Pınarcık massacre

Massacre of Turkish citizens in Turkey by the PKK in 1987

Pınarcık massacre

Location| Pınarcık, Ömerli, Mardin Province, Turkey
Date| 20 June 1987 (20 June 1987)

Attack type

| Massacre, shooting, arson
Deaths| 32
Perpetrators|  Kurdistan Workers' Party

* v
* t
* e

Kurdish–Turkish conflict

Timeline

* * *

First insurgency

* 1984
* Karageçit
* N Iraq (1986)
* Ortabağ
* N Iraq (1987)
* Pınarcık
* Yeşilova
* Taşdelen
* Şırnak
* Kulp
* N Iraq (1992)
* Bingöl
* Başbağlar
* Lice
* Winter campaign
* Steel
* Tokat
* Hawk
* Tunceli
* Varto
* Sazak
* Hammer
* Dawn
* Murat
* Istanbul
* Blue Market

Second insurgency

* Hakkâri (2007)
* N Iraq (2007)
* Ankara
* Aktütün
* Diyarbakır
* Sun
* Reşadiye
* İskenderun
* Hakkâri
* Istanbul
* 2011 border raid
* Hakkâri (2011)
* Roboski
* Hakkâri (2012)
* Beytüşşebap
* Şemdinli

Third insurgency

* Ceylanpınar
* Siirt bombing
* Martyr Yalçın
* Police raids
* Arslan Kulaksız
* Şırnak
* Cizre (2015)
* Cizre (2016)
* Kandil
* Hakkari
* Silvan
* Sur
* Lice
* Dürümlü
* 2015 airport bombing
* Ankara (Feb 2016)
* Ankara (Mar 2016)
* Bursa
* Istanbul (Jun 2016)
* Istanbul (Oct 2016)
* Istanbul (Dec 2016)
* N Iraq (2016)
* Elazığ
* Cizre
* Euphrates Shield
* Şemdinli
* Kayseri
* İzmir
* Airstrikes in Syria & Iraq
* Olive Branch
* Siirt raid
* Sinjar (2018)
* Gercüş
* Claw
* Peace Spring
* Claw-Eagle & Claw-Tiger
* İskenderun
* Claw-Eagle 2
* Claw-Lightning & Thunderbolt
* Sinjar (2021)
* Claw-Lock
* Zakho
* Istanbul (2022)
* Claw-Sword
* Syria (2023 June)
* Ankara (2023)
* Syria (2023 Oct)

* * *

Serhildan

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1999
* 2001
* 2005
* 2006
* 2008
* 2009
* 2011–2012
* 2014

* * *

Peace process and peace efforts

* 1991–2004 Kurdish–Turkish peace initiatives
* 1993 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
* 2013–2015 Solution process

* * *

Others

* Assassinations

The Pinarcik massacre was the killing of 24 Kurdish women and children and eight village guards on 20 June 1987, in the village of Pınarcık, in the Mardin Province of Turkey, by ARGK units of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).[1][2] The dead consisted of 16 children, eight village guards, and eight women.[3] Aliza Marcus, a specialist on the conflict, describes it as "the PKK's most brutal attack on villagers since the state-sponsored militia had been formed".[1]

## Incident[edit]

One June evening in 1987, men who were apparently PKK rebels partly encircled Pınarcık. It was later at night where one of eight Pınarcık's Turkish state-financed village guard recalled that the attackers shouted at them to surrender, but the guards apparently did not pay much attention.[1]

The attackers fired directly on the village. The guards fought back, but they were outnumbered nearly four-to-one and, as one man later complained, hobbled by a lack of sufficient ammunition. According to Turkish authorities, thirty men then descended upon the village and continued the shoot-out with the village guards. The firefight lasted more than two hours. At the end, 30 people were dead, 16 children, 6 women and 8 men lay dead.[1][4] According to the Ankara Domestic Service, the attackers attacked houses using hand grenades and Molotov cocktails, and fired on those fleeing the burning houses.[5]

## Aftermath[edit]

Serxwebûn, a publication of the PKK,[6][7][8] stated that the massacre was a "noble action" carried out by the ARGK militant units of the PKK against village guards in its June 1987 issue. It further described the massacre as "the culmination of a series of actions" against "Turkish colonialism", which included an attack at a farm in Ceylanpınar, the "punishment" of an "agent teacher" and an attack against a Turkish army convoy.[9] Şemdin Sakık, a previous commander of the PKK, wrote that the massacre was ordered by Abdullah Öcalan himself and carried out by special forces under his command.[10][11]

A day before the attack the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Turkey for its refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide and issues regarding Kurdish rights, saying that they presented "insurmountable obstacles" ("unüberwindbare Hindernisse") to Turkey's EU membership bid. After the Pınarcık attack, Turkish President Kenan Evren said this resolution had encouraged the PKK to attack Pınarcık to make sure Turkey would be excluded from the EU. Der Spiegel dismissed this claim as "hardly serious" ("kaum ernst gemeint").[12]

The Turkish news agency Hürriyet claimed the attackers had come from Syria, whose border is about 25 km from Pınarcık.[12] In July 1987 Prime Minister Turgut Özal signed an agreement with Syria under which Syria would remove PKK camps from its territory.[13]

Turkish columnist Mehmet Ali Birand, who had distinguished himself for his attempts to write openly about the country's Kurdish issue, called it a crime of "historical" proportions.[1]

