{{Infobox civil conflict , title=Serhildan , partof=the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...

, image= , caption= , date=14 March 1990 – 12 May 2025 , place= Eastern and Southeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, coordinates= , causes=*Suppression of Kurdish language{{cite web, url=http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=64005, publisher=University of Maryland, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, date=31 December 2006, access-date=30 April 2011, title=Minorities at Risk: Assessment for Kurds in Turkey, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926215315/http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=64005, archive-date=26 September 2011 *

Institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...

and discrimination *Banning of pro-Kurdish political parties and political repression *Imprisonment of

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

*Ban of Newroz celebrations{{cite web, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/300830.stm, title=BBC News - Europe - Turkish police arrest thousands, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=6 March 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306091511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/300830.stm, url-status=live , goals=Creation of an autonomous Kurdish region, reinstitution of Kurdish-language education, release of political prisoners and Abdullah Öcalan, end of military operations against Kurdish dissidents{{cite news, url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/3539.html, agency=Rudaw, title=Call for Civil Disobedience in Turkey, date=4 April 2011, access-date=27 April 2011, first=Hemin, last=Khoshnaw, archive-date=7 April 2011, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407170718/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/turkey/3539.html, url-status=live{{cite news, url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/4/turkey3190.htm, agency=Kurd Net, date=20 April 2011, access-date=27 April 2011, title=Thousands of Kurds protest barring of Kurdish political candidates in Turkey, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516030024/http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/4/turkey3190.htm, archive-date= 16 May 2011, url-status= live , methods=

Civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

civil resistance Civil resistance is a form of political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and co ...

, demonstrations,

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

self-immolation Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom, and known for its disturbing and violent nature. Etymology The English word ' ...

s, Spontaneous uprisings, terror, suicide bombings,

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

, , status=2025 PKK-Turkey peace process , result= , concessions=*Kurdish language unbanned in 1991 *Newroz celebrations allowed since 1995 *Kurdish language broadcasting allowed since 2006 * Kurdish initiative by Prime Minister Erdoğan in 2009 *Start of Solution process in 2013 , side1=Kurdish Protesters Unorganized Kurdish citizens
DBP
(2014–present)
DEM
(2023–present)
HDP
(2012–present)
KCK
HPG
YJA-STAR
YDG-H
(2006–15)
YPS
YPS-Jin
Mazlumder
Yakay-Der
Peace Mothers
İHD ---- Defunct:
HEP
(1990–93)
DEP
(1993–94)
HADEP
(1994–03)
Kurdish Parliament in Exile
(1995–98)
DEHAP
(1997–05)
DTH
(2005)
DTP
(2005–09)
BDP
(2008–14)
, side2={{flagicon image, Flag of Turkey.svg

Government of Turkey The Government of Turkey () is the Central government, national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential system, presidential representative democracy and a Constitution of Turkey, constitutional republic wit ...

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the foun ...

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

Turkish Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie General Command () 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 areas that fall outside the jurisdi ...

JİTEM Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı (abbr. ''JİTEM'' or ''JİT''; English: "Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism" or "Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization") is the intelligence department of ...

* Special Forces Command * General Directorate of Security **

Riot Police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...

** Police Special Operation Department *

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

National Defense National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived ...

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, side3= , leadfigures1=

Ahmet Fehmi Işıklar Ahmet Fehmi Işıklar (born 1941, Urfa) is a Turkish politician, and worked as a unionist, a member of the executive board and General Secretary of the Metal-İş Federation, the President of Çağdaş Metal İş, and the Secretary General of Dİ ...

Vedat Aydın Vedat Aydın (19537July 1991) was a Kurdish politician in Turkey and human rights defender. He was married to Sükran Aydın. Early life and education He was born in 1953 in the village of Kazancı in Bismil District of Diyarbakir Province. ...

{{KIA

Murat Bozlak Murat Bozlak, (30 December 1952 – 4 January 2015) was a Kurdish politician active in several political parties. He was the president of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) and a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the Peoples' ...

Ahmet Türk Ahmet Türk (born 2 July 1942, in Derik, Turkey, Derik, Mardin Province, Mardin, Turkey) is a Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish politician from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of T ...

Aysel Tuğluk
Leyla Zana
Pervin Buldan
Emine Ayna
Sebahat Tuncel
Selim Sadak
Selahattin Demirtaş{{POW
Gültan Kışanak
Nurettin Demirtaş
Osman Baydemir
Sırrı Süreyya Önder , leadfigures2={{plainlist, *{{flagicon, Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

(2014–present) *{{flagicon, Turkey

Cevdet Yılmaz Cevdet Yılmaz (born 1 April 1967) is a Turkish politician who has been the 2nd and current vice president of Turkey since 2023. Previously, he served as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey in the interim election government formed by Prime Mini ...

(2023–present) *{{flagicon, Turkey İbrahim Kalın
(2023–present) ---- *{{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Ali Yerlikaya
(2023–present) *{{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png

Yaşar Güler Yaşar Güler (born 18 September 1954) is a retired Turkish general currently serving as the Minister of National Defense. He previously served as the 30th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces from 2018 to 2023. Career He en ...

(2023–present) *{{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Metin Gürak
(2023–present) *{{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu
(2023–present) *{{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Adnan Özbal
(2017–present) *{{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu
(2023–present) *{{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Arif Çetin
(2017–present) *{{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Ahmet Ercan Çorbacı, tr
(2017–present) *{{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Erol Ayyıldız, tr
(2023–present) {{Collapsible list , title=Former: , {{flagicon, Turkey Turgut Özal , {{flagicon, Turkey

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey Ahmet Necdet Sezer , {{flagicon, Turkey

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey Yıldırım Akbulut , {{flagicon, Turkey

Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party (, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two prime-ministerial term ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey Tansu Çiller , {{flagicon, Turkey

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey

Binali Yıldırım Binali Yıldırım (; born 20 December 1955) is a Turkish politician who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 27th and last prime minister of Turkey from 2016 to 2018 and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly from 2018 to 2019. He w ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey Fuat Oktay , {{flagicon, Turkey Teoman Koman , {{flagicon, Turkey Sönmez Köksal , {{flagicon, Turkey Şenkal Atasagun , {{flagicon, Turkey

Emre Taner Emre Taner (born 1942) is a Turkish civil servant who was until May 2010 the undersecretary (i.e. chief) of the governmental intelligence agency of Turkey, the National Intelligence Organization (, MİT). Career After graduating from the Sch ...

