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{{merge to|Dersim Rebellion||discuss=talk:Dersim Massacre#Merger|date=October 2012}} {{merge from|Dersim Massacre||discuss=talk:Dersim Massacre#Merger|date=November 2011}}
{{POV|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict= Dersim Rebellion of 1937/1938
|partof=]
|casus= The residents of Dersim did not pay taxes
|image= ]
|caption=] and ] (November 17, 1937, in front of the ] ])
|date=20 March 1937 - November, 1937,<br />2 January 1938 - December, 1938
|place=Dersim region
|result=Decisive Turkish victory. Revolt suppressed. Turkish control of Dersim region.
|combatant1={{flagicon|Turkey}} ]
|combatant2= Dersim tribes
|commander1={{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Turkey}} Şemsi Erkuş<br />]<br />Zeynel Top
|commander2= ]{{POW}} {{Executed}}<br />Kamer Aga (Yusufan)<br />Cebrail Aga (Demenan)<br />Kamer Aga (Haydaran)<br />]{{KIA}}<br />Zarîfe{{KIA}}
|strength1= 50,000<ref name="McDowall209"/>
|strength2= 3,000<ref>], ''Unutulanlar dışında yeni bir şey yok: Hakkari ve Kuzey Irak dağlarındaki askerler'', Harmoni Yayıncılık, 2003, ISBN 975-6340-00-2, p. 16. {{Tr icon}}</ref>
|casualties1= 199 killed
354 wounded
|casualties2=10,000 killed<ref>''Turkey's Alevi enigma: a comprehensive overview'', Paul J. White, Joost Jongerden, 2003, page 198</ref> or <br />
13,160 civilians<ref name="Radikal"/>-70,000 people<ref name="pen-kurd.org">http://www.pen-kurd.org/almani/haydar/Dersim-PresseerklC3A4rungEnglish.pdf</ref> killed<br/>11,818 into forced migration.<ref name="Radikal"/>
|casualties3=
|}}
The '''Dersim rebellion''' was a ]<ref>{{cite web|author=Réseau Voltaire |url=http://www.voltairenet.org/article171949.html |title=Erdoğan présente les excuses de la Turquie pour le massacre de Dersim |publisher=Voltairenet.org |date=2011-11-23 |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.fr/books?id=PUSgS0Y-pRsC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=seyid+riza+kurdistan&source=bl&ots=W7vFphA_KX&sig=Cvo58WNIrFDR8sgEs2-c9At2Vw4&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=0Fp8UNPDLYTNhAfkv4CABA&ved=0CGoQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q=seyid%20riza%20kurdistan&f=false |title=Etre Kurde, un dщlit?: portrait d'un peuple niщ - Jacqueline Sammali - Google Livres |publisher=Books.google.fr |date= |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.fr/books?id=MxKFhFCzeLcC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=seyid+riza+kurdistan&source=bl&ots=m8Z_MP0mK_&sig=Y8v7bBxlM5mhwHcXwslcVVbuGT8&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=0Fp8UNPDLYTNhAfkv4CABA&ved=0CG0Q6AEwDw#v=onepage&q=seyid%20riza%20kurdistan&f=false |title=Les Kurdes et leur histoire - Sabri Cigerli - Google Livres |publisher=Books.google.fr |date= |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklyzaman.com/en/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=4970 |title=Can Kurds rely on the Turkish state? |publisher=Weeklyzaman.com |date=2011-10-14 |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/middle-eastnorth-africapersian-gulf-region/turkeykurds-1922-present/ |title=16. Turkey/Kurds (1922-present) |publisher=Uca.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref> uprising against the ] in the ] region of eastern Turkey, which includes parts of ], ], and ].<ref name="GD">Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, ''Güney Doğu'', İstanbul, p. 66, 194. {{Tr icon}}</ref> The rebellion was led by ], an ] chieftain of the Yukarı Abbas Uşağı tribe.<ref>http://www.massviolence.org/IMG/article_PDF/Dersim-Massacre-1937-1938.pdf</ref>


