The Maraş massacre was the massacre of more than one hundredAleviKurds in the city ofKahramanmaraş, Turkey, in December 1978, by the neo-fascistGrey Wolves and conservative Sunnis. The tensions were initially ignited by a noise bomb thrown into a movie theater frequented by extreme Turkish nationalists. The incident is best remembered for the subsequent campaign of violence directed against left-wingers, mostly Alevi Kurds, although some left-wing Sunnis were also targeted. Although some 500 perpetrators of the incident were indicted later on, the investigation was kept classified by the government.
Background
The events in Kahramanmaraş lasted from 19 to 26 December 1978. It started with a bomb thrown into a cinema attended mostly by right-wingers. Rumors spread that left-wingers had thrown the bomb. The next day, a bomb was thrown into a coffee-shop frequently visited by left-wingers, In the evening of 21 December 1978 the teachers Hacı Çolak and Mustafa Yüzbaşıoğlu, known as left-wingers, were killed on their way home. While a crowd of some 5,000 people prepared for the funeral, right-wing groups stirred up emotions saying that "the communists are going to bomb the mosque, and will massacre our Muslim brothers".
On [23 December 1978, the incidents turned into a pogrom: crowds stormed the quarters where Alevis were living, attacking people and destroying houses and shops. Many offices, including that of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, Teachers' Association of Turkey, Association of Police Officers and Republican People's Party , were destroyed. During the incidents, over 100 people were killed, and more than 200 houses and approximately 100 shops were destroyed. The figures on casualties vary slightly. The Independent Communication Network Bianet claim that 111 people were killed, while the daily Zaman puts the death toll at 105. Opinions of witnesses include the following observations:
Aftermath
On 26 December 1978, martial law was declared in İstanbul, Ankara, Adana, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Elazığ, Bingöl, Erzurum, Erzincan, Kars, Malatya, Sivas and Urfa. The court cases, opened at military courts, lasted until 1991. A total of 804 defendants were put on trial. The courts issued 29 death penalties and sentenced seven defendants to life imprisonment and 321 others to sentences between one and 24 years of imprisonment. All of the defendants were released by 1992 thanks toa law passed the previous year. Hasan Fehmi Güneş, who was appointed Interior Minister after the incidents, is convinced that the massacre was planned. Ruşen Sümbüloğlu, chair of the "Association of Persons from 1968" in Ankara, claimed that the Counter-Guerrilla was behind the provocation. Fevzi Gümüş, chair of the "Cultural Association Pir Sultan Abdal" claimed that the CIA and the deep state must have been involved. Turan Eser, President of the "Alevi Bektaşi Federation", spoke at the 29th anniversary of the massacre in Maraş. He alleged that before the events, "counter guerrilla and racist paramilitary imperialist henchmen made efforts to spread the seeds of hatred between those, who were citizens of the same country and had lived together in peace for centuries". A secret document revealed that the secret service had planned the incidents. Ökkeş Şendiller, who had been on trial for being involved in the incident, later became a member of parliament, and was involved in the foundation of the Turkish nationalistGreat Union Party. In 2007, the radio station Voice of Free Radio and Folk Songs broadcast a program, in which Ökkeş Şendiller was interviewed over the phone. Passages of the conversation with Hasan Harmancı are : On 30 April 2011, Hamit Kapan, an alleged member of Devrimci Savaş, who had been held incommunicado for 300 days while two friends of his were tortured to death, accused General Yusuf Haznedaroğlu, responsible for martial law in Kahramanmaraş, of being responsible for the torture. The general had tried to blame Devrimci Savaş for the killings.