, {{flagicon, Turkey Hakan Fidan ---- , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Süleyman Soylu , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Efkan Ala , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Selami Altınok , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png

Sebahattin Öztürk Sebahattin Öztürk (born 1 July 1962) is a Turkish politician, civil servant and bureaucrat who served as the Minister of the Interior of Turkey between March and August 2015. Previously the Undersecretary to the Interior Ministry since 2014, ...

, {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png

Muammer Güler Muammer Güler (born 21 March 1949) is a Turkish Mhallami politician. He is a member of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was formerly the Governor of Istanbul Province and the Minister of the Interior under Prime M ...

, {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png İdris Naim Şahin , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Beşir Atalay , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Osman Güneş , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Muzaffer Ecemiş, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Rüştü Kazım Yücelen, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Sadettin Tantan , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Cahit Bayar, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Kutlu Aktaş, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Murat Başesgioğlu , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Meral Akşener , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Mehmet Ağar , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Ülkü Güney, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Teoman Ünüsan, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Nahit Menteşe , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png {{ill, Mehmet Gazioğlu, tr , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png

İsmet Sezgin İsmet Sezgin (6 January 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Turkish politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Minister of National Defense from 1997 to 1999, as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly in 1995, as the Mini ...

, {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Mustafa Kalemli , {{flagicon image, InteriorMinistryTR.png Abdülkadir Aksu ---- , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png

Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a bri ...

, {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Nurettin Canikli , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Fikri Işık , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png İsmet Yılmaz , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Vecdi Gönül , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Hikmet Sami Türk , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png

, {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Turhan Tayan , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Mahmut Oltan Sungurlu , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Vefa Tanır , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png {{ill, Mehmet Gölhan, tr , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Nevzat Ayaz , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png {{ill, Barlas Doğu, tr , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png {{ill, Mehmet Yazar, tr , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png Hüsnü Doğan , {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png

Güneş Taner Güneş Taner (born 14 November 1949) is a Turkish politician and former government minister. Early life Güneş Taner was born in Istanbul to Cengiz Tahir Taner and his wife Süheyla on 14 November 1949. He was educated in civil engineering at ...

, {{flagicon image, MSB-Logo.png

Safa Giray İsmail Safa Giray (5 March 1931 – 20 June 2011) was a Turkish civil engineer and politician from the Motherland Party (Turkey), Motherland Party (, ANAP). He was a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Turkish parliament and served ...

---- , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Necip Torumtay , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Doğan Güreş , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg İsmail Hakkı Karadayı , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

Hilmi Özkök General Hilmi Özkök (born 4 August 1940) is a Turkish general who served as the 24th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He took up that post on August 28, 2002, and served until August 30, 2006, when he retired and was suc ...

, {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

Yaşar Büyükanıt General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt (1 September 1940 – 21 November 2019) was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008. Biography General Yaşar Büyükanıt was born in Is ...

, {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

İlker Başbuğ Mehmet İlker Başbuğ (; born 29 April 1943) is a Turkish former general who served as the 26th Chief of the General Staff of Turkey. He was charged with contravention of Articles 309, 310, and 311 of the Turkish Penal Code. In August 2013, he ...

, {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Işık Koşaner , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg Necdet Özel , {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

, {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

Ümit Dündar Ümit Dündar (born 2 October 1955) is a Turkish general who was temporarily Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces while Hulusi Akar was being held hostage by coup forces during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. Career He ...

, {{flagicon image, Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg

---- , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Doğan Güreş , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg {{ill, Muhittin Fisunoğlu, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg İsmail Hakkı Karadayı , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Hikmet Bayar , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Hikmet Köksal , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg {{ill, Atilla Ateş, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Aytaç Yalman , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Işık Koşaner , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Erdal Ceylanoğlu , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Necdet Özel , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Salih Zeki Çolak , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg Musa Avsever ---- , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg {{ill, Orhan Karabulut, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg {{ill, İrfan Tınaz, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg {{ill, Vural Bayazıt, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg {{ill, Güven Erkaya, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg {{ill, Salim Dervişoğlu, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Ilhami Erdil , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Bülent Alpkaya , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Özden Örnek , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Yener Karahanoğlu , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Metin Ataç , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Eşref Uğur Yiğit , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Emin Murat Bilgel , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Naval Forces Command.svg Bülent Bostanoğlu ---- , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Saftar Necioğlu, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Siyami Taştan, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Halis Burhan, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Ahmet Çörekçi, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, İlhan Kılıç, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Ergin Celasin, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Cumhur Asparuk, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg İbrahim Fırtına , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Faruk Cömert , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Aydoğan Babaoğlu , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg {{ill, Hasan Aksay, tr, Hasan Aksay (asker) , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Mehmet Erten , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg

Akın Öztürk Akın Öztürk (born February 21, 1952) is a former four-star general in the Turkish Air Force who served as the 30th Commander of the Turkish Air Force until August 4, 2015. After his expiration as commander, he continued his duty as a member of ...