== Background ==
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Dersim Massacre
| partof =
| image =Dersim_region_in_the_mid_1930s_English.png
| image_size = 300px
| alt =
| caption = Dersim in 1937
| map =
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| location = {{flag|Turkey}}
| target = ]
| coordinates =
| date = 1937–1938
| time =
| timezone =
| type = ]
| fatalities = 13,806–70,000<ref>{{cite news|title=Dersim massacre monument to open next month|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/news-296283-dersim-massacre-monument-to-open-next-month.html|accessdate=5 December 2012|newspaper=Today's Zaman|date=24 October 2012}}</ref>
| injuries =
| victim = ] and ] ] population<ref>{{cite book
|title= Başlangıcından günümüze Dersim tarihi
|publisher= Can Yayınları
|last=Kaya
|first=Ali
|year= 1999
|url=http://books.google.com.tr/books/about/Ba%C5%9Flang%C4%B1c%C4%B1ndan_g%C3%BCn%C3%BCm%C3%BCze_Dersim_tar.html?id=9lttAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
|accessdate=16 May 2012}}</ref>
| perps = ] government<ref>Altuğ, Kurtul. “''Celal Bayar Anlatıyor''”, ], September 17, 1986. “''Şimdi, Mareşal, Erkan-ı Harbiye Reisi (Genelkurmay Başkanı), ben başbakanım. Atatürk malum... Üçümüz Dersim’de yapılan büyük ordu manevralarındayız. Manevranın da sonuna gelmek üzereyiz. Üçümüz bir arada ‘Ordunun emniyeti bakımından strateji ne olmalıdır?’, onu görüşüyoruz. İkisi de Birinci Cihan Harbi’nde muharebe etmişler. Ben daha çok izleyiciyim. Malumatları geniş... Oradaki her şeyi biliyorlar. Hatta şahsen casusları bile biliyorlar. Dersim’in o halde kalırsa her zaman ordunun emniyeti bakımından tehlikeli olacağını görüşüyorlardı... O sırada biz konuşurken, Dersimlilerin jandarma karakollarımızdan üç-dört tanesini bastıkları haberi geldi. Atatürk’le göz göze geldik. Birbirimizi anlıyorduk. Atatürk benim yüzüme baktı. ‘Ne olacak?’ dedi. Anlıyorum, orada emniyet tesis edilecek. Ne olursa olsun bana hitap edecekler. Hükümet reisi benim. ‘Anlıyorum efendim, bana hitap edişinizin manasını’ dedim. Atatürk: ‘Sorumluluğu üzerime alıyorum, vuracağız Dersim’i’ dedi ve vurduk...''”</ref><ref> "''Dersim (Tunceli)’de zuhur eden isyanda askeri durumu gösteren taktik işaretler bizzat Atatürk tarafından çizilmiştir''"</ref>
}}
] and ] at Tunceli region in 1937.]]
] and her colleagues in front of Breguet 19, 1937-38]]
]
]


===Ottoman period===
The '''Dersim Massacre''' took place in 1937 and 1938 in Dersim Province (now known as ]), ]. It was the outcome of a ] campaign against the ] by local ethnic minority groups against ]. Thousands of ] ] and ]<ref>http://www.massviolence.org/Dersim-Massacre-1937-1938 (According to the organisation encyclopedia of mass violence, Dersim is a Kurdish alevi province, and the massacre of turks were towards zaza speaking alevi kurds)</ref> died and many others were internally displaced due to the conflict.
During the ] period, before the ], most of the empire's eastern regions were administrated by the Ottoman feudal system. Authority in these regions was in the hands of feudal lords, tribal chieftains and ''aghas'' (dignitaries).<ref name="Bulut">Faik Bulut, ''Devletin Gözüyle Türkiye'de Kürt İsyanlar (Kurdish rebellions in Turkey, from the government point of view)'', Yön Yayınclık, 1991, 214-215. {{Tr icon}}</ref>


===Early republican era===
On 23 November 2011, Turkish prime minister ] gave an apology for the Dersim operation, describing it as "one of the most tragic events of our recent history".<ref name=BBC/>
The situation of Dersim in the Ottoman Empire continued in the early years of the ]. Tribes from Dersim objected to losing authority and refused to pay taxes.<ref>{{cite web
|title= Military documents to shine light on 'Dersim massacre'
|publisher= Hurriyet Daily News
|last=Ziflioğlu|first=Vercihan|date=November 18, 2009
|url= http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=military-documents-to-shine-a-light-on-the-8220dersim-massacre8221-2009-11-18
|accessdate=2010-09-22}}</ref>


Complaints{{Clarify|date=May 2012}} kept coming from the governors.{{Which|date=May 2012}} In an Interior Ministry report in 1926, it was considered necessary to use force against the residents of Dersim.<ref>Beşikçi, Ismail. (1990) ''Tunceli Kanunu (1935) ve Dersim Jenosidi'' (The 1935 law concerning Tunceli and the genocide of Dersim), Bonn, p.29. {{Tr icon}}</ref>
== Rebellion in Dersim ==

