The Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement or HBDH ( tr, Halkların Birleşik Devrim Hareketi) is a far-left self-declared alliance of ten mostly Kurdish leftist,

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...

, and communist organizations in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. The alliance was declared on March 12, 2016, with the goal of overthrowing the elected Turkish government. Since then, it has claimed responsibility for several attacks on security personnel in Turkey.

Background

The alliance chose to declare their founding on March 12 to announce to the world their commitment to the struggle against the AKP government in Turkey. March 12, 2016, was the 45th anniversary of the

1971 Turkish military memorandum The 1971 Turkish military memorandum ( tr, 12 Mart Muhtırası), issued on 12 March that year, was the second military intervention to take place in the Republic of Turkey, coming 11 years after its 1960 predecessor. It is known as the "coup by m ...

, the 21st anniversary of the

Gazi Quarter riots The 1995 Gazi Quarter riots ( tr, Gazi Mahallesi olayları) were events that occurred in March 1995 at the Gazi Quarter, a working-class neighborhood in the then Gaziosmanpaşa district, today Sultangazi district, of Istanbul, Turkey, where mostly ...

, and the 12th anniversary of the 2004 al-Qamishli riots. All three of these events serve as reminders of the alliance's mission "to lead victoriously our struggle for the Revolution, democracy and socialism." The alliance believes that Erdoğan's party, the Justice and Development Party ( AKP), seeks to implement a new leadership in Turkey, effectively restoring the dictatorship established on March 12, 1971. Five members of the alliance ( TKP/ML, MLKP, TKEP/L, Devrimci Karargâh, and MLSPB) are also members of the

International Freedom Battalion The International Freedom Battalion ( tr, Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu; ku, Tabûra Azadî ya Înternasyonal; ar, تابور الحرية العالمي), commonly abbreviated as IFB or EÖT, is a revolutionary socialist armed group co ...

, a small group of foreign fighters supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces in the

Rojava conflict The Rojava conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish ...

Motives

The organization has called for the destruction of the majority Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the overthrow of its elected government. The organization has claimed that it is struggling for the "self-determination" of minorities:

If the struggle for Kurdish self-determination is broken, the AKP will start to attack all other opposition forces in Turkey. Consequently, the future of all progressive, revolutionary and working class forces in Turkey is directly tied to the future of the Kurdish resistance.

The organization has called for the "mobilization of a unified popular revolution" in order to overthrow the elected government. It has claimed itself to be against " imperialism,

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

, and

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

" on its path to a revolution, calling for "our peoples, our workers, the oppressed, all cultures starting with the

Alevis Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, ...

, the women, the youth to join the ranks of the Revolutionary United Movement and to struggle."

Member organizations

The following organizations were in attendance at the joint press meeting announcing the alliance: * Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist (TKEP/L) *

Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (''Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist'' in Turkish language, Turkish, abbreviated as TKP/ML) is a Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist insurgent organization in Turke ...

(TKP/ML) (later withdrew) * Devrimci Karargâh (DK) *

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

(PKK) * Maoist Communist Party (MKP) * Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) * People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Union (THKP-C/MLSPB) * Revolutionary Communard Party (DKP) * (TİKB) The

Coordination of Revolutionary Proletarians Coordination may refer to: * Coordination (linguistics), a compound grammatical construction * Coordination complex, consisting of a central atom or ion and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions * Coordination number or ligancy of a centr ...

(PDK) has also announced that they have joined the alliance, while the Resurrection Movement (TDH) has expressed interest in joining.

Activities

Soon after its formation, the movement began conducting armed operations against the Turkish government. On May 6, 2016, HBDH attacked a

Gendarmerie General Command The Gendarmerie General Command ( tr, Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is the national Gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in a ...

base in Giresun Province in northeastern Turkey. According to news reports, a roadside bomb exploded, targeting a Gendarmerie vehicle. HDBH claimed responsibility for the attack on May 8, stating that three gendarmes died in the attack, as well as the Base Commander, who was the intended target. This was inconsistent with the Odatv release, which reported only 1 casualty. Since its initial attack, the Joint Command of the Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement has claimed responsibility for several more attacks in the region, primarily targeting Turkish soldiers or gendarmes. The tactics employed by the alliance are very similar to those used by the

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

. The most notable attack came on July 19, just 4 days after the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

. HBDH reported that they had killed 11 riot police in

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Located in a strategically important region, Trabzon is one of the oldest trade port cities in Anatolia. Neighbouring provinces are Giresun to the west, Gümüşhane to th ...

at 08:30 that morning. The HBDH report is consistent in time and location to an attack reported by Doğan News Agency, in which "unknown assailants" fired on a police checkpoint. This report states that 3 officers were killed and 5 were injured, along with a civilian.

References

External links