Description
The Congra – Gel (shortened
as KGK) is a Kurdish separatist group that is mainly based in Southeastern
Turkey and northern Iraq. The group is mainly active in some parts of the
Eastern European region and the middle east region including parts of Syria and
Iran. Congra-Gel identifies with many other names including PKK (Kurdish),
Kurdistan People’s Congress, KHK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party or KADEK to mean
Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress. The organization was formed in 1974
by Kurdish students under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan whose primary aim
was to establish a Marxist-Leninist separatist group. Most of its members were
Turkish Kurds. It was not until four years that the organization was named
Kurdistan Workers’ Party. KHK commenced armed violence operations in 1984 that
have claimed lives of over 40,000 people including the Turkey military, KGK
members and even civilians (Turkish and Kurdish). During the ‘90s, KGK was also
primarily involved in urban terrorism activities aside from their rural-based
active revolts ("Kongra-Gel
(KGK) / Kurdistan People’s Congress / PKK | Terrorist Groups | TRAC",
2017).
Leadership
Abdullah Ocalan is regarded
as the undisputed leader and figurehead of KGK despite serving life
imprisonment. Ocalan was seized in 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya after the CIA
collaborated with the Turkish National Intelligence Agency to arrest him. He
was then sentenced to death as is outlined by the Turkish penal code in regards
to forming armed organizations. Ocalan was lucky to escape death when Turkey
abolished the death penalty so as to gain membership in the European Union.
However, he was sentenced to solitary confinement as from 1999 to 2009 on a prison
island known as Imrali. The authorities persuaded him to order for ceasefire
publicly after his arrest which led him to steer a “peace initiative†that
would focus on dialogue on contentious issues. The action resulted in a
congress by the PKK in early 2002 in which the group decided to use political
approaches to attain their primary objective of elevating the rights of Kurds
living in Turkey. The resolution saw the group change its name from PKK to
KADEK to mean Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress. The organization later
changed its name to Kongra-Gel (KGK) in 2003 to enhance their political
endeavors. Unfortunately, by early 2004 some members formed another faction
that was against political reforms and returned to violence.
KGK did not fall with Ocalan.
The organization still has several leaders even in other countries including
Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and West European countries where they operate. The
group was led by Murat Karayilan until 2015 when a new leader (Cemil Bayik) was
elected. Bayik among other three core leaders and a Syrian Kurd (Fehman
Huseyin) in charge of military operations run the group.
Activities
KGK mainly targets the local
Turkish officials and the security forces of the Turkish government. The
villagers who are opposed to the group in Turkey are also a target. The
animosity and conflict between the Turkish security forces and PKK militants
has resulted in many deaths. Early attacks by the group were perpetrated in
1993 and 1995 when they attacked Turkish commercial and diplomatic facilities
based in cities in Western Europe. Between 1990 to 1995, KGK kidnapped foreign
tourists and bombed hotels, resorts, and tourist destinations in a bid to
destroy Turkey’s tourism industry. The organization is also said to have orchestrated
multiple bombings in Western Turkey especially in Istanbul and the western
coast region as from 2004. The group is also reported to be involved in drug
trafficking ("Chapter
6 -- Terrorist Organizations", 2007).
Strength
KGK’s major strength is that
they have a militia of around 5,000 soldiers most of whom (over 3,000) are
currently based in northern Iraq. Moreover, they get support from sympathizers
in Europe and Turkey. Dutch police officers recently raided a training camp
that was believed to be KGK’s in The Netherlands, whereby thirty suspected
members were arrested.
External Aid
KGK receives adequate aid
from external nations such as Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Iran and Syria seem to
liaise with Turkey to work against the group only when they can benefit. When
exercising political propaganda or fundraising, the organization uses Europe (Pike, 2004).
Ideology
The group is mainly secular
meaning it has no religious connections as it traces its roots to leftist
groups of the 1970s, particularly Dev-Genc. At first, the organization
identified itself with the global communist revolution. They have so far
evolved ad changed their objectives to achieve Democratic confederalism and
national autonomy through society building. PKK worked with other ethnic groups
such as ethnic Turks supporters of the radical left in the 1980s. Initially,
the group focused on forming fully autonomous Kurdistan in Kurdish locations in
Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. Other than secularism and Democratic
confederalism, other ideologies of the group include;
Communalism
Libertarian Socialism
Kurdish nationalism
Libertarian municipalism
News Article
The news article is a
three-part analysis done by independent analyst Sarah Abed for MintPress News.
Abed begins by exposing the contemporary Kurdish/Israeli collaboration that
both sides have tried to hide to evade attention from the public which would
ruin their ultimate plan. Abed also sheds light on how the United States uses
Kurdish Factions including the KGK to destabilize the Middle East. She points
out that the Kurds have partly participated in such relationships due to
internal divisions that have led to disunity. The conflict has made it harder
for KGK among other Kurds to achieve their main objective which is to form a
fully independent Kurdistan in the areas they occupy even after all these
decades (Abed,
2017).
The article also evaluates
the attempts the Syrian government to keep Syria united by changing the
constitution for the benefit of the Kurds. Unfortunately, these efforts have not
been bought by the separatist Kurds who have not seized from illegally
expropriating parts of Syria while claiming thousands of lives. Abed points out
that drug smuggling is the primary source of funding for KGK terrorism as per
the organization International Strategic Research.
Part 2 of the analysis
evaluates the topic of discussion in greater lengths while hoping to raise
awareness of this critical Syrian puzzle. She examines how Kurds are linked to
apartheid Israel and reasons why Israel has a peculiar interest in the
organization. She also highlights the bizarre circumstance of western military
veterans flying into Syria to help Kurds fight. The Kurdish relationship with
ISIS is also described since some Kurds have opted to fight for them just to achieve
their intended goal of an independent Kurdistan.
Part three analyzes the Kurds
role in assisting both Israel the United States to sabotage the Middle East.
Abed mainly focuses on the past and present human rights violations by the PKK
among other Kurds against Christian and Arab minorities. Finally, she outlines
the misconceptions surrounding why the Kurds are still stateless (Abed, 2017).
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