party released a video in late January 2015 purporting to show several Spanish- and German-speaking communist volunteers from Europe among its ranks in

Jazira Canton The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton (; ; ), is the largest of the three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). As part of the ongoing Rojava conflict, its democratic autonomy was offi ...

. In March 2015, Ivana Hoffmann, a MLKP member and German national and daughter of a German mother and a

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

lese father, was reported to be killed in clashes with the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

. The MLKP has set up a political branch in PYD-governed territories as well, known as MLKP (Rojava). MLKP fighters have also joined

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) formations fighting in northern Iraq in defence of the Yezidi minority of Sinjar.

References

External links