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Turkey: Status of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkish Hezbollah; situation and treatment of members, supporters and sympathizers of these parties (2006-2007)

In 28 April 2006 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, an assistant professor of political science at Loyola University in Chicago who specializes in Islamic politics in Turkey stated that "[b]oth the PKK [Kurdistan Worker's Party] and the Hezbollah of Turkey are considered terrorist organizations by the Turkish state" (Loyola University 28 Apr. 2006). Media reports also state that the PKK is "considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union" (BBC 8 Apr. 2007; AFP 25 Mar. 2006). Criminal charges involving terrorism have been brought against members of both the PKK and Turkish Hezbollah: for instance, out of the 512 inmates of a prison in the city of Diyarbakir, 258 allegedly belong to Turkish Hezbollah and 224 are thought to belong to the PKK (UN 16 Nov. 2006).

According to the Assistant Professor,

[i]t is illegal to be members, supporters, and sympathizers of both organizations in Turkey. Citizens suspected to have any kinds of ties to these organizations are harassed by security forces and violations of their human rights have been common. While the European Union-demanded reforms have liberalized Turkish legal systems, the progress in application has been much limited. Additionally, tensions between ethnic Kurds and Turks in mixed cities have increased in recent years. There have been several attempted lynches of Kurdish activists in various Anatolian [Middle Eastern Turkish] cities. Turkish public opinion has very strong negative views of both the PKK and the Hezbollah. These organizations are perceived to be exclusively responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. (Loyola University 28 Apr. 2006)

According to the Country Reports on Terrorism published by the United States Department of State, attacks perpetrated by the PKK "increased significantly and claimed as many as 600 lives in 2006" (US 30 Apr. 2007).

PKK

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan, PKK), also known as Kongra-Gel (KGK) (MIPT n.d.a; RSF 21 June 2006) is a leftist and Kurdish nationalist organization (MIPT n.d.a; SITE Institute n.d.) founded in 1978 (ibid.; PHW 2007 Oct. 2006, 1262; Europa 2006 10 June 2006, 4385). The PKK's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested in 1999 and is currently living alone in exile on an island in the Marmara sea (Assistant Professor 28 Apr. 2006). The group is led by Abdullah Ocalan, Zubeyir Aydar (ibid.; PHW 2007 Oct. 2006, 1263) and Murat Karayilan (ibid.). In 1984, the PKK began waging an armed conflict against the Turkish government with the aim of establishing an independent Kurdish homeland (Europa 2006 10 June 2006, 4385; AFP 25 Mar. 2006). Since then, the conflict has killed an estimated 37,000 people in Turkey (ibid.; BBC 8 Apr. 2007; Turkish Daily News 8 May 2007).

There are thought to be approximately 5,000 PKK fighters (The Guardian 5 June 2006; SITE Institute n.d.) battling some 20,000 soldiers, village guards and Special Forces in southeastern Turkey (Turkish Daily News 8 May 2007). Reports indicate that fighting between the two groups appears to be increasing (The Economist 6 May 2006; The Guardian 5 June 2006), following the displacement of over a million Kurds from their villages during the Turkish army's offensive which peaked in the early 1990s (ibid.).

There are several media reports that Turkish forces have killed PKK fighters (AFP 12 Apr. 2006; ibid. 25 Mar. 2006). For example, in March 2005, Turkish soldiers killed 14 Kurds associated with the PKK in the province of Mus in southeastern Turkey (AFP 25 Mar. 2006). In April 2006, 12 PKK fighters and 2 Turkish soldiers were killed in southeastern Turkey (AFP 12 Apr. 2006).

In late March 2006, the funerals of PKK rebels killed by government troops held in the city of Diyarbakir turned into riots, with some rioters targeting police stations with bombs and vandalizing shops and public buildings (AFP 9 May 2006). Security forces responded with gunfire and tear gas (ibid.; HRW Jan. 2007). Different sources report that the number of those killed varies between 8 (ibid.) and 16 people (AFP 9 May 2006), including innocent bystanders and four children under the age of 10 (HRW Jan. 2007), while about 500 people were injured (The Guardian 5 June 2006). An investigation of 10 killings was still being conducted at the end of 2006 (AI 2007). The Guardian reports that these were the worst clashes experienced there in a decade (5 June 2006).

