Dersim Rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Dersim rebellion was an uprising against the Turkish government
in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey, which includes Tunceli Province
, Elazığ Province
, and Bingöl Province
. The rebellion was led by Seyid Riza
, an Alevi
Zaza
chieftain of the Yukarı Abbas Uşağı tribe.
period, before the Tanzimat
, most of the empire's eastern regions were administrated by the Zaza
or Kurdish
feudal system. Authority in these regions was in the hands of feudal lords, tribal chieftains and aghas (dignitaries).
Complaints kept coming from the governors. In an Interior Ministry report in 1926, it was considered necessary to use force against the residents of Dersim.
process in Turkey began with the Turkish National Assembly passing the 1934 Law on Resettlement ('İskân Kanunu' Law No.2510, 13 June 1934).
whose name was changed from Dersim to Tunceli with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" (Tunceli Vilayetinin İdaresi Hakkında Kanun), no. 2884 of 25 December 1935 on January 4, 1936.
of religious and ethnic minorities, the Turkish Grand National Assembly got the law numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927 passed. After the First Inspectorate-General (January 1, 1928, Diyarbakır),
Thrace pogroms
on the Second Inspectorate-General (February 19, 1934, Edirne) and the Third Inspectorate-General (August 25, 1935, Erzurum) on June 6. 1936, the Fourth General Inspectorate (Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik) was established in historical Dersim region that includes Tunceli Province
, Elazığ Province
and Bingöl Province
.
On 1 November 1936, during a speech in the parliament Atatürk acknowledged the situation in Dersim as Turkey's most important internal problem. Firstly, military stations were built to the strategical zones. Inspector of the 4. General Ispectorate, Lieutenant General Abdullah Alpdoğan had the authority to sign the court orders, providing security, to exile the people that live in the city when needed.
and wounded two soldiers. After this affair Mehmet Ali and his brothers left village to escape. When they passed Pah Bridge, they removed several wooden board from the bridge to delay the follow-up activities of soldiers. Turkish authority proclaimed that Dersim tribes rebelled and burned a bridge.
Turkish soldiers came to Kamer Aga, chieftain of Yusufan tribe, and want him to deliver Mehmet Ali. A Turkish colonel said to Kamer Aga Deliver suspects, otherwise we will set fire to your village. Kamer Aga responded to a colonel that Mehmet Ali only reacted to officer's attempt to rape his wife and rejected the delivery of Mehmet Ali.
According to Turkish authority, on March 20/21, 1937, 23:00, Demenan and Haydaran tribes broke a bridge connecting Pah and Kahmut at the Harçik Valley. 4. Inspector General ordered to prepare for the action to 2. Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülümür, 3. Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülür, 9. Gendarmier Battalion at Mazkirt, Mobile Gendarmerie Regiment at Hozat and sent one infantry company of 9. Mobile Gendarmier Battalion to Pah.
, a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s, Atatürk had given the operation order himself.
came to the government building of Erzincan Province for peace talks and was arrested. On the next day, he was transferred to the headquarter of the General Inspectorate at Elazığ and hanged with 6 (or 10) of his fellows on November 15–18, 1937
November 17, 1937, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Pertek for taking part in opening ceremony of the Bridge Singeç.
(in office: Oct 25, 1937–Jan 25, 1939) had agreed on an attack to Dersim rebels. The operation started on January 2, 1938 and finished on August 7, 1938.
, the first female fighter pilot in military history
. A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb, upon a group of 50 fleeing bandits.
Muhsin Batur, engaged in operations for about two months over Dersim. But he stated in his reminiscences that he wanted to avoid explaining this part of his life. Nuri Dersimi claims that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938.
A key component of the Turkification
process was the policy of massive population resettlement - a result of the 1934 law on resettlement. This policy targeted the region of Dersim as one of its first test cases, and it had disastrous consequences for the local population.
Hüseyin Aygün, a jurist author, wrote in his book Dersim 1938 and Obligatory Settlement:
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
apologized "on behalf of the state" over the killing of over 13,000 people during the rebellion.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey, which includes Tunceli Province
Tunceli Province
The Tunceli Province is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The province was named Dersim Province and was changed to Tunceli Province on January 4, 1936. with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" , no...
, Elazığ Province
Elazig Province
Elâzığ Province is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elâzığ. The source of the Euphrates river is located in this province.The province has a population of 552,646 as of 2010...