In 1934, Turkey passed a ], aimed at assimilating ethnic minority communities within the country.<ref>{{cite web
====Law on Resettlement====
The ] process in Turkey began with the Turkish National Assembly passing the ] ('İskân Kanunu' Law No.2510, 13 June 1934).<ref>{{cite web
|title= Reconfiguring the Turkish nation in the 1930s |title= Reconfiguring the Turkish nation in the 1930s
|publisher= Harvard |publisher= Harvard
Line 48: Line 47:
|year=2002 |year=2002
|url= http://www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW4/CagaptayPAPER.PDF |url= http://www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW4/CagaptayPAPER.PDF
|accessdate=2010-08-02}}</ref>
|accessdate=2 August 2010}}</ref> Its measures included the forced relocation of people within the country, with the aim of promoting cultural homogeneity. In 1935, the Tunceli Law was passed to apply the ] to the newly named region of ], previously known as Dersim and populated by ] and ] ].<ref name=unwelcome>{{cite book|last=Lundgren|first=Asa|page=44|title=The unwelcome neighbour: Turkey's Kurdish policy|year=2007|publisher=Tauris & Co|location=London}}</ref> This area had a reputation for being rebellious, having been the scene of eleven separate periods of armed conflict over the previous 40 years.<ref name=McDowall>{{cite book|last=McDowall|first=David|title=A Modern History of the Kurds|year=2007|publisher=Tauris & Co|location=London|pages=207–208}}</ref>


===="Tunceli" law====
Following public meetings in January 1937, a letter of protest against the law was written to be sent to the local governor. According to Kurdish sources, the emissaries of the letter were arrested and executed. In May, a group of local people ambushed a police convoy in response, the first act of a localised conflict.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jwaideh|first=Wadie|title=The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development|year=2006|publisher=Syracuse University Press|page=215}}</ref>
The Dersim region included the ] whose name was changed from Dersim to Tunceli with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" (''Tunceli Vilayetinin İdaresi Hakkında Kanun''), no. 2884 of 25 December 1935<ref>''New perspectives on Turkey'', Issues 1-4, Simon's Rock of Bard College, 1999 </ref> on January 4, 1936.<ref>Paul J. White, ''Primitive rebels or revolutionary modernizers?: the Kurdish national movement in Turkey'', Zed Books, 2000, ISBN 978-1-85649-822-7, </ref>


====Fourth General Inspectorate====
Around 25,000 troops were deployed to quell the rebellion. This task was substantially completed by the summer and the leaders of the rebellion, including tribal leader ], were hanged. However, remnants of the rebel forces continued to resist and the number of troops in the region was doubled. The methods used by the army were brutal, including the mass killing of civilians, the razing of homes and the deportation of people from less hostile areas. The area was also bombed from the air.<ref name=McDowall/> The rebels continued to resist until the region was pacified in October 1938.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chaliand|first=Gerard|title=A People without a country: the Kurds and Kurdistan|year=1993|publisher=Olive Branch Press|location=London|pages=58}}</ref>
{{main|Inspectorates-General (Turkey)}}


In order to consolidate its authority in the process of ] of religious and ethnic minorities,<ref>Cemil Koçak, ''Umumi müfettişlikler (1927-1952)'', İletişim Yayınları, 2003, ISBN 978-975-05-0129-6, p. 144.</ref> the ] passed the law, numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927. Following the First Inspectorate-General (January 1, 1928, Diyarbakır),<ref>Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, p. 66.</ref>
==Numbers killed==
The contemporary British estimate of the number of deaths was 40,000, although historians suggest that this figure may be exaggerated.<ref name=McDowall/> It has been suggested that the total number of deaths may be 7,594,<ref name=unwelcome/> over 10,000,<ref name=Kieser>Hans-Lukas Kieser: In: ''Altruism and Imperialism. The Western Religious and Cultural Missionary Enterprise in the Middle East.'' Middle East Institute Conference: Bellagio Italien, August 2000</ref> or over 13,000.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=Turkey PM Erdogan apologises for 1930s Kurdish killings|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15857429|accessdate=24 November 2011|newspaper=BBC News |date=23 November 2011}}</ref> Around 3,000 people were forcibly deported from Dersim.<ref name=unwelcome/>


]{{Clarify|date=May 2012}}],
A 2008 conference organised by ] reached the conclusion that Turkey was guilty of ], estimating that 50,000–80,000 were killed in the aftermath of the Dersim rebellion.<ref name="Dersim 38 Conference"></ref>
the Second Inspectorate-General (February 19, 1934, Edirne)<ref name="GD"/> and the Third Inspectorate-General (August 25, 1935, Erzurum),<ref>''Cumhuriyet'', August 26, 1935.</ref><ref>Erdal Aydoğan, , ''Atatürk Yolu'', Ankara Üniversitesi Türk İnklâp Tarihi Enstitüsü, Vol. 33-34, pp. 1-14.</ref> the Fourth General Inspectorate (''Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik'') was established on June 6, 1936, in the traditional Dersim region, which includes ], ] and ].<ref name="GD"/>