Following the riots, Turkish police charged 301 people with the violence (AFP 9 May 2006). Many of the accused are youths, who if convicted could face up to 24 years imprisonment (ibid.) (The Economist 6 May 2006). The Guardian cites the Diyarbakir bar association as stating that, according to witness statements and medical reports, the 180 minors who were detained in the wake of the riots were mistreated by police, saying "they had been repeatedly beaten, threatened with death and rape, stripped naked, immersed in cold water, subjected to high pressure hosing and had cigarettes stubbed out on their bodies" (The Guardian 5 June 2006). However, besides a report by The Economist citing the prisoners' lawyers as stating that the inmates had been "beaten and tortured" (6 May 2006), further or corroborating information on these allegations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In June 2006, a reporter for the Kurdish news agency Diha was arrested and charged with collaborating with the PKK, after he allegedly gave computer equipment to and spoke of military matters with PKK activists (RSF 21 June 2006). Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have called for the journalist's provisional release, adding that journalists in the Kurdish media covering military operations are often accused of working with the PKK (ibid.). If convicted, the journalist could face up to 12 years in prison (ibid.).

Amnesty International (AI) reports that in October 2006 a trial began involving 56 mayors belonging to the Democratic Society Party (DTP) (AI 2007), a pro-Kurdish party (BBC 6 Mar. 2006), who were accused by the Turkish government of supporting the PKK after they had sent a letter to the Danish Prime Minister requesting that the Denmark-based Kurdish television station, Roj TV, not be shut down (AI 2007). The mayors were charged with "knowingly and willingly supporting the PKK" (ibid.). As of April 2007, the trial was ongoing against 53 mayors, who could expect up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted (Anadolu Agency 4 Apr. 2007).

In February 2007, the Kurdish mayor of Turkey's Karapinar district, Zulkuf Karatekin, was fined 3,000 lira [approximately CAD 2,500 (Canada 27 Feb. 2007)] for allowing members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) to use a municipal vehicle to plant seedlings to mark the birthday of Abdullah Ocalan, the outlawed leader of the PKK (AFP 27 Feb. 2007).

Turkish Hezbollah

Information on the treatment of members, supporters and sympathizers of Turkish Hezbollah, also known as Hizbullah (Turkish Daily News 28 Feb. 2007), was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Founded in southeastern Turkey in the early 1980s, Hezbollah (Party of God) aims to create a Sunni Muslim theocracy (MIPT n.d.b) and Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey (AP 21 Dec. 2006). It bears no relation to the Lebanese Hezbollah, although some suspect it of being sponsored by Iran (MIPT n.d.b). According to Country Reports on Terrorism, Turkish Hezbollah is "an organization of Sunni Kurds with a violent history, which appeared to be providing social services and promoting Sharia in parts of the [Turkish] southeast" (US 30 Apr. 2007). A rival of the PKK, which it accuses of being "anti-Muslim," Turkish Hezbollah lost hundreds of its members during government crackdowns beginning in 2000 (ibid.). The Associated Press (AP) claims that the Turkish army has since killed the group's leader (AP 21 Dec. 2006) and arrested over 6,000 of its members (ibid.; Middle East Policy 1 Apr. 2007). However, several media sources have noted that the organization currently appears to be re-emerging throughout southeastern Turkey as an increasingly strong organization (The Economist 6 May 2006; AP 21 Dec. 2006). It may comprise some 20,000 members (ibid.; Middle East Policy 1 Apr. 2007), but some believe that the true number may be significantly higher (ibid.). A paper published in Middle East Policy describes Turkish Hezbollah as "the largest and most significant of Turkish extremist groups that are currently active" (ibid.). Turkish Hezbollah is reportedly led by Isa Altsoy, who resides in Germany (ibid.).

In February 2007, a court in southeast Turkey sentenced 20 members of Turkish Hezbollah to life imprisonment (Turkish Daily News 28 Feb. 2007; Dunya 27 Feb. 2007) for a total of 97 murders of civilians that were committed in the early 1990s (ibid.; Turkish Daily News 28 Feb. 2007). Between 1992 and 2007, Turkish Hezbollah is thought to have killed between 500 and 1,500 people in a series of [translation] "kidnappings, torture and banditry, under the banner of installing an Iranian-style regime in Turkey" (AFP 10 Mar. 2007).

