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Revision as of 08:01, 15 December 2005
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front, (Turkish: Devrimci Halk Kurtuluş Partisi/Cephesi or DHKP/C) was originally formed in 1978 as Revolutionary Left (Turkish: Devrimci Sol or Dev Sol), a splinter faction of Revolutionary Youth (Turkish: Dev Genç).
Renamed in 1994 after factional infighting; "Party" refers to the group’s political activities, while "Front" is a reference to the group’s militant operations. Theoretically they are separate entities.
The group espouses a Marxist-Leninist ideology and is anti-US, anti-NATO establishment.
It finances and activities chiefly through donations and extortion raised in Turkey and Europe. First designated in October 1997. According to some sources, the organisation probably has several dozen operatives inside Turkey, with a large support network throughout Europe.
Activities
Since the late 1980s, the group has targeted primarily current and retired Turkish security and military officials. It began a new campaign against foreign interests in 1990, which included attacks against US military and diplomatic personnel and facilities.
To protest what it describes as US imperialism during the Gulf war, the DHKP/C assassinated two US military personnel, wounded an Air Force officer and bombed more than 20 US and NATO military, commercial and cultural facilities.
In its first significant terrorist act as DHKP/C in 1996, it assassinated a prominent Turkish businessman and two others. DHKP/C added suicide bombings to its operations in 2001, with successful attacks against Turkish police in January and September of that year.
Security operations in Turkey and elsewhere have weakened the group, however. DHKP/C did not conduct any major terrorist attacks in 2003, although a DHKP/C operative prematurely detonated her explosive belt in May.