, and Bingöl Province
Bingöl Province
Bingöl Province is a province of Turkey in Eastern Anatolia. The province was created in 1946 out of parts of Elazığ and Erzincan. The new province was known as Çapakçur Province until 1950. Its neighbouring provinces are Tunceli, Erzurum, Muş, Diyarbakır, Erzincan and Elazığ. The province covers...
. The rebellion was led by Seyid Riza
Seyid Riza
Seyid Rıza , was born in 1863 in Lirtik, a village in Dersim...
, an Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
Zaza
Zaza people
The Zazas, Kird, Kirmanc or Dimilis are an ethnic Iranic people whose native language is Zazaki spoken in eastern Anatolia. They primarily live in the eastern Anatolian provinces, such as Adıyaman, Aksaray, Batman, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzurum, Erzincan , Gumushane, Kars, Malatya, Mus,...
chieftain of the Yukarı Abbas Uşağı tribe.
Ottoman period
During the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period, before the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
, most of the empire's eastern regions were administrated by the Zaza
Zaza people
The Zazas, Kird, Kirmanc or Dimilis are an ethnic Iranic people whose native language is Zazaki spoken in eastern Anatolia. They primarily live in the eastern Anatolian provinces, such as Adıyaman, Aksaray, Batman, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Erzurum, Erzincan , Gumushane, Kars, Malatya, Mus,...
or Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
feudal system. Authority in these regions was in the hands of feudal lords, tribal chieftains and aghas (dignitaries).
Early republican era
The situation of Dersim in the Ottoman Empire continued in the early years of the Republic of Turkey. Tribes from Dersim objected to losing authority and rejected paying taxes.Complaints kept coming from the governors. In an Interior Ministry report in 1926, it was considered necessary to use force against the residents of Dersim.
Law on Resettlement
The TurkificationTurkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
process in Turkey began with the Turkish National Assembly passing the 1934 Law on Resettlement ('İskân Kanunu' Law No.2510, 13 June 1934).
"Tunceli" law
Dersim region included the Tunceli ProvinceTunceli Province
The Tunceli Province is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The province was named Dersim Province and was changed to Tunceli Province on January 4, 1936. with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" , no...
whose name was changed from Dersim to Tunceli with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" (Tunceli Vilayetinin İdaresi Hakkında Kanun), no. 2884 of 25 December 1935 on January 4, 1936.
Fourth General Inspectorate
In order to consolidate the authority in the process of TurkificationTurkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
of religious and ethnic minorities, the Turkish Grand National Assembly got the law numbered 1164 and dated June 25, 1927 passed. After the First Inspectorate-General (January 1, 1928, Diyarbakır),
Thrace pogroms
1934 Thrace Pogroms
1934 Thrace Pogroms refers to a series of violent events that took place in June and July 1934 which involved Turks and Jewish residents of Thrace region of Turkey.-History:...
on the Second Inspectorate-General (February 19, 1934, Edirne) and the Third Inspectorate-General (August 25, 1935, Erzurum) on June 6. 1936, the Fourth General Inspectorate (Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik) was established in historical Dersim region that includes Tunceli Province
Tunceli Province
The Tunceli Province is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The province was named Dersim Province and was changed to Tunceli Province on January 4, 1936. with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" , no...
, Elazığ Province
Elazig Province
Elâzığ Province is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elâzığ. The source of the Euphrates river is located in this province.The province has a population of 552,646 as of 2010...
and Bingöl Province
Bingöl Province
Bingöl Province is a province of Turkey in Eastern Anatolia. The province was created in 1946 out of parts of Elazığ and Erzincan. The new province was known as Çapakçur Province until 1950. Its neighbouring provinces are Tunceli, Erzurum, Muş, Diyarbakır, Erzincan and Elazığ. The province covers...
.
On 1 November 1936, during a speech in the parliament Atatürk acknowledged the situation in Dersim as Turkey's most important internal problem. Firstly, military stations were built to the strategical zones. Inspector of the 4. General Ispectorate, Lieutenant General Abdullah Alpdoğan had the authority to sign the court orders, providing security, to exile the people that live in the city when needed.
The Rebellion
After "Tunceli" law, the Turkish government built military observation posts in centers of districts such as Kahmut, Sin, Karaoğlan, Amutka, Danzik, Haydaran etc.From Uhundu village to Pah bridge
According to Hıdır Göktaş, in March 1937, Turkish troops came to Uhundu village from Tülük village, Mehmet Ali Menteş, a member of Yusufan tribe invited them to his house. Since a young officer attempted to rape Mehmet Ali's young and beautiful wife, Mehmet Ali shot both of them to death to protect namusNamus
Namus is the Arabic word of a concept of an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern patriarchal character...
and wounded two soldiers. After this affair Mehmet Ali and his brothers left village to escape. When they passed Pah Bridge, they removed several wooden board from the bridge to delay the follow-up activities of soldiers. Turkish authority proclaimed that Dersim tribes rebelled and burned a bridge.