, {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Abidin Ünal , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Hasan Küçükakyüz , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg Atilla Gülan ---- , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Burhanettin Bigalı , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Eşref Bitlis , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Aydın İlter , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Teoman Koman , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Fikret Özden Boztepe, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Rasim Betir, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Aytaç Yalman , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Şener Eruygur , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Fevzi Türkeri , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Işık Koşaner , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Atila Işık, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg Necdet Özel , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Bekir Kalyoncu, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Servet Yörük, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Abdullah Atay, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, Galip Mendi, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg {{ill, İbrahim Yaşar, tr , {{flagicon image, Flag of Turkish General Command of Gendarmerie.svg

---- , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Attila Kurtaran, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png Kemal Yılmaz , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png Fevzi Türkeri , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png Engin Alan , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Nevzat Bekaroğlu, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Sadık Ercan, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Servet Yörük, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Abdullah Barutcu, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png {{ill, Halil Soysal, tr , {{flagicon image, Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png Zekai Aksakallı ---- , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Necati Bilican , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Ünal Erkan , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Yılmaz Ergun, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Mehmet Ağar , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Alaaddin Yüksel, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Kemal Çelik, tr, Kemal Çelik (1956 doğumlu siyasetçi) , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Necati Bilican , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Turan Genç, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, İbrahim Kemal Önal, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Gökhan Aydıner, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Oğuz Kağan Köksal, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Mehmet Kılıçlar, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Selami Altınok , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg {{ill, Celal Uzunkaya, tr , {{flagicon image, Logo of General Directorate of Security (Turkey).svg Mehmet Aktaş , leadfigures3= , howmany1= , howmany2= , howmany3= , casualties1= , casualties2= , casualties3=179+ killed
1,968+ injured
17,679+ arrested , casualties_label= , notes= , campaignbox={{Campaignbox Kurdish–Turkish conflict{{Campaignbox Kurdish rebellions in Turkey The word serhildan describes several Kurdish protests and uprisings since the 1990s that used the slogan "''Êdî Bese''" ("Enough") against

. Local shops are often closed on the day of demonstrations as a form of protest. Protests are held every year on 15 February, the date of

's capture, and during Newroz on 21 March, the Kurdish New Year.{{Cite web, url=http://www.ifex.org/turkey/2010/11/01/protesting_as_a_terrorist_offense.pdf, title=Protesting as a Terrorist Offense, access-date=5 March 2020, archive-date=24 September 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044000/http://www.ifex.org/turkey/2010/11/01/protesting_as_a_terrorist_offense.pdf, url-status=live The Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

has thus far refused to acknowledge the demands of the protests, calling them a conspiracy{{cite web, url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=tension-in-southeast-a-conspiracy-says-pm-2011-05-18, title=TURKEY - Tension in Southeast a 'conspiracy,' says Turkish PM, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=2011-05-24, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524060431/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=tension-in-southeast-a-conspiracy-says-pm-2011-05-18, url-status=live by an alleged Ergenekon– PKK axis.

Etymology

The word serhildan consists of the Kurdish

Kurmanji Kurmanji (, ), also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northernmost of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria and the Caucasus and Khorasan regions. It is the ...

words ''ser'' that means head and ''hildan'' that means raise. So the meaning is "rising" or "rebellion". In Zazaki the word for "rebellion" is ''Serewedaritiş''. Serhildan is sometimes translated as meaning the "Kurdish intifada".

History

{{further, Timeline of Kurdish uprisings TurkiyeHarita001

After the large Kurdish rebellions in the early to mid 20th century - the Koçkiri rebellion, the Sheikh Said rebellion, the Ararat rebellion and the Dersim rebellion - the first of a series of violent actions by the populace against police officers and state institutions in modern times occurred in 1990 in the Southeast Anatolian town of

Nusaybin Nusaybin () is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,079 km2, and its population is 115,586 (2022). The city is populated by Kurds of different tribal affiliation. Nusaybin is separated from the larger Kurd ...

near the border with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The rebellion in Nusaybin marked the beginning of what is sometimes called the serhildan. During the following days the riots expanded to nearby

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

and to the neighbouring provinces of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

, Siirt,

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about east of the Eup ...

and Şırnak. Later they also took in other Eastern Anatolian provinces such as

Bingöl Bingöl (; ; ), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Hakkâri Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: * Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province ...

, Muş and Van, as well as cities such as

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

and

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

. Since the major riots in 1990 rebellions sometimes occur sporadically, especially after the killing of PKK fighters, around 21 March ( Newroz) or on 27 November (the date of the establishment of the PKK). Riots began again at the end of November 2009 and continued without interruption until mid-December. Rioters were protesting that the prison cell of

on İmralı island was too small. Following the closure of the Kurdish party DTP on 11 December 2009 the situation worsened and cost three people their lives. A 23-year-old Kurdish student was killed by a police officer in

. The other two were killed by a shopkeeper in Bulanık after his shop was pelted with

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s by the rebels. About 50 people were injured in the riots and over 100 people were arrested."{{fact, date=August 2024

Timeline

1990–1999

*14 March 1990, about 5,000 protesters gathered at the funeral of a PKK fighter in Nuseybin. Protesters were fired upon by Turkish troops, over 700 were arrested.{{Cite web, url=https://www.xpats.io/uk-entry-requirements-non-eea-countries/, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716081035/http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/turkey/mar99_turkey_kurds.pdf, url-status=dead, title=UK Entry Requirements for Non-EEA Countries, archivedate=16 July 2011 *15 March 1990, about 15,000 protesters in

