Dursun Karataş

Dursun Karataş (born March 25, 1952 in the village of Cevizdere (Kürdemlik) in Elazığ ; † August 11, 2008 in Amsterdam ) was the founder and leader of the People's Revolutionary Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C for short) in Turkey.

Early activities

Karataş has been a sympathizer of revolutionary thought and groups since he was enrolled at Istanbul Technical University in 1970. During this time he was mainly influenced by the THKP-C , which was led by Mahir Çayan . For the first time in 1972 he was involved in activities of the Devrimci Gençlik (the youth organization of the THKP-C).

Karataş was briefly imprisoned in Elazığ in 1974 for having painted 'Liberate Cyprus' slogans on walls with Niyazi Aydın, who later became a member of the Central Committee of the Devrimci Sol, in protest against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus .

In 1974 he was one of the founders of IYOKD, a student organization for the preservation of culture. From 1975 he was a leading figure among the revolutionary students of Istanbul.

In 1977 Devrimci Yol (DEV-YOL) was founded by supporters of Devrimci Gençlik (DEV-GENÇ) and Karataş became the head of the organization in Istanbul. In 1978 he founded Devrimci Sol (DEV-SOL) as a splinter group of the Devrimci Yol.

Karataş 'prison time

Karataş was arrested by the Turkish authorities in 1980 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He wrote his book Haklıyız Kazanacağız (We Are Right and Will Conquer ) in prison . However, he managed to break out on October 25, 1989 and go into hiding. The organization was then set up for atılım (advance). Numerous attacks were carried out. The orders came from Dursun Karataş. A total of 75 police officers, twelve members of the army, four intelligence officers, three Americans, two public prosecutors and 35 civilians died; 136 people were injured.

On July 12, 1991, Niyazi Aydın, İbrahim Erdoğan and other high officials were shot. On April 17, 1992, his wife Sabahat (called Sabo) was shot dead after a gun battle with the police. On September 13, 1992, he was overpowered and detained in his home by the internal party group Bedri Yağan, İbrahim Bingöl and Aslan Şener Yıldırım - called Darbeciler (putschists). This group was led by Bedri Yağan . He managed to escape after three to four months. He then called the other officials Aslan Tayfun Özkök, Faruk Ereren and the wife of Niyazi Aydın, Gürcan, in Germany and Turkey from a phone booth and reported what had happened. Later, the members of Yağan's group and Bedri Yağan himself were expelled from the organization. These later formed the THKP-C Devrimci Sol and were hostile to the main organization Devrimci Sol (DHKP-C).

Formation of the DHKP-C

On March 30, 1994, the Devrimci Sol, led by Karataş, founded the DHKP-C. He was also elected Secretary General of the DHKP-C.

On September 9, 1994, Karataş was arrested again, this time in France , for trying to enter the country with a forged passport. Despite the Turkish extradition requests, Karataş was convicted of participating in attacks on French citizens in the 1991 Gulf War. However, due to massive international pressure, he was released on January 26, 1995. This meant that he had to report to the police and only had limited rights to freedom. He escaped this "observation", which resulted in a considerable deterioration in relations between the Çiller government and France. French intelligence claimed that Karataş was receiving help from an unknown woman. Although he was ordered not to leave France, it is likely that he fled the country and has been on the run since.

In February 2006 a Belgian court convicted some DHKP-C members for terrorist crimes and sentenced them to prison terms of between four and six years. Karataş was one of the accused and was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison.

Although he was on the run, it was suggested that he still held a leadership role in the DHKP-C. He died in Amsterdam on August 11 at around 5 a.m. He's had cancer for ten years. Until his death he stayed in the triangle Germany- Netherlands- Belgium.

Web links

• Samih Teymur: AN ANALYSIS OF TERRORIST RECRUITMENT BY OBSERVING THE REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S LIBERATION PARTY / FRONT (DHKP / C) TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IN TURKEY (PDF file; 241 kB)