On 1 November 1936, during a speech in the ] ] acknowledged the situation in Dersim as Turkey's most important internal problem.<ref>Hasretyan, M. A. (1995) ''Türkiye'de Kürt Sorunu (1918-1940)'', Berlin, Wêşanên, ënstîtuya Kurdî: I., p. 262. {{Tr icon}}</ref> Firstly, military stations were built in the strategical zones.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Then the Inspector of the Fourth General Inspectorate, Lieutenant General Abdullah Alpdoğan was given the authority to sign court orders, providing security,{{Clarify|date=May 2012}} to exile people that lived in the city when necessary. {{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}
==Genocide controversy==
Many Kurds and some ethnic Turks consider the events that took place in Dersim to constitute ]. A prominent proponent of this view is the academic ].<ref>İsmail Besikçi, ''Tunceli Kanunu (1935) ve Dersim Jenosidi'', Belge Yayınları, 1990.</ref> Under international laws, it has been argued, the actions of the Turkish authorities were not genocide, because they were not aimed at the extermination of a people, but at resettlement and suppression.<ref>Martin van Bruinessen: Genocide in Kurdistan? 1994, S. 141–170.</ref> Scholars, such as ], have instead talked of an ] directed against the local language and identity.<ref> Excerpts from: Martin van Bruinessen, "Genocide in Kurdistan? The suppression of the Dersim rebellion in Turkey (1937-38) and the chemical war against the Iraqi Kurds (1988)", in: George J. Andreopoulos (ed), Conceptual and historical dimensions of genocide. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994, pp. 141-170.</ref>


== The Rebellion ==
In March 2011, a Turkish court ruled that the actions of the Turkish government in Dersim could not be considered genocide according to the law because they were not directed systematically against an ethnic group.<ref>{{cite news|last=Saymaz|first=Ismail|title=Turkish prosecutor refuses to hear Dersim 'genocide' claim|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-prosecutor-refuses-to-hear-dersim-8216genocide8217-claims-2011-03-15|accessdate=24 November 2011|newspaper=] |date=14 March 2011}}</ref>
]


After the "Tunceli" Law, the Turkish government built military observation posts in the centers of districts such as Kahmut, Sin, Karaoğlan, Amutka, Danzik, and Haydaran.
==Government apology==
On 23 November 2011, Turkish prime minister ] apologised on behalf of the state for the Dersim massacre during a televised meeting of his party in Ankara. His comments were pointedly directed at opposition leader ]. Erdogan reminded his audience that Kılıçdaroğlu's party, the ], had been in power at the time of the massacre, then the only political party in Turkey.<ref name=BBC/> He described the massacre as "one of the most tragic events of our near history" saying that, whilst some sought to justify it as a legitimate response to events on the ground, it was in reality "an operation which was planned step by step".<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey apologises for 1930s killing of thousands of Kurds|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/8910369/Turkey-apologises-for-1930s-killing-of-thousands-of-Kurds.html|accessdate=24 November 2011|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 November 2011}}</ref>


===Meeting at Halbori cells===
==See also==
Seyid Riza, the chieftain of Yukarı Abbas Uşağı, sent his followers to the Haydaran, Demenan, Yusufan, and Kureyşan tribes to make an alliance.<ref name="Faik221">Faik Bulut, ''ibid'', p. 221. {{Tr icon}}</ref>
* ]
* ]


According to Turkish authorities, on March 20–21, 1937, at 23:00 hrs, the Demenan and Haydaran tribes broke a bridge connecting Pah and Kahmut in the Harçik Valley. The Inspector General gave the order to prepare for action to the 2nd Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülümür, the 3th{{Clarify|date=July 2013|reason=Should this be '3rd', '13th' or something else?}} Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülür, the 9th Gendarmier Battalion at Mazkirt, and the Mobile Gendarmerie Regiment at Hozat, and sent one infantry company of the 9th Mobile Gendarmier Battalion to Pah.<ref name="Faik221"/>
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|3}}


== Turkish military operations ==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Dersim rebellion}} {{see also|Dersim Massacre}}
] holding a bomb before the bombardment operation over Dersim with her ]]]
*
According to ], a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s, Atatürk had given the operational order himself.<ref>, '']'', August 19, 2010. {{Tr icon}}</ref>
*