Turkish soldiers came to Kamer Aga, chieftain of Yusufan tribe, and want him to deliver Mehmet Ali. A Turkish colonel said to Kamer Aga Deliver suspects, otherwise we will set fire to your village. Kamer Aga responded to a colonel that Mehmet Ali only reacted to officer's attempt to rape his wife and rejected the delivery of Mehmet Ali.
A meeting at Halbori cells
Chieftain of Yukarı Abbas Uşağı Seyit Riza sent his fellow men to Haydaran, Demenan, Yusufan, Kureyşan tribes to make an alliance.According to Turkish authority, on March 20/21, 1937, 23:00, Demenan and Haydaran tribes broke a bridge connecting Pah and Kahmut at the Harçik Valley. 4. Inspector General ordered to prepare for the action to 2. Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülümür, 3. Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülür, 9. Gendarmier Battalion at Mazkirt, Mobile Gendarmerie Regiment at Hozat and sent one infantry company of 9. Mobile Gendarmier Battalion to Pah.
Turkish military operations
According to Osman PamukoğluOsman Pamukoğlu
Osman Pamukoğlu is a retired major general of the Turkish Army and politician who founded the Rights and Equality Party....
, a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s, Atatürk had given the operation order himself.
First Tunceli Operation
On September 10–12, 1937, Seyit RızaSeyid Riza
Seyid Rıza , was born in 1863 in Lirtik, a village in Dersim...
came to the government building of Erzincan Province for peace talks and was arrested. On the next day, he was transferred to the headquarter of the General Inspectorate at Elazığ and hanged with 6 (or 10) of his fellows on November 15–18, 1937
- Seyit Rıza
- Resik Hüseyin (Seyit Rıza's son, 16 years old)
- Seyit Hüseyin (the chieftain of Kureyşan-Seyhan tribe)
- Fındık Aga (Yusfanlı Kamer Aga's son)
- Hasan Aga (Demenan tribe, Cebrail Ağa's son)
- Hasan (Kureyşan tribesman Ulkiye's son)
- Ali Aga (Mirza Ali's son)
November 17, 1937, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Pertek for taking part in opening ceremony of the Bridge Singeç.
Second Tunceli Operation
The prime minister, Celal BayarCelal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
(in office: Oct 25, 1937–Jan 25, 1939) had agreed on an attack to Dersim rebels. The operation started on January 2, 1938 and finished on August 7, 1938.
Third Tunceli Operation
Third Tunceli Operation was carried out between August 10–17, 1938.Aerial operations
Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against rebels during the rebellion. Among the pilots was Kemal Atatürk's adopted daughter, Sabiha GökçenSabiha Gökçen
Sabiha Gökçen was a Turkish aviatrix. First Turkish female combat pilot, aged 23. She was one of the eight adopted children of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.- Early life :...
, the first female fighter pilot in military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
. A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb, upon a group of 50 fleeing bandits.
Muhsin Batur, engaged in operations for about two months over Dersim. But he stated in his reminiscences that he wanted to avoid explaining this part of his life. Nuri Dersimi claims that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938.
The Results
According to official report of 4. General Ispectorate, 13,160 civilians were killed by the Turkish Army and 11,818 people were taken into exile, depopulating the province. According to Dersimi, many tribesmen were shot dead after surrendering, and women and children were locked into haysheds which were then set on fire. According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed. According to diaspora Kurdish sources, over 70,000 people were killed.A key component of the Turkification
Turkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
process was the policy of massive population resettlement - a result of the 1934 law on resettlement. This policy targeted the region of Dersim as one of its first test cases, and it had disastrous consequences for the local population.
Hüseyin Aygün, a jurist author, wrote in his book Dersim 1938 and Obligatory Settlement:
- "The rebellion was clearly caused by provoking. It caused the most violent tortures that were ever seen in a rebellion in the Republic years. Those that didn't take place in the rebellion and also the families of the rebels were also tortured."
Recent developments
On November 23, 2011, Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
apologized "on behalf of the state" over the killing of over 13,000 people during the rebellion.