The Muğlalı incident, also known as the 33 Bullet incident, was a

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

that resulted in the deaths of 32

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

and Küresünni civilians in July 1943, in Özalp,

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

. They were executed for alleged animal smuggling on the orders of the 3rd Army Commander General

Mustafa Muğlalı Mustafa Muğlalı (1882 – 11 December 1951) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and the general of the Turkish Army. He served as an officer in World War I and the Turkish War of Independence. As a General of the Third Army, he took part in th ...

Incident

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, smuggling incidents increased, especially on the Iranian border. One of these incidents, which led to clashes between the tribes in the region and the security forces, broke out in the Özalp district of Van.

Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

units sent to the border upon a tip that the Milan tribe, some of whom live on Iranian territory, abducted a large herd of animals in July 1943, could not catch the smugglers because they fled to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Then, 40 relatives of the tribe living in Özalp were detained. Although the court arrested only 5 people and released the rest, 33 people were handed over to a military unit under the command of two second lieutenants for questioning, by order of Mustafa Muğlalı, who came to Özalp. The smugglers were shot near the border, and it was claimed that they were shot while trying to escape, based on a report prepared earlier. Even though a villager who survived the incident with injuries managed to announce the situation to the relevant authorities, no results could be obtained from the applications made. With the Democrat Party becoming an effective opposition party, the incident that was tried to be covered up was brought up again in 1948. Upon the adoption of a parliamentary question submitted to the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

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 ...

, an investigation was launched against the military and civilian administrators regarding the incident. Muğlalı, who said that he gave the order for the shooting in the case where all the defendants were held in pre-trial detention at the General Staff Military Court, was sentenced to death on March 2, 1950, and then to 20 years in prison due to his advanced age and extenuating circumstances. But the military supreme court overturned the decision; Muğlalı died in prison on 11 December 1951 (at the age of 69) before the new trial started. Upon the CHP's claim that "discrimination was made against minorities" during the

Istanbul pogrom The Istanbul pogrom, also known as the Istanbul riots, were a series of state-sponsored anti-Greek mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The pogrom was orchestrated by the governing Democrat ...

, the incident was brought up again in the Parliament as a retaliation by the Democratic Party. This time, all the members of the Grand National Assembly of

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 ...

and the CHP at the time of the incident were allegedly responsible, and İsmet İnönü was tried for himself. The issue, which was discussed in the Assembly on February 12, 1956, and February 25, 1956, was closed again due to the statute of limitations and various amnesty laws, with the 1958 Parliamentary Investigation Commission report and Parliamentary deliberations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muglali incident Massacres in Turkish Kurdistan Massacres in 1943 Extrajudicial killings in Turkey July 1943 in Europe History of Van Province 1943 murders in Turkey Massacres of Kurds Massacres committed by Turkey Persecution of Kurds in Turkey 20th-century mass murder in Turkey Events that led to courts-martial Wildlife smuggling Iran–Turkey border 1943 in Iran People executed by Turkey by firearm Turkey in World War II World War II massacres