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

clashed with police. 5 protesters were killed,{{cite web, url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,MARP,,TUR,,469f38e91e,0.html, title=UNHCR - Document Not Found, author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, work=UNHCR, access-date=24 May 2016, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017233130/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,MARP,,TUR,,469f38e91e,0.html, archive-date=17 October 2012 80 injured and 155 arrested. A total of 200 were arrested that day. *21 March 1990, widespread protests in all South-Eastern cities in connection with Newroz. *2 June 1990, during a march by 2000 Iraqi Kurdish refugees, clashes with security forces resulted in the injury of a policeman and five protesters *2 March 1991, over 1000 rioters fought the Turkish military with stones and sticks in Diyarbakir. One soldier and two protesters were injured, another soldier and two protesters were killed. *7 March 1991, nearly 2,000 Kurdish villagers marching in Dargecit were fired on by police. Rioting erupted in which many were injured and 100 were arrested. *9 March 1991, over 1,000 protesters including members of the HEP protested against the killing of a woman by police during a riot. *15 March 1991, police fired at over 1,000 protesters, injuring many and arresting over 200. *20 March 1991, Turkey allowed Nowruz to be celebrated openly for the first time. Despite this, riots erupted in many villages in which police fired at protesters. *10 July 1991, police clashed with over 25,000 protesters who were shouting pro-PKK slogans at the funeral of assassinated HEP chairman

. 12 were killed and 122 wounded. *27 November 1991, more than 1,500 shops were closed in Bismil and Idil to mark the PKK's 13th anniversary. *10 December 1991, 5,000 students in Diyarbakir boycotted classes in protest of the killing of a fellow student by Turkish security forces.{{Cite web, url=https://www.xpats.io/uk-entry-requirements-non-eea-countries/, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716081035/http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/turkey/mar99_turkey_kurds.pdf, url-status=dead, title=UK Entry Requirements for Non-EEA Countries, archivedate=16 July 2011 *21 February 1992, some 70 rioters clashed with Turkish police in

, one protester was killed and two were injured. *21 March 1992, in an event later known as "bloody newroz" tens of thousands of Kurds took to the streets all over Turkey to celebrate Nowruz and clashed with the military. Reports indicated that President Suleyman Demirel ordered the military not to attack civilians, however the army refused to obey these orders and attacked the protests. In several towns including Şırnak and Kulp, the demonstrators were bombed by airraids. In Sirnak, were between 500 and 1,500 PKK fighters entered the town to fight the police, the security forces went on a rampage for 22 hours in which most of the town was destroyed. At least 102 civilians were killed during by the security forces, at least 26 of which in Sirnak, 29 in Cizre, 14 in Nusaybin, 1 in

and 2 in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

. At least 1 soldier and 1 policeman were killed by rioters. Also numerous journalists were killed as the military set fire to them. Over 200 people were injured and over 2,000 were arrested. *6 April 1992, 60 protesters were arrested in

because the government classified the protests as illegal. *15–16 August 1992, thousands of shops were closed and protests erupted all over the South-East to mark the 8th anniversary of the PKK's armed campaign. At least 5 protesters were killed and 130 arrested. *21 March 1993, in accordance with a PKK-government cease-fire, Nowruz celebrations were not attacked by the military. Several minor protests were however broken up. *14 August 1993, police forces opened fire at a Kurdish protest in Digor, killing 10 and wounding 51 protesters. *3 August 1994, Kurds protested the trial of 6 Democracy Party politicians, for treason. *19 May 1995, over 1,000 Kurds demonstrate against the killing of a Kurd by Turkish government linked death squads. *15 February 1999, massive riots broke out in all major cities of the country as Kurds protested Abdullah Öcalan's arrest. Over 1,000 protesters were arrested during clashes with security forces. *21 March 1999, large unrest broke out on Nowruz and police put the South-East under a virtual state of siege.{{cite web, url=http://timelines.ws/countries/KURDISTAN.HTML, title=Timeline Kurdistan, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=12 June 2017, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612040405/http://timelines.ws/countries/KURDISTAN.HTML, url-status=live Eyewitnesses reported police and military active in every city. In Istanbul, over 1,000 people were arrested as protesters exchanged gunfire with security forces several times. In Başkale, a suicide bomber killed himself and injured 3 people during the protests and in Mardin a bomb damaged a pipeline. There were sporadic clashes in other cities. In Diyarbakır alone, over 4,000 people were detained.

2000–2010

*21 February 2000, in Diyarbakır, 1,500 people rallied to protest the detention of three Kurdish mayors by the Turkish state. *25 November 2000, Turkish police prevented hundreds of Kurds from going to Ankara for a protest. *3 February 2001, 60 demonstrators are arrested in Siirt for protesting against the mysterious disappearance of People's Democracy Perty (HADEP), party workers on 25 January. *5 February 2001, 16 activists are detained during protests in Batman, against the disappearance of HADEP members on 15 January. *6 February 2001, during a sixth day of protests, police break up crowds in Diyarbakir. *15 February 2001, police arrested over 100 people in demonstrations marking the second anniversary of Abdullah Ocalan's capture. *21 March 2001, over 100 people are arrested during Nowruz celebrations in

. *28 July 2001, during a festival in Tunceli, police tried to prevent a HADEP politician from addressing the crowd. The crowd responded by pelting police with stones, resulting in the injury of eight policemen and one member of the crowd. *31 August 2001, thousands gathered in Diyarbakir to travel to Ankara to celebrate

World Peace Day The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might ...

on 1 September. Turkish authorities however tried to prevent them from entering busses and clashes erupted in which 19 people were injured. *25 January 2002, a demonstration was staged in Siirt marking the 1-year anniversary of the disappearance of 2 HADEP politicians. Police tried to break up the crowd and during clashes four policemen and four demonstrators were injured, 70 people were arrested. *21 March 2002, in Diyarbakir thousands of police clash with Kurds as authorities banned public Nowruz celebrations that year. 2 protesters were crushed to death during a police crackdown in Mersin. *27 March 2002, over 1,000 people including HADEP members marched to send a symbolical fax to parliament in Kurdish, calling on the parliament to legalize the use of the Kurdish language. Over 100, including several senior HADEP politicians were arrested during the march. *22 June 2005, Turkish police opened automatic gun-fire on 250 stone-throwing Kurdish protesters who tried to reclaim the bodies of two killed PKK-rebels. One protester was killed and seven people, including two journalists were injured. *20 November 2005, 12 Kurdish demonstrators are detained after hurling Molotov cocktails and stones at police in Istanbul.{{Cite web, url=http://timelines.ws/countries/TURKEYB.HTML, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223002128/http://timelines.ws/countries/TURKEYB.HTML, url-status=dead, title=Timeline Turkey, archive-date=23 December 2010, access-date=6 June 2023 *21 November 2005, Turkish Prime Minister

came to the Kurdish Southeast of Turkey to urge protesters to calm down, after weeks of rioting. He promised the protesters that his government would investigate charges that the Turkish

