Transformation of thought into dominant social concept through Kurdistan Liberation Movement

The struggle of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, created a radical change in the sociology of Kurdish society. This society endowed with a creative awareness grounded in the principles of freedom, equality, and democracy transformed this understanding into various organizations, associations, parties, and institutions. In doing so, it generated the greatest force of belief and self-confidence in its history.

The PKK’s struggle rested on organizing the people and building institutions based on the power of philosophy and knowledge. After 1985, the activities that were initially centered on verbal propaganda and popular mobilization evolved into institutional work and branched into several fields.

On March 21, 1985, the Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK) was founded. It gathered people from different communities and cities, trained, organized, and activated them. In this context, major steps were taken in all four parts of Kurdistan and in Europe, and new institutions and organizations were established.

Social and public activities continued under this name until the early 2000s. With the change of the ideological model, the organizational structure changed as well. During the PKK’s seventh extraordinary congress held on January 23, 2000, the name of the ERNK was changed to the Democratic Mass Units.

Between October 27 and November 6, 2003, the People’s Congress was established under the guidance of Abdullah Ocalan. It was organized as an umbrella structure encompassing all institutions and organizations.

Activities based on the model of a democratic, ecological, and women-liberating society transformed into a system of self-governance. This self-governance was named the Democratic Confederation, as defined by Abdullah Ocalan. Its expression in Kurdistan was called the “Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK),” which was declared on March 21, 2005, during the Newroz celebrations in Amed through a statement read on behalf of Ocalan.

With this development, decades of experience and knowledge gained in the four parts of Kurdistan and beyond were transformed into systems of autonomous administration.

Northern Kurdistan and the First Model of Self-Governance

The first results of the concept of autonomous administration emerged in Northern Kurdistan during the municipal elections in the Hilwan district of Riha on May 6, 1979. Alongside winning the municipal administration, this location witnessed the first model of people’s communes, co-leadership, and popular governance in the history of the movement.

Through the role of Durrê Kaya (Mother Durrê), the people participated in administration through the first example of co-presidency. However, the state could not tolerate this and seized the municipality in April 1980. In other words, the first state-appointed trustees for municipalities were installed at that time.

In the same year’s municipal elections (1979), the municipality of Êlih (Batman) was also won. However, Mayor Edip Solmaz was assassinated by government forces just 27 days after the election.

The Wave of Uprisings

As the struggle intensified, social activities spread to all towns and cities. In response to this widespread mobilization, the state increased its repressive attacks and committed massacres at various events. Four civilians were killed in the village of Anîtos (Youngalı) in Gever on July 18, 1989; six civilians were killed in the village of Krî Gûlya in Silopiya on September 17, 1989; 27 civilians were killed in the village of Krî in the Basa district of Şirnex; and 28 civilians were killed in the village of Satî in Gever on June 10 of the same year. Thousands poured into the streets in protest of these killings.

On March 13, 1990, thirteen PKK guerrillas were martyred in clashes between the Turkish military and PKK fighters in Stur, Mêrdîn. On March 20, during the funeral of one of these fighters, Martyr Mesûd Dündar, the people rose up. The next day, the people of Cizîra Botan also revolted. Many patriots were martyred by government forces during these uprisings. This marked the beginning of a wave of popular uprisings that spread across all of Kurdistan.

In response to the growing power of the people, the state amended its laws while escalating violent attacks, creating a legal basis to legitimize oppression. In April 1991, the government issued the “Anti-Terror Law,” labeling thousands of people as “terrorists,” subjecting them to torture and extermination, and arresting tens of thousands. Under this law, illegal structures such as the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror unit (JİTEM) were established. These units whose existence the state did not officially acknowledge committed every type of crime against humanity in Kurdistan.

On July 7, 1991, Vedat Aydın, the president of the People’s Labor Party (HEP), was kidnapped and killed by JİTEM. Numerous massacres were committed in Nisêbîn, Mêdiyad, Qoser, Ferqin, Cizîr, Êlih, Wan, Gever, Amed, Şirnex, Bedlîs, and many other cities. Thousands were kidnapped, their fate still unknown, and villages were burned and destroyed

International Resonance

Public anger toward these practices grew, and tens of thousands attended the funeral of Vedat Aydın in Amed. The ceremony turned into an uprising during which many people were killed by government forces.

