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Mavi Boncuk |
Dursun Karataş (b. 25 March 1952 Elazığ, Turkey - d. 11 August 2008 Arnhem, Netherlands) was the founding leader of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) that was founded in Damascus, Syria.[1][2].
Karataş founded Dev Sol ("Revolutionary Left", precursor of DHKP-C) in 1978, as an offshoot of the Dev Yol ("Revolutionary Way"). The group was based in Istanbul.
Karataş was jailed after the 1980 military coup. In prison a political reorganisation was undertaken. The Dev-Sol inmates at Bayrampaşa prison refused to follow orders and boycotted court invitations. In prison Karataş wrote "Haklıyız Kazanacağız" ("We Are Right, We Shall Prevail"); a work which included an analysis of the movement's mistakes, and a list of the organization's enemies. It was published in two volumes in 1989, spanning more than 1000 pages.
He escaped from prison in 1989[3] and fled to Western Europe. In 1989 to 1990, Dev Sol carried out a series of attacks. However, on 12 July 1991, Turkish police was able to dismantle several cells of the organization. Karataş fled to Europe. In April 1992, his wife Sabahat was killed by the Turkish police.
Following the police crackdown on Dev-Sol, Karataş was kidnapped and detained by the second-in-command of the movement, Bedri Yağan, on 13 September 1993. Karataş did however escape from captivity, and Dev-Sol was divided. Karataş and his followers reorganized their movement as DHKP-C.
On 9 September 1994, he was arrested at the Franco-Italian border, and sentenced to four years in prison. In 2006 a Belgian court sentenced him in absentia.
Karataş died on 11 August 2008 at the Rijnstate hospital in Arnhem, Netherlands.(Some sources initially reported him as having died in Belgium, however the spokesperson of the organization in Brussels, Bahar Kimyongür, said that Karataş' friends gathered to pay their respects in the Netherlands.
[1] Şam or Dimeşk (Arabic: دمشق (Dimeşk) or الشام Eş-şam, Persian: Demeshgeh).
[2] Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi or DHKP-C is theoretically two related entities[citation needed], although the authorities consider them a single group. In all cases of Parti-Cephe (Party-Front) names, "Party" refers to the group’s political activities, while "Front" is a reference to a group’s military operations.
DHKP-C is linked to Revolutionary Organization 17 November, the Greek Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002. The group assassinated 23 people in 103 attacks on U.S., British, Turkish and Greek targets.
DHKP-C is also closely linked with The Kurdistan People’s Congress (KGK, formerly the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, PKK) is a Kurdish separatist group primarily active in part of northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Composed mostly of Turkish Kurds, the group in 1984 began a campaign of armed violence, including terrorism, which has resulted in over 45,000 deaths. In late 2003, PKK sought to engineer another political face-lift, renaming the group Kongra-Gel (KGK) and brandishing its "peaceful" intentions, while continuing to commit attacks and refuse disarmament. The organization was said to be involved in drug trafficking and acts of terrorism in Turkey
The group's Istanbul commander, Asuman Akça, was arrested in 2008 on the grounds that she was planning to assassinate Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. She was tried, but the court failed to reach a verdict and since she had been held in custody for four years, she was released in 2012, pending another trial. Then Akça told the media that she would reveal links between DHKP-C and the Ergenekon organization. Shortly afterwards, she was shot in the head. Her would-be assassin, who has been described as a member of the PKK as well as the DHKP-C and MLKP, told police he had orders from DHKP-C to assassinate Akça because of her plans to reveal the group's links with Ergenekon.
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DHKP-C üyesi İsmail Akkol ve Fadik Adıyaman'ın Söke Otogarı'ndan Eskişehir'e gitmek üzere beklerken Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü İstihbarat Daire Başkanlığı'nın koordinesinde gerçekleşen operasyonla yakalandı. Terör örgütü Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi’nin (DHKP-C) ile iç içe olan Halkın Hukuk Bürosu (HHB) avukatlarından (pictured) Oya Aslan (Berkin Elvan ailesi avukatı) , Aydın'da yürütülen soruşturmanın Sabancı suikastiyle ilgisi bulunmadığını, müvekkili hakkında kesinleşmiş hapis cezasının bulunmadığını belirterek, "Süreç 20 yılı buldu, zaman aşımı söz konusu olabilir" dedi. 1 Mart 2015 günü, İstanbul Adalet Sarayı içerisinde Berkin Elvan davası soruşturmasını yürüten Cumhuriyet savcısı Mehmet Selim Kiraz Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi (DHKP-C) örgüt üyeleri tarafından rehin alındı. Yaklaşık dokuz saat süren olayda, çeşitli müdahaleler sonrası savcı kurtarılamadı ve DHKP-C militanları ölü olarak ele geçirildi.
[2] Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi or DHKP-C is theoretically two related entities[citation needed], although the authorities consider them a single group. In all cases of Parti-Cephe (Party-Front) names, "Party" refers to the group’s political activities, while "Front" is a reference to a group’s military operations.
DHKP-C is linked to Revolutionary Organization 17 November, the Greek Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002. The group assassinated 23 people in 103 attacks on U.S., British, Turkish and Greek targets.
DHKP-C is also closely linked with The Kurdistan People’s Congress (KGK, formerly the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, PKK) is a Kurdish separatist group primarily active in part of northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Composed mostly of Turkish Kurds, the group in 1984 began a campaign of armed violence, including terrorism, which has resulted in over 45,000 deaths. In late 2003, PKK sought to engineer another political face-lift, renaming the group Kongra-Gel (KGK) and brandishing its "peaceful" intentions, while continuing to commit attacks and refuse disarmament. The organization was said to be involved in drug trafficking and acts of terrorism in Turkey
The group's Istanbul commander, Asuman Akça, was arrested in 2008 on the grounds that she was planning to assassinate Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. She was tried, but the court failed to reach a verdict and since she had been held in custody for four years, she was released in 2012, pending another trial. Then Akça told the media that she would reveal links between DHKP-C and the Ergenekon organization. Shortly afterwards, she was shot in the head. Her would-be assassin, who has been described as a member of the PKK as well as the DHKP-C and MLKP, told police he had orders from DHKP-C to assassinate Akça because of her plans to reveal the group's links with Ergenekon.