===In Turkish=== ===1937===
*{{Cite news|url=http://taraf.com.tr/makale/2797.htm
|accessdate=23 November 2008|title=Atatürk Dersim’i vuracağız dedi, vurduk
|work=]|author=Hür, Ayşe|date=23 November 2008|language=Turkish}}


====First Tunceli Operation====
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2011}}
On September 10–12, 1937, ] came to the government building of the Erzincan Province for peace talks and was arrested.<ref>Ahmet Kahraman, pp. 286-287. {{Tr icon}}</ref> On the next day, he was transferred to the headquarters of the General Inspectorate at Elazığ and hanged with 6 (or 10) of his fellows on November 15–18, 1937<ref>Ahmet Kahraman, pp. 292-293. {{Tr icon}}</ref> The victims were:
{{Turkish nationalism}}

*Seyit Rıza
*Resik Hüseyin (Seyit Rıza's son, 16 years old)
*Seyit Hüseyin (the chieftain of Kureyşan-Seyhan tribe)
*Fındık Aga (Yusfanlı Kamer Aga's son)
*Hasan Aga (of the Demenan tribe, Cebrail Ağa's son)
*Hasan (a Kureyşan tribesman Ulkiye's son)
*Ali Aga (Mirza Ali's son)

On November 17, 1937, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Pertek to take part in the opening ceremony for the Singeç Bridge.<ref>''Cumhuriyet'', November 18, 1937, 17 Kasım 1937: Atatürk'ün Diyarbakır'dan Elâzığ'a gelişi, Tunceli'nin Pertek kazasına geçerek Murat Nehri üzerinde Singeç Köprüsü'nü hizmete açışı. {{Tr icon}}</ref><ref>, The government of Pertek District. {{Tr icon}}</ref>

===1938===

====Second Tunceli Operation====
The prime minister, ] (in office: October 25, 1937 – January 25, 1939) had agreed to an attack on the Dersim rebels.<ref>, '']'', November 16, 2008. {{Tr icon}}</ref> The operation started on January 2, 1938 and finished on August 7, 1938.

====Third Tunceli Operation====
{{Expand section|date=March 2011}}
The Third Tunceli Operation was carried out between August 10–17, 1938.

====Sweep operations====
Sweep operations that started on September 6, were continued for 17 days.<ref>Faik Bulut, ''ibid'', p. 277. {{Tr icon}}</ref>

====Aerial operations====
Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against the rebels during the rebellion. Among the pilots was ]'s adopted daughter, ], the first female fighter pilot in ].<ref>, ]</ref> A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50&nbsp;kg bomb, upon a group of 50 fleeing ''bandits''.<ref>Reşat Hallı, ''Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde Ayaklanmalar (1924–1938)'', T. C. Genelkurmay Baskanlığı Harp Tarihi Dairesi, 1972, p. 382. {{Tr icon}}</ref>

], engaged in operations for about two months over Dersim, but he stated in his memoirs that he wanted to avoid explaining this part of his life.<ref>Muhsin Batur, ''Anılar, Görüşler, Üç Dönemin Perde Arsası'', Milliyet Yayınları, 1985, p. 25. {{Tr icon}}</ref> ] claimed that the Turkish air force bombed the district with ] in 1938.<ref>Martin van Bruinessen, ''Kurdish ethno-nationalism versus nation-building states: collected articles'', Isis Press, 2000, ISBN 978-975-428-177-4, p. 116.</ref>

===Consequences===
According to an official report of the Fourth General Ispectorate, 13,160 civilians were killed by the Turkish Army and 11,818 people were taken into exile, depopulating the province.<ref name="Radikal">, '']'', November 19, 2009. {{Tr icon}}</ref> According to the Dersimi, many tribesmen were shot dead after surrendering, and women and children were locked into haysheds which were then set on fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/Dersim_rebellion.pdf |title=The Suppression of the Dersim Rebellion in Turkey (1937-38) Page 4 |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref> According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed.<ref name="McDowall209">David McDowall, ''A modern history of the Kurds'', I.B.Tauris, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85043-416-0, p. 209.</ref> According to Kurdish Diaspora sources, over 70,000 people were killed.<ref name="pen-kurd.org"/>

A key component of the ] process was the policy of massive population resettlement - a result of the 1934 law on resettlement. This policy targeted the region of Dersim as one of its first test cases, and it had disastrous consequences for the local population.<ref>George J Andreopoulos, ''Genocide'', page 11.</ref>