On March 21, 1992, the activist Rahşan Demirel set her body on fire in the Turkish city of Izmir in protest and condemnation of the state’s attacks. This took place on Newroz, a day that symbolizes resistance for the Kurds. Her act triggered a wave of uprisings among Kurds in major cities.

Newroz of 1992 also turned into an uprising in many cities, especially in Cizîr. In response to these uprisings which for the first time echoed on the international stage and became a political topic the government forces carried out numerous attacks and killed hundreds.

The Power of Resistance and Steps Toward Self-Governance

In October 1993, fourteen Kurdish mayors elected from various parties jointly announced their decision to join the Democracy Party (DEP). Soon afterward, most of them were dismissed from their positions or arrested.

Between 1990 and 1994, the Turkish state burned more than 3,000 Kurdish villages in the regions of Botan, Mêrdîn, Sêrt, and Êlih. As a result, more than four million people were displaced to major cities in Turkey, Europe, and South Kurdistan.

Around 20,000 people who rejected state oppression crossed borders and moved to South Kurdistan. But the Turkish state did not leave them in peace there either; it launched numerous attacks on them with the complicity of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), attempting to disperse their gatherings. However, these vigilant crowds moved among seven different camps before finally settling in the Makhmour area near Hewlêr in August 1998, where they built a self-governing system and a new way of life from scratch, featuring a unique structure of municipalities, councils, education, and self-defense.

Popular Will and the Stance Against the Conspiracy

On October 9, 1998, the international conspiracy against Abdullah Ocalan was launched. After four months of movement between Greece, Italy, Russia, and Kenya, he was handed over to Turkey on February 15, 1999. Kurds and their friends, young and old, rose up against the conspiracy under the slogan “You cannot eclipse our sun.” For the first time, the uprising encompassed all of Kurdistan and spread to many countries around the world. Sixty-three revolutionaries and patriots set their bodies on fire and were martyred. This revealed the strength of Ocalan’s philosophy on one hand, and on the other, frustrated the conspiratorial forces that had hoped to divide the movement. Unlike previous Kurdish uprisings, the people united for the first time in the face of an attack targeting their leader and reaffirmed their collective strength.

The power of the people became clearly visible in the municipal elections of April 1999, when the People’s Democracy Party (HADEP) won 34 municipalities, including those of Amed, Wan, Gûlêk, Agirî, Gever, and Sêrt.

The First Primary Elections: The Umbrella of Popular Institutions

In the municipal elections of March 2004, the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) considered the representative of Kurdish popular will; formed an alliance with the Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP) and won 57 municipalities. DEHAP had chosen its candidates for these elections through primary voting.

On March 24, 2006, fourteen fighters of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) were martyred in a chemical attack by the Turkish military in the Xanîka (Şenyayla) region of Mûş. Popular anger turned into a mass uprising against this massacre. During the funeral of six of these fighters on March 27, 2006, the rage spilled into the streets and squares, and the uprisings spread to the cities of Mêrdîn, Êlih, and many other areas, continuing for nearly a week. The then-Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, did not hesitate to suppress the uprisings and even sanctioned massacres by saying, “The necessary measures will be taken regardless of whether they are women or children.” Government forces killed 14 people, including women and children.

Resistance continued on one hand, while the people strengthened their organization on the other. In this context, all Kurdish institutions, organizations, and parties declared on October 30, 2007, the establishment of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) as a unifying umbrella.

On October 15, 2011, the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) was founded in Ankara with the aim of unifying the struggles of different communities. Many parties, organizations, unions, and associations from both Kurdish and Turkish society joined under its umbrella.

In the 2009 municipal elections, the people expressed their will under the name of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which won 99 municipalities. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) responded to this victory by arresting politicians and seizing municipalities under what it called “KCK Operations.” Yet the strength of the people grew, and they won 101 municipalities in the 2014 local elections, 64 municipalities in 2019, and 75 municipalities in 2024. Nevertheless, attacks on municipalities continued

Support for Rojava

In response to the attacks by ISIS mercenaries on the city of Kobani, and in protest against the Turkish state's support for ISIS, the people of Northern Kurdistan launched an uprising from October 6 to 8, 2014, which swept through all the cities of Northern Kurdistan. During this uprising, 47 patriots were killed by government forces. The echoes of this uprising spread across the world and had a significant impact.