Deep state Deep state is a term used for (real or imagined) potential, unauthorized and often secret networks of power operating independently of a State (polity), state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agendas and goals. Although the term ori ...

and not Kurdish guerillas, were responsible for a recent, fatal, bombing. In the two weeks of rioting, a total of four protesters were killed. *22 November 2005, during protests, a gunman opened fire at a primary school, killing a teacher and injuring four people. *15 February 2006, protesters allegedly armed with stones and firebombs defended themselves against police all over the southeast to mark the 7th anniversary of Abdullah Öcalan's capture. *21 March 2006, over 100,000 Kurds came out in the streets celebrating Nowruz. During these celebrations they allegedly said pro-PKK slogans and called for the release of Abdullah Öcalan. *28 March 2006, thousands of protesters demonstrated at the funeral of 14 Kurdish soldiers that had been killed by the Turkish military on 25 March. The protesters allegedly hurled firebombs at police and police vehicle while smashing the windows of police stations to defend themselves. Over 40 people were injured, including two policemen who were allegedly stabbed by protesters and two were killed during the riots. *29 March 2006, during a second day of riots police used water cannons and pepper spray against protesters. An official said that three people had been killed and 250 had been injured, that day. *30 March 2006, over 20 people were injured in a third day of rioting, during which rioters hurled firebombs at the police and police opened fire on the crowds. *31 March 2006, a bomb explosion during riots in Istanbul left 1 dead and 13 injured. A total of 500 were injured during these 48 hours. *1 April 2006, fresh clashes erupted between protesters and security forces, which left one protester dead and over ten people injured. A total of 268 protesters had been arrested by 1 April. *2 April 2006, during the sixth day of violence, a protester was killed in the southeast as police opened fire to disperse crowds. In Istanbul a group of men poured gasoline into a bus and set it on fire as they pushed the vehicle into pedestrians, killing three people. The total death toll from 28 March to 2 April rose to 15. *21 March 2007, violence broke out during Nowruz celebrations. Over 100,000 people attended the celebrations in Diyarbakir and over 50,000 in Istanbul, where students unveiled a large portrait of Abdullah Öcalan, while the crowds chanted "Real democracy or nothing." In Mersin, over 1,000 Kurdish youths clashed with the police, while in İzmir a protester hit a bus with a molotov cocktail, setting the vehicle ablaze. Two buses were pelted with stones and sticks in Istanbul, injuring several passengers. At least 22 protesters were detained. *2 November 2007, over 5,000 Kurds protested in Turkey against a possible incursion into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

. *15 February 2008, thousands of Kurds fought police in the southeast on the 9th anniversary of Abdullah Öcalan's capture. *21 March 2008, clashes erupted between Kurds celebrating Nowruz and security forces as Kurdish crowds chanted pro-PKK slogans. Over 200,000 PKK-supporters took part in the demonstrations in Diyarbakir, Van and Yüksekova.{{cite web, url=http://www.turkijecorrespondent.nl/?p=190, archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222174837/http://www.turkijecorrespondent.nl/?p=190, url-status=dead, archive-date=22 February 2013, title=Doden bij gewelddadige viering van Koerdisch nieuwjaar, access-date=24 May 2016 *22 March 2008, dozens of people are arrested and detained in a second day of protests as police use truncheons and tear-gas on protesters. *24 March 2008, a fourth day of protests in Turkey leaves a total toll of two protesters killed, 38 protesters and 15 policemen injured and 130 protesters arrested. *20 October 2008, demonstrations were staged by Kurds all over Turkey after allegations that Abdullah Öcalan was being mistreated in prison. One demonstrator was killed in clashes with Turkish security forces. In Sirnak, 129 people were detained and in Yukesova, 10 were detained. Among the detainees were over 50 minors, who were charged for terrorism, due to the ethnic nationalistic character of the demonstrations. *15 February 2009, Turkish police clashed with stone-throwing demonstrators, marking the 10-year anniversary of Abdullah Öcalan's capture. Over 100,000 Kurds came out in the streets in all the Kurdish towns in Turkey The protests occurred mainly in Diyarbakir were 15,000 protesters took the streets. A total of 71 people, including 20 police officers were injured and 191 people were arrested during the protests. *29 March 2009, Kurds protested the 2009 Turkish local elections. *20 April 2009, several civil society organisations demonstrated in front of the DTP's headquarters in

, against the recent arrest of DTP members. Police arrested 50 of the protesters *5 August 2009, Kurdish demonstrators clashed with police in Diyarbakir, injuring one policeman as police were pelted with molotov cocktails and stones. 11 demonstrators were arrested. *27 November – 1 December 2009, there are four days of violent protests on the 31st anniversary of the foundation of the PKK. *6 December 2009, over 15,000 protesters gathered in Diyarbakir to demonstrate against the alleged mistreatment of Abdullah Öcalan in Turkish jail. 1 protester was killed and 2 were injured as police opened fire on the protests, an additional 113 people were arrested at the protests. Two people were also injured during protests in Yuksekova. *12 December 2009, large scale protests break out all over the southeast in response to the banning of the DTP by Turkey's supreme court. Protesters threw rocks and firebombs at the police. During protests in Van, a young girl and five policemen were hospitalised, this included a police chief. Over 20 demonstrators were detained in Van. In

Hakkâri Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: * Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province ...