Hüseyin Aygün, a jurist author, wrote in his book ''Dersim 1938 and Obligatory Settlement'':
: "The rebellion was clearly caused by provocation. It caused the most violent tortures that were ever seen in a rebellion in the Republican years. Those that didn't take place in the rebellion and the families of the rebels were also tortured."<ref>Hüseyin Aygün, ''Dersim 1938 ve zorunlu iskân: telgraflar, dilekçeler, mektuplar'', Dipnot Yayınları, 2009, ISBN 978-975-9051-75-4, p. .{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} {{Tr icon}}</ref>

== Recent developments ==
On November 23, 2011, ] ] apologized "on behalf of the state" over the killing of over 13,000 people during the rebellion.<ref>{{cite web|author=SELCAN HACAOGLU November 23, 2011 10:15 AM |url=http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-pm-apologizes-over-1930s-killings-kurds-115137515.html |title=Turkish PM apologizes over 1930s killings of Kurds |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=2011-11-23 |accessdate=2013-12-24}}</ref> His remarks were widely commented on both inside and outside Turkey.

== See also ==
*]
*]
*]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}


==Links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dersim Massacre}}
{{commons category|Dersim rebellion}}
]
*Hans-Lukas Kieser,
]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dersim Rebellion}}
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Revision as of 06:59, 4 September 2014

It has been suggested that Dersim Massacre be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2011.
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Dersim Rebellion of 1937/1938
Part of Kurdish rebellions

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen (November 17, 1937, in front of the Pertek People's House)
Date20 March 1937 - November, 1937,
2 January 1938 - December, 1938
LocationDersim region
Result Decisive Turkish victory. Revolt suppressed. Turkish control of Dersim region.
Belligerents
Turkey Republic of Turkey Dersim tribes
Commanders and leaders
Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Turkey İsmet İnönü
Turkey Kâzım Orbay
Turkey Abdullah Alpdoğan
Turkey Galip Deniz
Turkey Kemal Ergüden
Turkey İsmail Hakkı Tekçe
Turkey Şemsi Erkuş
Rêber Qop
Zeynel Top		 Seyid Riza (POW)  Executed
Kamer Aga (Yusufan)
Cebrail Aga (Demenan)
Kamer Aga (Haydaran)
Alîşêr †
Zarîfe †
Strength
50,000 3,000
Casualties and losses

199 killed

354 wounded

10,000 killed or

13,160 civilians-70,000 people killed
11,818 into forced migration.

The Dersim rebellion was a Kurdish uprising against the Turkish government in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey, which includes parts of Tunceli Province, Elazığ Province, and Bingöl Province. The rebellion was led by Seyid Riza, an Alevi chieftain of the Yukarı Abbas Uşağı tribe.

Background

Ottoman period

During the Ottoman period, before the Tanzimat, most of the empire's eastern regions were administrated by the Ottoman feudal system. Authority in these regions was in the hands of feudal lords, tribal chieftains and aghas (dignitaries).

Early republican era

The situation of Dersim in the Ottoman Empire continued in the early years of the Republic of Turkey. Tribes from Dersim objected to losing authority and refused to pay taxes.

Complaints kept coming from the governors. In an Interior Ministry report in 1926, it was considered necessary to use force against the residents of Dersim.

Law on Resettlement

The Turkification process in Turkey began with the Turkish National Assembly passing the 1934 Law on Resettlement ('İskân Kanunu' Law No.2510, 13 June 1934).

"Tunceli" law

The Dersim region included the Tunceli Province whose name was changed from Dersim to Tunceli with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" (Tunceli Vilayetinin İdaresi Hakkında Kanun), no. 2884 of 25 December 1935 on January 4, 1936.

Fourth General Inspectorate

Main article: Inspectorates-General (Turkey)

In order to consolidate its authority in the process of Turkification of religious and ethnic minorities, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed the law, numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927. Following the First Inspectorate-General (January 1, 1928, Diyarbakır),

, the Second Inspectorate-General (February 19, 1934, Edirne) and the Third Inspectorate-General (August 25, 1935, Erzurum), the Fourth General Inspectorate (Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik) was established on June 6, 1936, in the traditional Dersim region, which includes Tunceli Province, Elazığ Province and Bingöl Province.

On 1 November 1936, during a speech in the parliament Atatürk acknowledged the situation in Dersim as Turkey's most important internal problem. Firstly, military stations were built in the strategical zones. Then the Inspector of the Fourth General Inspectorate, Lieutenant General Abdullah Alpdoğan was given the authority to sign court orders, providing security, to exile people that lived in the city when necessary.

The Rebellion

A 1937 map of Dersim showing the central province, Hezat

After the "Tunceli" Law, the Turkish government built military observation posts in the centers of districts such as Kahmut, Sin, Karaoğlan, Amutka, Danzik, and Haydaran.