Europe

Awakening also spread among the Kurdish people who had migrated to European countries. Educational, artistic, musical, media, political, linguistic, and women-focused activities began to develop, especially among communities that had migrated to Europe due to state oppression and injustice. A comprehensive organizational structure emerged.

The Federation of Kurdish Associations (YEK-KOM) was founded in Germany; the Federation of Kurdish Communities in France (FEYKA-Kurdistan); the Federation of Kurdish Associations in the Netherlands (FED-KOM); the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Switzerland (FEKAR Kurdistan); the Federation of Kurdish Trade Unions (FEY-KURD) in Denmark; the Kurdish Council in Sweden; the Federation of Kurdish Associations (FEK-BEL) in Belgium; the Federation of Kurdish Associations in Austria (KOM-AW); and the Kurdish Community Center (KCC) in London, United Kingdom. These federations united under the umbrella of “KON-KURD” on October 1, 1993. After the adoption of the democratic, ecological, and women-liberating societal model in the early 2000s, KON-KURD dissolved itself in 2013 and was replaced by the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCD-E).

On April 12, 1995, the Parliament of Kurdistan in Exile (PKDW) was established in The Hague, Netherlands, and later expanded under the name of the Kurdistan National Congress.

Through political, cultural, and social activities and programs, these institutions shed light on the situation in Kurdistan and worked to preserve Kurdish identity, culture, and language. On August 1, 1992, the first Kurdish cultural festival was held in Bochum, Germany, attended by hundreds of thousands. These mass events later spread throughout Europe. Anti-repression activities also drew the attention of the state and the international public. The largest events were held in 1998 against the international conspiracy targeting Abdullah Ocalan. When Ocalan went to Rome, tens of thousands of Kurds and their friends occupied the streets day and night without leaving.

Western Kurdistan (Rojava)

Rojava (Western Kurdistan) is one of the regions that adopted Abdullah Ocalan’s philosophy and organized itself according to it since the 1980s. Ocalan trained the youth of the region for 20 years, and the awareness that grew from this training culminated in the July 19, 2012 Revolution, which today occupies a central place on the world’s agenda.

We will present the details of developments in this region in the section dedicated to Rojava.

Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhelat)

The ideas and influence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) spread in Eastern Kurdistan since the 1980s. Although the Iranian state did not allow the establishment of institutions or organizations, the principles of freedom, resistance, and equality took root among the people as a clear social structure. Thousands of young men and women in the region joined the struggle. This awareness also influenced Iranian politics, as reflected in actions such as election boycotts.

Newroz is an official holiday in Iran, yet it is known as a day of resistance and willpower. For this reason, since the beginning of the freedom struggle, the Kurds of Rojhilat have expressed their will on this day.

Some of the strongest mass actions and international campaigns were carried out against the Iranian regime’s execution policies. The protests against the execution of Kurdish activist Şirin Alamholi, Kurdish teacher Farzad Kamangar, and other prisoners stand as clear evidence of this. Likewise, major international campaigns were organized against the death sentences issued against Zeynab Jalalian and many other prisoners.

As a result of decades of struggle, the people of Rojhelat founded the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) on April 5, 2004, and the East Kurdistan Democratic and Freedom Society (KODAR) in 2014.

Southern Kurdistan (Başûr)

The influence of the PKK’s ideology began to spread in Southern Kurdistan during the 1980s. However, the policies of the ruling powers in the region did not allow the masses to establish their own institutions. The few institutions that were established such as cultural, artistic, media, health, and community associations in Hewlêr were attacked and suppressed in 1997 by forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which committed massacres against their members. Despite attacks and obstacles, the people of the region continued their struggle in various forms.

Alongside political parties, numerous community associations and social institutions were established in cities such as Silêmanî and Kerkûk.

In Şengal, after the historic resistance against ISIS (2014–2015), the Ezidi (Yazidi) community founded many organizations, including units for defense, education, culture, language, and administrative institutions. The Democratic Autonomous Administration of Shengal (MXDŞ) was established as an umbrella structure for all these institutions. Today, the people of Shengal determine their own destiny and manage their own affairs autonomously through 13 councils.

ANHA