protesters tried to lynch a police chief and a police officer who were saved by DTP managers. In Beytüşşebap and Cizre, protests continued into the late night. Protesters in Beytüşşebap threw molotov cocktails at the post office, bank offices and the local governor's house. In Cizre they blocked the road to the Habur Customs Gate on the Iraqi border, at night until police intervened. In Istanbul's Sultangazi and Başakşehir districts over 200 demonstrators closed traffic by throwing stones at cars and buses.{{cite web, url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=protests-after-the-court-decision-to-shut-down-the-dtp-2009-12-13, title=TURKEY - DTP protests turn violent in Istanbul, access-date=24 May 2016 *13 December 2009, angry crowds of Turkish Nationalists and Kurdish Nationalists clashed in

during a second day of pro-DTP protests. During street battles at least 1 person was killed from gunshot wounds. *14 December 2009, at least three Kurdish protesters are shot dead and seven are injured in Bulanık during a third day of protests. *21 March 2010, over 50,000 Kurds gathered to celebrate Nowruz. The crowd chanted slogans like "Democratic solution or democratic resistance" and "Blood for blood, we are with you Öcalan." *12 November 2010, thousands demonstrated in Diyarbakir against the KCK trial, as

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party (, , BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2008, following the closure of the latter party for its alleged conne ...

chairman Selahattin Demirtaş addressed the crowd. *A total of 3,706 people were detained in the Kurdish provinces during 2010

2011–2012

*13 January 2011, protests were held against the trial of 152 Kurdish activists, during which protesters defended themselves by throwing firebombs and stones at the police who attacked the protesters with water cannons and tear gas. *14 January 2011, thousands protested in Diyarbakır, Cizre,

, Hakkâri and Şırnak against police brutality against protesters on 13 January. Some 8,000 protesters had gathered in Diyarbakir's central square and they were joined by another 10,000 people for a protest march. Protesters clashed with police in front of the courthouse were Kurdish politicians were being trialed. Police tried to set up a barricade, which demonstrators attacked with fireworks and molotov cocktails, police responded with tear gas. *15 February 2011, Over 20,000 people demonstrated in Diyarbakir, Van and Ergani on the 12th anniversary of the capture of Öcalan. Authorities arrested 19 BDP members in response to the protests for "violating the law on Demonstrations and Protests" and "making propaganda for an illegal organization."{{cite web , url=http://www.diclenews.com/2/22/1/viewNews/243705 , title=DİHA - Dicle News Agency , website=www.diclenews.com , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321192628/http://www.diclenews.com/2/22/1/viewNews/243705 , archive-date=2012-03-21 In Diyarbakir police used tear gas to prevent some 2,000 protesters from marching to the city's central square, at least one policeman and one protester were injured during the clashes and over 20 protesters were arrested. Some 30 demonstrators were arrested in Batman and another 50 were arrested in Hakkâri, Van and Sanliurfa.{{cite web, url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/5665/World/International/Police,-Kurdish-demonstrators-clash-in-Turkey-.aspx, title=Police, Kurdish demonstrators clash in Turkey, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=4 March 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204507/http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/5665/World/International/Police,-Kurdish-demonstrators-clash-in-Turkey-.aspx, url-status=live In Diyarbakir the body was found of 17-year-old student who set himself on fire, after

Mohamed Bouazizi Tarek El-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, an act which became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider A ...

set himself on fire, sparking the Tunisian Revolution and

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

. *17 February 2011, 3,000 demonstrators clashed with police in Diyarbakir, 46 of which were arrested due to acts of violence. *18 February 2011, 20,000 Kurds marched Diyarbakir against police brutality. The march, heading towards Koşuyolu Park however conflict arose after police attacked the March in Bayramoglu district. Several protesters were injured and 6 teenagers, with blood stains on their face were arrested by the police. *21 March 2011, BDP-activists gathered 10,000s of people for a Nowruz rally in Diayrbakir. Police surrounded the rally and then stormed it forcing hundreds of people to flee. During the crackdown against protests, the police covered nearly the entire city in a layer of teargas, resulting in many people collapsing while running away from the tear gas. Organisers claim a total of 500,000 people participated in the protests nationwide. *24 March 2011, over 3,000 Kurds gathered for a civil disobedience campaign called for by the BDP. At least 70 of them were arrested by Turkish authorities. During the protest they demanded education in Kurdish, the release of all jailed PKK members and political prisoners, end all military operations against Kurds and lift the 10% election threshold. *28 March, over 40,000 Kurds came from all over Turkey to march to the Kasapderesi mass-graves in the Siirt province, where the bodies of 200 Kurds killed by the Turkish

Deep State Deep state is a term used for (real or imagined) potential, unauthorized and often secret networks of power operating independently of a State (polity), state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agendas and goals. Although the term ori ...

had been dumped. The march was organised to be on the same day as the 25 anniversary of the death of Mahsun Korkmaz, who was the first commander of the PKK's military forces and was killed by Turkish forces in 1986. The protesters were barred from entering the city of Siirt as police barricaded the roads and scattered the protesters, using tear gas. *19 April – 20 April 2011, two days of major rioting, which continued on 21 April, broke out in response to the banning of 12 Kurdish politicians from the 2011 parliamentary elections. In the first day an 18-year-old protester was killed by police, during the second day over 30,000 people attended his funeral in Batman, which resulted in major riots against the police. In Van, protesters hurled molotov cocktails at police stations in response to the killing. A total of 16 people were arrested during the protests. *21 April 2011, as a crowd of some 800 protesters clashed with security forces in Diyarbakir, one protester was killed as police opened fire on the crowd with live rounds. *26 April 2011, the pro-Kurdish

(BDP), held a march which was attended by over 20,000 protesters. *14 May 2011, a rally was held by Kurdish and left-wing Turkish parties in Diyarbakir's İstasyon Square. Over 50,000 people attended the rally. The crowds chanted slogans in favor of a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue. *16 May 2011, protests were held in Istanbul by supporters of the BDP, against the military operations. BDP candidates Sabahat Tuncel and Sırrı Süreyya Önder attended the demonstrations. When protesters attempted to hold a peaceful march, they were attacked by riot police, which used tear gas, this resulted in riots in which the protesters pelted police with bottles, rocks and fireworks. In Diyarbakir almost all shops and businesses were closed as a protests. The CHP also closed their election office in Diyarbakir. *18 May 2011, Kurdish protests occurred all over the country, in