Meeting at Halbori cells

Seyid Riza, the chieftain of Yukarı Abbas Uşağı, sent his followers to the Haydaran, Demenan, Yusufan, and Kureyşan tribes to make an alliance.

According to Turkish authorities, on March 20–21, 1937, at 23:00 hrs, the Demenan and Haydaran tribes broke a bridge connecting Pah and Kahmut in the Harçik Valley. The Inspector General gave the order to prepare for action to the 2nd Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülümür, the 3th Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülür, the 9th Gendarmier Battalion at Mazkirt, and the Mobile Gendarmerie Regiment at Hozat, and sent one infantry company of the 9th Mobile Gendarmier Battalion to Pah.

Turkish military operations

See also: Dersim Massacre
Sabiha Gökçen holding a bomb before the bombardment operation over Dersim with her Breguet 19

According to Osman Pamukoğlu, a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s, Atatürk had given the operational order himself.

1937

First Tunceli Operation

On September 10–12, 1937, Seyit Rıza came to the government building of the Erzincan Province for peace talks and was arrested. On the next day, he was transferred to the headquarters of the General Inspectorate at Elazığ and hanged with 6 (or 10) of his fellows on November 15–18, 1937 The victims were:

  • Seyit Rıza
  • Resik Hüseyin (Seyit Rıza's son, 16 years old)
  • Seyit Hüseyin (the chieftain of Kureyşan-Seyhan tribe)
  • Fındık Aga (Yusfanlı Kamer Aga's son)
  • Hasan Aga (of the Demenan tribe, Cebrail Ağa's son)
  • Hasan (a Kureyşan tribesman Ulkiye's son)
  • Ali Aga (Mirza Ali's son)

On November 17, 1937, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Pertek to take part in the opening ceremony for the Singeç Bridge.

1938

Second Tunceli Operation

The prime minister, Celal Bayar (in office: October 25, 1937 – January 25, 1939) had agreed to an attack on the Dersim rebels. The operation started on January 2, 1938 and finished on August 7, 1938.

Third Tunceli Operation

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2011)

The Third Tunceli Operation was carried out between August 10–17, 1938.

Sweep operations

Sweep operations that started on September 6, were continued for 17 days.

Aerial operations

Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against the rebels during the rebellion. Among the pilots was Kemal Atatürk's adopted daughter, Sabiha Gökçen, the first female fighter pilot in military history. A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb, upon a group of 50 fleeing bandits.

Muhsin Batur, engaged in operations for about two months over Dersim, but he stated in his memoirs that he wanted to avoid explaining this part of his life. Nuri Dersimi claimed that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938.

Consequences

According to an official report of the Fourth General Ispectorate, 13,160 civilians were killed by the Turkish Army and 11,818 people were taken into exile, depopulating the province. According to the Dersimi, many tribesmen were shot dead after surrendering, and women and children were locked into haysheds which were then set on fire. According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed. According to Kurdish Diaspora sources, over 70,000 people were killed.

A key component of the Turkification process was the policy of massive population resettlement - a result of the 1934 law on resettlement. This policy targeted the region of Dersim as one of its first test cases, and it had disastrous consequences for the local population.

Hüseyin Aygün, a jurist author, wrote in his book Dersim 1938 and Obligatory Settlement:

"The rebellion was clearly caused by provocation. It caused the most violent tortures that were ever seen in a rebellion in the Republican years. Those that didn't take place in the rebellion and the families of the rebels were also tortured."

Recent developments

On November 23, 2011, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized "on behalf of the state" over the killing of over 13,000 people during the rebellion. His remarks were widely commented on both inside and outside Turkey.

