Tuesday, 1 May 2007Released by the U.S. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
* Kongra-Gel (KGK/PKK)
"(Despite name changes, the group is still most commonly referred to as the PKK; for the purposes of this report we refer to the group as Kongra-Gel/PKK or KGK/PKK.)
a.k.a. Kurdish Freedom Hawks (TAK); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan (KADEK); Halu Mesru Savunma Kuvveti (HSK); Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress; Kurdistan People's Congress (KHK); Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan; People's Congress of Kurdistan; The People's Defense Force.
* Description
The KGK/PKK was founded by Abdullah Ocalan in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist separatist organization. The group, composed primarily of Turkish Kurds, launched a campaign of violence in 1984. The KGK/PKK aspired to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey, but in recent years has spoken more often about cultural or linguistic rights. In the early 1990s, the KGK/PKK moved beyond rural-based insurgent activities to include urban terrorism. In the 1990s south-eastern Anatolia was the scene of significant violence; some estimates place casualties at approximately 30,000 persons. Following his capture in 1999, Ocalan announced a "peace initiative," ordering members to refrain from violence and requesting dialogue with Ankara on Kurdish issues. Ocalan's death-sentence was commuted to life-imprisonment; he remains the symbolic leader of the group. The group foreswore violence until June 2004, when the group's hard-line militant wing took control and renounced the self-imposed cease-fire of the previous five years. Striking over the border from bases within Iraq the KGK/PKK engaged in terrorist attacks in eastern and western Turkey.
* Activities
Primary targets have been Turkish government security forces, local Turkish officials, and villagers who oppose the organization in Turkey. The group conducted attacks on Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in West European cities in 1993 and again in spring 1995. In an attempt to damage Turkey's tourist industry, the KGK/PKK bombed tourist sites and hotels and kidnapped foreign tourists in the early-to-mid-1990s. Turkish authorities have confirmed or suspect that the group is responsible for dozens of bombings since 2004 in western Turkey, particularly in Istanbul and increasingly in resort areas on the western coast where foreign tourists, among others, have been killed. There have also been dozens of military clashes between Turkish security forces and KGK/PKK militants.
* Strength
Approximately 4,000 to 5,000; 3,000 to 3,500 are currently located in northern Iraq.
* Location/Area of Operation
Operates primarily in Turkey, Iraq, Europe, and the Middle East.
* External Aid
Kongra-Gel/PKK has historically received safe haven and modest aid from Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Since 1999, Syria and Iran have cooperated with Turkey against the PKK, in a limited fashion. The KGK/PKK funds raise in Europe."
30 April 2007
Journal of Turkish Weekly
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Tuesday, 1 May 2007
U.S. Report
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