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Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist

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Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist
Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist
General Secretary
  1. İbrahim Kaypakkaya
  2. Süleyman Cihan
  3. Kazım Çelik
  4. Mehmet Demirdağ
  5. Unknown (present)
Founderİbrahim Kaypakkaya
Founded24 April 1972
Split fromRevolutionary Workers and Peasants Party of Turkey
Newspaper
  • Communist
  • Liberation of the Workers and Peasants
Youth wingMarxist-Leninist Youth Union of Turkey (TMLGB)
Armed wingLiberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (TİKKO)
IdeologyMarxism-Leninism-Maoism
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationPeoples' United Revolutionary Movement[1]
International affiliationInternational Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (formerly RIM)
International Freedom Battalion
Party flag
Website
www.kaypakkayahaber.com/
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TKP/ML banner during 1st of May demonstration in Berlin (2005)

The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist in Turkish, abbreviated as TKP/ML) is a Maoist insurgent organization in Turkey claiming to be carrying out People's War against the Turkish Government. It was founded in 1972 with İbrahim Kaypakkaya as its first leader. The founders of the TKP/ML were the former members of the Revolutionary Workers and Peasants Party of Turkey that desired to carry out armed struggle.

TKP/ML participates in the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations.

Organisation

The armed wing of the party is named the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (Türkiye İşci ve Köylü Kurtuluş Ordusu in Turkish, abbreviated as TİKKO).

Marxist-Leninist Youth Union of Turkey (Türkiye Marksist Leninist Gençlik Birliği in Turkish, abbreviated as TMLGB) is the youth organization of TKP/ML.

The main periodical of the party is called Partizan (Partisan). There are two other periodicals they have published: İşçi-Köylü (Worker-Peasant) and Özgür Gelecek (Free Future).[2]

History

Following the military memorandum of 1971 the Turkish government cracked down on the communist movement in Turkey. Kaypakkaya and several of his colleagues were arrested. The party machinery was destroyed, while Kaypakkaya died in prison in 1973, allegedly because of torture.

The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist re-organized between 1973 and 1978. The first party congress took place in 1978 (TKP/ML I. Kongresi in Turkish). In 1981 the second congress was organized (TKP/ML II. Kongresi). The party split following the second congress, the splinter group taking up the name Bolshevik Party (North Kurdistan-Turkey).

This was nor the first neither the last split in the party. The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist - Hareketi had already split in (1976) during the re-organisation period. Other splits followed the second congress: Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist - Revolutionary Proletarian (1987), Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (Maoist Party Centre) (1987) and Maoist Communist Party (1994).

Today

TKP/ML underwent many leadership changes in the 1980s, each new leadership declaring its predecessor "revisionist" or "opportunist". TKP/ML begun to ideologically stagnate and the Party's guerrilla army, TiKKO, could no longer sustain itself due to the Party's internal strife. Splits occurred in 1987 and the Party begun decline, contributing to the rise of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.[citation needed] TKP/ML was eventually ejected from the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement in 2002. In January that year the Committee of RIM sent a letter to TKP/ML: "Your political positions and approach have long become intolerable for a participating party or organisation of our movement". In 2003 the Maoist Communist Party (Turkey) (MKP) was founded, claiming to be a continuation of the original TKP/ML party.

Activities

On 17 May 1985, TKP/ML broadcast a propaganda message to millions of television viewers in Istanbul, replacing the soundtrack for the evening news.[3]

On 29 June 2010, two guerillas of the TIKKO were killed in the mountains of Tunceli by the Turkish state forces.

On 2 February 2011, five guerillas of TIKKO in Tunceli died as a result of an avalanche.[4][5]

On 26 July 2013, the control building of a hydroelectric power plant regulator was bombed in the countryside of Tunceli Province by TIKKO militants.[6]

On 14 March 2014 TİKKO guerrillas attacked a police station in Tunceli. TKP/ML declared that the attack was revenge for death of Berkin Elvan.[7][8]

Demographics

According to a study carried out by the Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of Directorate General for Security over a sample of files on people convicted of being a terrorist under Turkish law, including 826 militants from the organisation and the three other currently active left-wing organisations (see reference 1), 65% of the members were aged 14 to 25, 16.8% 25 to 30, while 17.5% were older than 30. University graduates made up 20.4% of the members, high-school graduates 33.5%, secondary-school graduates 14%, primary-school graduates 29.9% and illiterates 1.9% (the sample contained no non-graduate but literate members).[9]

Designation as a terrorist organisation

The organisation is listed among the 12 active terrorist organisation in Turkey as of 2007 according to the Counter-Terrorism and Operations Department of the Directorate General for Security of the Turkish police.[10]

Notable members

See also

References

  1. ^ "Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement established for a joint struggle". Firat News Agency. 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. ^ "Leftist Parties of Turkey". Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. ^ A World to Win Magazine, 1985, "TKP/ML seizes the airwaves 8PM News Break"
  4. ^ To the Press and the Public: 5 martyrs of TKP/ML-TIKKO died in Tunceli
  5. ^ Mike Ely. "Turkey: Five Communist Fighters Killed in Avalanche". Kasama Project. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Hydroelectric Plant Regulator Bombed in Dersim - english". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  7. ^ "TİKKO'dan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi". BestaNûçe Bestanuce.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Özgür Gelecek. "Gerilladan Berkin Elvan için misilleme eylemi". Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  9. ^ Zaman. 25.12.2007. "Dikkat: Hangi yasadışı örgüte kimler üye olur?". http://www.iyibilgi.com/haber.php?haber_id=47595
  10. ^ TÜRKİYE'DE HALEN FAALİYETLERİNE DEVAM EDEN BAŞLICA TERÖR ÖRGÜTLERİ: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2016-04-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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