In March 2007, a Diyarbakir court reportedly sentenced one alleged Turkish Hezbollah "militant" to life imprisonment for the 2001 murder of the local police chief (AFP 10 Mar. 2007).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 10 March 2007. "Turquie: quatre islamistes condamnés pour le meurtre d'un chef de la police." (NEXIS)
_____. 27 February 2007. "Kurdish Mayor Fined in Turkey for Pro-Rebel Gesture." (NEXIS)
_____. 9 May 2006. "More Minors Charged over Kurdish Riots in Turkey." (NEXIS)
_____. 12 April 2006. "Twelve Kurdish Rebels, Two Soldiers Killed in Southeast Turkey." (NEXIS)
_____. 25 March 2006. "Turkish Army Kills 14 Kurdish Rebels in Clashes." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International (AI). 2007. "Turkey." Amnesty International Report 2007. [Accessed 24 May 2007]

Anadolu Agency [Ankara]. 4 April 2007. "15 Years of Imprisonment Asked for 53 DTP Executives." Turkey – Press Scan. (Factiva)

Associated Press (AP). 21 December 2006. Selcan Hacaoglu. "Kurdish Militant Group 'Turkish Hezbollah' Issuing Terror Threats." (Factiva)

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 8 April 2007. "Kurdish Rebels Kill Turkey Troops." [Accessed 11 May 2007]
_____. 6 March 2006. "Kurd Jailed for Honouring Ocalan." [Accessed 29 May 2007]

Canada. 27 February 2007. Bank of Canada. "Currency Conversion Results." [Accessed 25 May 2007]

Dunya [Istanbul]. 27 February 2007. "20 Turkish Hezbollah Members Sentenced to Life." (Factiva)

The Economist [London]. 6 May 2006. "Flying in the Wrong Direction – Turkey." (Factiva)

The Europa World Year Book 2006. 10 June 2006. Vol. 2. "Turkey." London: Routledge.

The Guardian [London]. 5 June 2006. Ian Traynor. "Children of the Repression: Turkish Kurd Teenagers Turn to the PKK After Enduring Years of Brutality." (Factiva)

Human Rights Watch (HRW). January 2007. "Turkey." World Report 2007. [Accessed 25 May 2007]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 2007. Yahya Berman. "Turkey." Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2007 (Events of 2006). [Accessed 25 May 2007]

Loyola University [Chicago]. 28 April 2006. Assistant professor of political science. E-mail correspondence.

Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT). N.d.a. Terrorism Knowledge Base. "Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)." [Accessed 11 May 2007]
_____. N.d.b. Terrorism Knowledge Base. "Turkish Hezbollah." [Accessed 11 May 2007]

Middle East Policy [Washington, DC]. 1 April 2007. Middle East Policy Council. Emrullah Uslu. "From Local Hezbollah to Global Terror: Militant Islam in Turkey." (Factiva)

Political Handbook of the World 2007 (PHW 2007). October 2006. "Turkey." Edited by Arthur Banks, Thomas Muller and William Overstreet. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 21 June 2006. "RSF Calls for Provisional Release of Kurdish Journalist Accused of Collaborating with PKK." (International Freedom of Expression eXchange – IFEX) [Accessed 21 June 2006]

SITE Institute. N.d. "Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, KADEK)." [Accessed 30 May 2007]

Turkish Daily News [Ankara]. 8 May 2007. "20,000 Troops Involved in Anti-PKK Operation." [Accessed 11 May 2007]
_____. 28 February 2007. "Twenty Turkish Hizbullah Members Sentenced to Life." [Accessed 11 May 2007]

United Nations (UN). 16 November 2006. Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporter on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism: Addendum – Mission to Turkey. [Accessed 25 May 2007]

United States (US). 30 April 2007. Department of State. "Turkey." Country Reports on Terrorism. [Accessed 30 May 2007]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Several professors specializing in Turkish politics did not respond to requests for information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Freedom House, Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD), Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Organization for Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Mazlumder), United States Department of State.

Topics: Political parties, Kurd,