9 protesters were arrested for singing a PKK march song, in Istanbul 15 masked men threw rocks and

molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s at a municipality bus. In Van over 1,000 people held a march to protest the deaths of 12 PKK members, led by the city's Kurdish mayor. Further demonstrations were held in Şırnak, Batman and İzmir. A total of 2,506 Kurdish protesters had been detained from 21 March to 18 May, 308 were injured and at least 2 were killed.{{cite web, url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=thousands-detained-in-the-east-since-march-2011-05-13, title=TURKEY - Thousands detained in eastern Turkey since March, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=2012-09-29, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929105607/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=thousands-detained-in-the-east-since-march-2011-05-13, url-status=live *21 May 2011, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Hakkâri, groups of Kurds came out to protest his visit. Majority of the city's shop-keepers closed their stores as a form of protest against the Prime Minister. Erdoğan refused to acknowledge the people were protesting him, blaming the city's mayor Fadıl Bedirhanoğlu for allegedly forcing people to protest him by fining those who didn't. Less than 1,000 people attended Erdoğan's speech, while 2 days later, much larger crowds attended a rally of opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who criticised Erdoğan's allegations against the mayor and promised to get rid of the 10% threshold and give autonomy to local Kurdish authorities. *22 May 2011, over 30,000 mourners attended a funeral of PKK militant Ramazan Terzioğlu in Hakkâri. The mayors of

, Yüksekova, Şemdinli,

Çukurca Çukurca (, , ) is a municipality (belde) and seat of Çukurca District in Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The city is populated by Kurds of the Ertoşî and Pinyanişî tribes and had a population of 1,0252 in 2023. The mayor is Ensar Dündar from J ...

and Esendere all attended the funeral and BDP parliamentary candidate Esat Canan spoke at the funeral. After the funeral the crowds set up barricades and started a major fire. Riot-police attacked the protesters with tear gas and high-pressure water cannons. There were two explosions during the protest but they did not cause any injuries. *27 May 2011, thirty demonstrators closed the İdil highway to traffic with barricades and threw a molotov cocktail at a student dormitory of an Islamist school in Cizre, Şırnak, injuring 3 students. Seven demonstrators were arrested by Turkish authorities as Erdoğan blamed the BDP and PKK, claiming these Kurdish parties want to kill children. *28 August 2011, thousands of people from 16 different provinces marched towards the Turkish-Iraqi border in protest of a Turkish bombing campaign targeting PKK bases. The rioters attacked the police, which used tear gas resulting in the death of Yildirim Ayhan, a member of Van province's provincial assembly, who was taking part in the protests. *A demonstration led by BDP MP Sebahat Tuncel against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's isolation in prison, in Istanbul's Taksim square, was broken up by police. 120 people were arrested. *December, 29, after the Uludere airstrike killed 35 Kurdish smugglers in Sirnak, mass protests broke out in most Kurdish cities inside Turkey. In Istanbul, over 1,000 Kurds demonstrated in Taksim Square, during which several hundred of the protesters threw stones at the police and smashed vehicles before police used water cannons on the demonstration. *30 December, thousands of mourners attended the funeral of the Uludere airstrike victims. During the funeral, family members of the victims called on PKK militants to take revenge, accusing the Turkish state of being murderers. *31 December 2011, activists staged demonstrations in Ankara, demanding the government prosecute those responsible for the air raid.{{Cite web, url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/94119-demo-held-in-ankara-over-airstrike-in-se, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204222357/http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/94119-demo-held-in-ankara-over-airstrike-in-se, url-status=dead, title=Demo held in Ankara over airstrike in SE, archive-date=4 February 2012, access-date=6 June 2023 In Diyarbakir and several other locations violent protests erupted in which police used batons and tear gas against protesters and protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at police. District Governor Naif Yavuz, while visiting the village were the airstrike occurred to offer his condolences, was attacked by an angry mob that repeatedly punched him, threw stones at him and attempted to lynch him. Six people were arrested due to involvement in the incident In Diyarbakir, two boys were shot in the street, according to police they were members of the PKK which died in a gun battle, although several eyewitnesses dispute the account. Several hundred protesters gathered near the site were the boys were shot, resulting in a riot in which one man was injured and ten detained. *14 January 2012, some 300 Kurds demonstrated in Istanbul against the arrest of 49 suspected KCK members. *15 February 2012, tens of thousands of Kurds protested to demand Öcalan's freedom on the 13th anniversary of his capture. Demonstrations were held in Adana, Adıyaman, Antep, Batman, Bingöl, Tunceli, Elazığ,

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

, Iğdır,

Hatay Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, ...

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

, Mersin, Siirt, Van and its Bostaniçi,

Gevaş Gevaş (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 26,918 (2022). In the last 2019 Turkish local elections, elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justic ...

, Muradiye, Gürpınar and Saray districts,

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

and its

Doğubayazıt Doğubayazıt (; or , ) is a town of Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the Iran–Turkey border, border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District. History For most of the periods described here, Doğubay ...

district, Hakkari and its Yüksekova district, Muş and its Bulanık district, Diyarbakir and its Kocaköy, Hilvan, Bismil, Silvan and Dicle districts, Şanlıurfa and its

Viranşehir Viranşehir () is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,297 km2, and its population is 207,315 (2022). It is a market town serving a cotton-growing area, 93 km east of the city Şanlıurfa and 53&nbs ...

