Kurdish rebellions

issues
POV=December 2007
intromissing=August 2008
refimprove=August 2008

According to Turkish military records, Kurdish rebellions have been taking place in Anatolia for over two centuries. [cite news|url=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=92683
title=How many Kurdish uprisings till today?
work=Turkish Daily News
accessdate=2008-07-30
date=2008-01-03
first=Mehmet Ali
last=Birand Translated from Turkish by Nuran İnanç.]

Kurdish Uprisings

Koçkiri rebellion, 1920

The 1920 Koçkiri Rebellion in the overwhelmingly Kizilbash Dersim region, while waged by the Kizilbash Koçkiri tribe, was masterminded by members of an organisation known as the Kürdistan Taâlî Cemiyeti (KTC). [harv|van Bruinessen|1978|p=446 (footnote 35) and harv|Olson|1989|pp=26-33] This particular rebellion failed for several reasons, most of which have something to do with its Kizilbash character. The fact was that many Dersim tribal chiefs at this point still supported the Kemalists - regarding Mustafa Kemal as their 'protector' against the excesses of Sunni religious zealots, some of whom were Kurmancî Kurds. To most Kurmancî Kurds at the time, the uprising appeared to be merely an Alevi uprising - and thus not in their own interests. [harv|van Bruinessen|1978|pp=374-75] In the aftermath of the Koçkiri rebellion there was talk in the new Turkish Republic's Grand National Assembly of some very limited forms of 'Autonomous Administration' by the Kurds in a Kurdish region centered in Kurdistan. All this disappeared in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, however. Bitterly disappointed, the Kurds turned again to armed struggle in 1925 - this time led by the Zaza cleric Sheikh Said, but organized by another, newer, Kurdish nationalist organization, Azadî. [harv|Olson|1989]

heikh Said Piran's rebellion, 1925

The main rebellion which dominates the history of the Kurds in Turkey is that of the 1925 rebellion in Kurdistan region of Turkey which was led by Sheikh Said. The repression and aggression of Kemalist secularism followed and all public manifestations of Kurdish identity was outlawed which, in turn, prepared Kurds for more rebellion. The revolt of Sheikh Said of Piran began in February 1925 .Of almost 15000 fighters who participated in the rebellion against the 52,000 Turkish Gendarmerie, the main Kurdish tribes participating in the rebellion came from Zaza. The rebellion covered most of the part of Amed (Diyarbakir) and Marden. The Sheikh Said rebellion was the first large scale rebellion of the Kurdish national movement in Turkey. The main organizer of this rebellion was the Kurdish Independent Society, Azadi. Azadi’s intention was to liberate Kurds from Turkish oppression and thus deliver freedom and further, develop their country. By March 1925 the revolt was pretty much over. Sheikh Said and all the other rebel leaders were hanged by June 29th. The rebellion failed however and, by 1929, Ihsan Nuri’s movement was in control of a large expanse of Kurdish territory and, with help from Iran, the revolt was put down by the year 1930. [cite news|url=http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=14198
title=The Kurdish issue in Turkey need political solution
work=Kurdish Media
date=2007-10-26
accessdate=2008-08-01
first=Mufid
last=Abdulla ]

heikh Abdurrahman's rebellion, 1927

In Fall of 1927 Sheikh Abdurrahman (brother of Sheikh Said) began a series of attacks on Turkish garrisons in Palu and Malatya. Districts of "Lice", Bingöl were captured by the rebels. They also occupied the heights south of Erzurum. Turkish military used air force against the rebels using five airplanes in Mardin. In October 1927, Kurdish rebels attacked and occupied Bayazid. The brother of Sheikh Said tried to exact revenge on the Turkish government by attacking several army bases in Kurdistan. Nothing permanent was accomplished. They were driven out after Turkish reinforcements arrived in the area. [harv|Olson|2000|p=79]

Ağrı (Ararat) rebellion, 1927-1930

The Republic of Ararat ( _tr. Ağrı) was a self-proclaimed Kurdish state. It was located in the east of modern Turkey, being centered on Ağrı Province. The Republic of Ararat was declared independent in 1927, during a wave of rebellion among Kurds in south-eastern Turkey. The rebellion was led by General İhsan Nuri Pasha. However it was not recognized by other states, and lacked foreign support.

By the end of summer 1930, the Turkish Air Force was bombing Kurdish positions around Mt. Ararat from all directions. According to General Ihsan Nuri Pasha, the military superiority of Turkish Air Force demoralized Kurds and led to their capitulation. [harv|Olson|2000|p=82] On July 13th, the rebellion in Zilan was suppressed. Squadrons of 10-15 aircraft were used in crushing the revolt. [harv|Olson|2000|p=84] On July 16th, two Turkish planes were downed and their pilots were killed by the Kurds. [harv|Olson|2000|p=85] Aerial bombardment continued for several days and forced Kurds to withdraw to the height of 5,000 meters. By July 21st, bombardment had destroyed many Kurdish forts. During these operations, Turkish military mobilized 66,000 soldiers and 100 aircraft. [harv|Olson|2000|p=86] The campaign against the Kurds was over by September 17, 1930. [harv|Olson|2000|p=88] The Ararat rebellion was defeated in 1931, and Turkey resumed control over the territory.

Dersim rebellion, 1937

Dersim Rebellion is the unsuccessful rebellion of Seyid Riza of Kizilbash elites who was chief of the Abbasuşağı tribe against Turkey led by Kemal Atatürk. Turkey managed to suppress the rebellion mobilizing 50,000 troops and effectively using the Turkish Air Force.

ee also

*RAF Iraq Command

Footnotes

References

* citation
last = Olson
first = Robert W
year = 1989
publisher = University of Texas Press
location = Austin
isbn = 0292776195
url = http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/kurdish/htdocs/his/said.html
title = The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion, 1880-1925
* citation
last = Olson
first = Robert
month = March
year = 2000
title = The Kurdish Rebellions of Sheikh Said (1925), Mt. Ararat (1930), and Dersim (1937-8): Their Impact on the Development of the Turkish Air Force and on Kurdish and Turkish Nationalism
journal = Die Welt des Islams
volume = 40
issue = 1
pages = 67-94
doi = 10.1163/1570060001569893
* citation
title=Agha, Shaikh and State: On the Social and Political Organization of Kurdistan
publisher=University of Utrecht
location=Utrecht
year=1978
first=Maarten Martinus
last=van Bruinessen
isbn=1-85649-019-X (also London: Zed Books, 1992)