See also

References

  1. ^ David McDowall, A modern history of the Kurds, I.B.Tauris, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85043-416-0, p. 209.
  2. Osman Pamukoğlu, Unutulanlar dışında yeni bir şey yok: Hakkari ve Kuzey Irak dağlarındaki askerler, Harmoni Yayıncılık, 2003, ISBN 975-6340-00-2, p. 16. Template:Tr icon
  3. Turkey's Alevi enigma: a comprehensive overview, Paul J. White, Joost Jongerden, 2003, page 198
  4. ^ "Resmi raporlarda Dersim katliamı: 13 bin kişi öldürüldü", Radikal, November 19, 2009. Template:Tr icon
  5. ^ http://www.pen-kurd.org/almani/haydar/Dersim-PresseerklC3A4rungEnglish.pdf
  6. Réseau Voltaire (2011-11-23). "Erdoğan présente les excuses de la Turquie pour le massacre de Dersim". Voltairenet.org. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  7. Etre Kurde, un dщlit?: portrait d'un peuple niщ - Jacqueline Sammali - Google Livres. Books.google.fr. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  8. Les Kurdes et leur histoire - Sabri Cigerli - Google Livres. Books.google.fr. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  9. "Can Kurds rely on the Turkish state?". Weeklyzaman.com. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  10. "16. Turkey/Kurds (1922-present)". Uca.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  11. ^ Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, Güney Doğu, İstanbul, p. 66, 194. Template:Tr icon
  12. http://www.massviolence.org/IMG/article_PDF/Dersim-Massacre-1937-1938.pdf
  13. Faik Bulut, Devletin Gözüyle Türkiye'de Kürt İsyanlar (Kurdish rebellions in Turkey, from the government point of view), Yön Yayınclık, 1991, 214-215. Template:Tr icon
  14. Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (November 18, 2009). "Military documents to shine light on 'Dersim massacre'". Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
  15. Beşikçi, Ismail. (1990) Tunceli Kanunu (1935) ve Dersim Jenosidi (The 1935 law concerning Tunceli and the genocide of Dersim), Bonn, p.29. Template:Tr icon
  16. Çağaptay, Soner (2002). "Reconfiguring the Turkish nation in the 1930s" (PDF). Harvard. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  17. New perspectives on Turkey, Issues 1-4, Simon's Rock of Bard College, 1999 p. 15.
  18. Paul J. White, Primitive rebels or revolutionary modernizers?: the Kurdish national movement in Turkey, Zed Books, 2000, ISBN 978-1-85649-822-7, p. 80.
  19. Cemil Koçak, Umumi müfettişlikler (1927-1952), İletişim Yayınları, 2003, ISBN 978-975-05-0129-6, p. 144.
  20. Birinci Genel Müfettişlik Bölgesi, p. 66.
  21. Cumhuriyet, August 26, 1935.
  22. Erdal Aydoğan, "Üçüncü Umumi Müffetişliği'nin Kurulması ve III. Umumî Müffetiş Tahsin Uzer'in Bazı Önemli Faaliyetleri", Atatürk Yolu, Ankara Üniversitesi Türk İnklâp Tarihi Enstitüsü, Vol. 33-34, pp. 1-14.
  23. Hasretyan, M. A. (1995) Türkiye'de Kürt Sorunu (1918-1940), Berlin, Wêşanên, ënstîtuya Kurdî: I., p. 262. Template:Tr icon
  24. ^ Faik Bulut, ibid, p. 221. Template:Tr icon
  25. "Pamukoğlu: Dersim'in emrini Atatürk verdi", Hürriyet, August 19, 2010. Template:Tr icon
  26. Ahmet Kahraman, pp. 286-287. Template:Tr icon
  27. Ahmet Kahraman, pp. 292-293. Template:Tr icon
  28. Cumhuriyet, November 18, 1937, 17 Kasım 1937: Atatürk'ün Diyarbakır'dan Elâzığ'a gelişi, Tunceli'nin Pertek kazasına geçerek Murat Nehri üzerinde Singeç Köprüsü'nü hizmete açışı. Template:Tr icon
  29. "Atatürk Pertek'te", The government of Pertek District. Template:Tr icon
  30. "1937-1938’de Dersim’de neler oldu?", Taraf, November 16, 2008. Template:Tr icon
  31. Faik Bulut, ibid, p. 277. Template:Tr icon
  32. Sabiha Gökçen's biography, USAF Air Command and Staff College
  33. Reşat Hallı, Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde Ayaklanmalar (1924–1938), T. C. Genelkurmay Baskanlığı Harp Tarihi Dairesi, 1972, p. 382. Template:Tr icon
  34. Muhsin Batur, Anılar, Görüşler, Üç Dönemin Perde Arsası, Milliyet Yayınları, 1985, p. 25. Template:Tr icon
  35. Martin van Bruinessen, Kurdish ethno-nationalism versus nation-building states: collected articles, Isis Press, 2000, ISBN 978-975-428-177-4, p. 116.
  36. "The Suppression of the Dersim Rebellion in Turkey (1937-38) Page 4" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  37. George J Andreopoulos, Genocide, page 11.
  38. Hüseyin Aygün, Dersim 1938 ve zorunlu iskân: telgraflar, dilekçeler, mektuplar, Dipnot Yayınları, 2009, ISBN 978-975-9051-75-4, p. . Template:Tr icon
  39. SELCAN HACAOGLU November 23, 2011 10:15 AM (2011-11-23). "Turkish PM apologizes over 1930s killings of Kurds". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-12-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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