Suruç Suruç (; ; ''Sruḡ'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 744 km2, and its population is 100,961 (2022). It is on a plain near the Syria–Turkey border, Syrian border southwest ...

and

Ceylanpınar Ceylanpınar (, Ra's al 'Ayn, ''Resülayn'') is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,589 km2, and its population is 90,440 (2022). On the border with Syria, it is reached by a long straight road D.905 ...

districts, Mardin and its

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

Kızıltepe Kızıltepe (; ; ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,236 km2, and its population is 267,151 (2022). It is mainly populated by Kurds of the Kîkan Kurdish tribe. Government In the local elections of M ...

, Derik, Dargeçit, Mazıdağı and Nusaybin districts, Şırnak and its Güçlükonak, Cizre and Beytüşşebap districts as well as İzmir,

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar; Greek: Τράλλεις)'' is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River (ancient ...

, Istanbul and

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

. Police arrested three in Diyarbakir and 24 in Istanbul when attempting to stop the demonstrations. In Cizre street fighting between rioters and police lasted for hours. *18 March 2012, after the BDP and PKK both called for protests, tens of thousands of protesters came together in Diyarbakir waving Kurdish flags and holding up posters of Abdullah Öcalan, chanting "long live the leader Apo," and "the PKK is the people." Hundreds of riot police backed by armored vehicles and helicopters took up strategic positions in the city to prevent several marches from coming together in one large crowd. This resulted in widespread protest all over the city in which protesters allegedly burned down at least four mobile telephone relay stations. In Istanbul police tried to prevent two groups of 1,000 protesters from coming together. Haci Zengin, the head of an Istanbul branch of the BDP, was killed during the protests after being hit on the head by a tear gas canister. Police detained 106 people at the demonstration and nine were injured *20 March 2012, two police officers were shot in Yüksekova in Hakkari province. In Batman, Ahmet Turk was taken to hospital after suffering from the effects of teargas fired to disperse crowds at the protests he was attending, a total of 15 people were injured during protests in the city. In

the police countered the protesters with water cannons and fired live ammunition at a manifestation attended by Leyla Zana. In Mersin a great number of protesters were arrested. In Cizre over 5,000 protesters clashed with police, hurling petrol bombs and fireworks at the police. Police also clashed with demonstrators in Istanbul. A total of 24 people were injured. One of the policemen injured in Yüksekova died of his wounds the next day. *21 March 2012, protests continued for a fourth day. Though less violent than the protests on previous days, this marked the most violent Nowruz celebration since the 1990s. At the same day PKK attacks killed 5 policemen in the mountains outside Sirnak and injured one in a bombing of the AKP's Diyarbakir headquarters. *14 July 2012, Diyarbakır was the scene of major protests and clashes between PKK supporters and the police as the pro-Kurdish BDP insisted on holding a rally to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the 1982 hunger strike in Diyarbakır prison in which the prominent PKK members Mazlum Doğan, Kemal Pir, Hayri Durmuş, Ali Çiçek and Akif Yılmaz died. The rally that had been banned by the provincial government. Over 10,000 police were used to prevent the protesters from gathering in İstasyon Square while over 300 BDP protests held sit-ins in Sümer Park. According to the Turkish government, the protests resulted in 76 injured, including 23 policemen, although human rights organizations believe the number may be much higher. The injured included BDP Deputy President Pervin Buldan, BDP MPs Ayla Akat Ata from Batman and Mülkiye Birtane from

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

, the BDP's Diyarbakır Provincial Head Zübeyde Zümrüt, Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir and Remzi Akkaya. 87 people were arrested. *3 August 2012, a protest is held after a speech by Leyla Zana calling for

to be transferred from prison to house arrest. Police arrested over 100 people at the protest. *25 August 2012, thousands of people rallied in Cizre to attend a protest organized by the BDP, attended by Cizre mayor Mustafa Gören. The Turkish government did not give permission for the protest to be held, citing alleged display of pro-PKK propaganda as the reason. Police were sent to fight the protesters and violence ensued. *30 October 2012, protests were held in Diyarbakır, Van, Hakkâri, Cizre and Silopi, all stores were closed and streets were empty aside from protesters which marched in solidarity with the hunger strike. Over 10,000 protesters clashed with police in Diyarbakır, which used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Nine people were detained. *31 October 2012, several thousand Kurds held a protest march in Diyarbakır in support of a hunger strike held in Turkish prisons by Kurdish political prisoners. The protesters clashed with police, who used tear gas and water cannon, throwing stones and firebombs at the police. As part of the protest, all shops were closed and families didn't send their children to school.{{cite web, url=http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/30/14811824-police-clash-with-kurdish-protesters-in-turkey, title=Police clash with Kurdish protesters in Turkey, author=Photos, date=24 May 2016, work=NBC News, access-date=24 May 2016, archive-date=26 September 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926124428/http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/30/14811824-police-clash-with-kurdish-protesters-in-turkey, url-status=live In Van several thousand people also marched towards the town's prison, were 182 inmates were in a hunger strike. In Istanbul a sit-in was held by a group of protesters which were dispersed by 100 policemen using pepper spray. Protesters attempted to march to a tent in Okmeydanı were Peace Mothers were camping, but the tent was attacked by police which used tear gas on the women. 10 people suffered injuries and 18 were detained.{{cite web , url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/144304/clashes-mar-bdp%C3%ADs-hunger-boycott.html , title=Clashes Mar BDP's Hunger Boycott, 31 October 2012 , website=www.turkishweekly.net , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728154642/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/144304/clashes-mar-bdp%C3%ADs-hunger-boycott.html , archive-date=2013-07-28 *3 November 2012, protests in Cizre and Diyarbakir at a funeral of a PKK militant killed by the Turkish military, resulted in clashes between protesters and riot police. 20 protesters were arrested.{{citation needed, date=August 2021

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

{{Commons category, Serhildan * İlhan Gülsün: ''PKK ve şer odakları''. Istanbul 1998. {{ISBN, 978-975-7841-40-1. (Turkish) {{Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish slogans History of the Republic of Turkey Kurdish protests in Turkey Kurdish–Turkish conflict Political neologisms Intifadas