The Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement or HBDH () is a far-left self-declared alliance of ten mostly Kurdish leftist, revolutionary socialist, and communist organizations 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 ...

. The alliance was declared on March 12, 2016, with the goal of overthrowing the elected Turkish government. Since then, it has claimed responsibility for several attacks on security personnel in Turkey.

Background

The alliance chose to declare their founding on March 12 to announce to the world their commitment to the struggle against the AKP government in Turkey. March 12, 2016, was the 45th anniversary of the 1971 Turkish military memorandum, the 21st anniversary of the Gazi Quarter riots, and the 12th anniversary of the 2004 al-Qamishli riots. All three of these events serve as reminders of the alliance's mission "to lead victoriously our struggle for the Revolution, democracy and socialism." The alliance believes that Erdoğan's party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), seeks to implement a new leadership in Turkey, effectively restoring the dictatorship established on March 12, 1971. Five members of the alliance ( TKP/ML, MLKP, TKEP/L, Devrimci Karargâh, and MLSPB) are also members of the International Freedom Battalion, a small group of foreign fighters supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Rojava conflict.

Motives

The organization has called for the destruction of the majority Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the overthrow of its elected government. The organization has claimed that it is struggling for the "self-determination" of minorities:

If the struggle for Kurdish self-determination is broken, the AKP will start to attack all other opposition forces in Turkey. Consequently, the future of all progressive, revolutionary and working class forces in Turkey is directly tied to the future of the Kurdish resistance.

The organization has called for the "mobilization of a unified popular revolution" in order to overthrow the elected government. It has claimed itself to be against "

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, and

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

" on its path to a revolution, calling for "our peoples, our workers, the oppressed, all cultures starting with the Alevis, the women, the youth to join the ranks of the Revolutionary United Movement and to struggle."

Member organizations

The following organizations were in attendance at the joint press meeting announcing the alliance: * Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist (TKEP/L) * Devrimci Karargâh (DK) *

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) * Maoist Communist Party (MKP) * Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) * People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Union (THKP-C/MLSPB) * Revolutionary Communard Party (DKP) * Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML) * Union of Revolutionary Communists of Turkey (TİKB) The Coordination of Revolutionary Proletarians (PDK) has also announced that they have joined the alliance, while the Resurrection Movement (TDH) has expressed interest in joining.

Activities

Soon after its formation, the movement began conducting armed operations against the Turkish government. On May 6, 2016, HBDH attacked a Gendarmerie General Command base in Giresun Province in northeastern Turkey. According to news reports, a roadside bomb exploded, targeting a Gendarmerie vehicle. HDBH claimed responsibility for the attack on May 8, stating that three gendarmes died in the attack, as well as the Base Commander, who was the intended target. This was inconsistent with the Odatv release, which reported only 1 casualty. Since its initial attack, the Joint Command of the Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement has claimed responsibility for several more attacks in the region, primarily targeting Turkish soldiers or gendarmes. The tactics employed by the alliance are very similar to those used by the PKK. The most notable attack came on July 19, just 4 days after the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...

. HBDH reported that they had killed 11 riot police in Trabzon Province at 08:30 that morning. The HBDH report is consistent in time and location to an attack reported by Doğan News Agency, in which "unknown assailants" fired on a police checkpoint. This report states that 3 officers were killed and 5 were injured, along with a civilian. On the night of January 16th, 2025, HBDH's Atakan Mahir Militia set alight a municipal bus in Sarıyer,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The following night, a bomb attack by HBDH's Sinan Dersim Militia was carried out in

Akdeniz, Mersin Akdeniz is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 255,946 (2022). It covers the central and eastern part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. H ...

, which injured an estimated 8 soldiers.

References

External links