### Ayhan Çarkın allegations[edit]

Ayhan Çarkın, then a police special forces officer, told Radikal in 2011 that he had visited Pınarcık immediately after the attack: "I went to that village. The smell of blood and gunpowder were everywhere. The Pınarcık Massacre was actualized by groups formed by JİTEM", an intelligence unit of the Turkish Gendarmerie, "for means of provocation."[4] In a 2002 interview with Hürriyet he said "I have collected the body of a 1.5 months-old baby myself. No one can prove that terrorism is right to me."[14][dead link]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Aliza, Marcus (2007). The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. NY, USA: New York University Press. pp. 115–120.
2. ^ "Kurdish Rebels Kill 20 In 2 Villages in Turkey". The New York Times. Reuters News. July 1987. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
3. ^ Satana, Nil S. (2012). "The Kurdish Issue in June 2011 Elections: Continuity or Change in Turkey's Democratization?". Turkish Studies. Routledge. 13 (2): 169–189. doi:10.1080/14683849.2012.686575. hdl:11693/21264. S2CID 55920795. "In those years, the PKK committed several "crimes against humanity" such as the Pınarcık massacre in 1987 in which 8 village guards, 16 children and 8 women were slaughtered in a raid on a village in Mardin province."
4. ^ a b "State agent's confessions reveal alleged work of Turkey's deep state". Hurriyet Daily News. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
5. ^ Lois Whitman, Jeri Laber (1987), State of Flux: Human Rights in Turkey : December 1987 Update , Human Rights Watch. p102
6. ^ Marcus, Aliza (2007). Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. New York University Press. p. 115\. "The Pinarcik massacre—as it was called by the Turkish media— was the PKK's most brutal attack on villagers since the state-sponsored militia had been formed. The rebels' goal was to force Kurdish villagers to quit the guard system, which not only was supposed to keep the PKK from the villages but also sometimes helped Turkish soldiers operating in the unfamiliar mountain terrain. "In order to [strengthen our presence], collaborationists will be completely wiped out," warned the PKK's Serxwebun party newspaper, making clear that Kurds who worked with the state were viewed the same as enemy Turkish soldiers."
7. ^ Belge, Ceren (2016). "Civilian victimization and the politics of information in the Kurdish Conflict in Turkey". World Politics. 67 (2): 275–306. doi:10.1017/S0043887115000398. S2CID 155139277.
8. ^ Laoutides, Costas (2016). Self-Determination and Collective Responsibility in the Secessionist Struggle. Routledge. p. 160\. ISBN 9781317057468.
9. ^ "Serxwebûn, issue of June 1987" (in Turkish). Serxwebûn. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
10. ^ "Pınarcık katliamı emrini Öcalan verdi". Zaman. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
11. ^ Sakık, Şemdin (2005). Apo. Şark Yayınları. ISBN 9789759825904. "Pınarcık, Derecik, Başbağlar, Ömerli... ve daha bir çok köy baskınlarının talimatını bizzat kendisinin verdiği ve bu amaçla Suriye'de özel gruplar oluşturduğu, katliamlardan sonra bu grupları ödüllendirdiği anı anına kayıtlarla belgelidir."
12. ^ a b Der Spiegel, 29 June 1987, Waisen des Universums
13. ^ Michael Gunter (1991), Transnational SOurces of Support for the Kurdish Insurgency in Turkey, Conflict Quarterly, Spring 1991. p10
14. ^ "Ayhan Çarkın Emniyet'te". Radikal (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-06-06.

* "The PKK always targets civilians: A grim timeline". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
* Ajansı, İlke Haber (June 21, 2017). "PKK murdered 30 peasants in Pınarcık this day 30 years ago". İLKHA (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-01-05.
* "34th anniversary of Pınarcık Massacre". Livik. 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2022-01-05.

* v
* t
* e

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)

* Timeline
* Map

Turkey|

| State|

* Government
* National Security Council
* Military
* Army
* Air Force
* Navy
* Gendarmerie
* Coast Guard
* Police
* MİT
* Village Guards

|

Deep state|

* Counter-Guerrilla
* Grey Wolves
* Turkish Revenge Brigade
* Susurluk scandal
* Ergenekon
* JİTEM

Kurdish groups|

| Insurgent|

* KCK
* PKK
* History
* People's Defence Forces (HPG)
* Free Women's Units (YJA-STAR)
* National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK)
* Liberation Forces OF Kurdistan (HRK)
* People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK)
* Democratic People's Union of Kurdish (YDK)
* Democratic Society Coordination of Kurdistan (CDK)
* Free Women's Union of Kurdistan (YAJK)
* Workers' Women Party of Kurdistan (PJKK)
* Free Women Party (PJA)
* Free Women's Party of Kurdistan (PAJK)
* Women's Liberation Movement of Kurdistan (KJB)
* Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan (KADEK)
* People's Congress (Kongra-Gel)
* Confederation Community of Kurdistan (KKK)
* Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan (PŞK)
* Workers Vanguard Party of Kurdistan (PPKK)
* TAK
* KDP/N
* PJAK
* KKP
* Free Youth Movement of Kurdistan (TECAK)
* Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MLKP)
* Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H)
* PIK
* HİK
* KH (Hüda-Par)

|

Allies|

* DHP
* TDP
* ASALA (until the late 1980s)

Political|

* HEP (1990–1993)
* DEP (1993–1994)
* HADEP (1994–2003)
* DEHAP (1997–2005)
* DTH (2005)
* DTP (2005–2009)
* BDP (2008–2014)
* HDP (2012–present)
* DBP (2014–present)
* HEDEP (2023–present)

The conflict|

| 1974–1984|

* Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980)
* Maraş massacre
* 1980 Turkish coup d'état

|

1984–1999|

* 1984 PKK attacks
* Karageçit
* August 1986 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
* Ortabağ
* March 1987 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
* Pınarcık massacre
* Yeşilova incident
* Battle of Şırnak
* 1992 Taşdelen attack
* Battle of Kulp
* Operation Northern Iraq
* May 24, 1993 PKK attack
* Başbağlar massacre
* Lice massacre
* Winter Campaign of 1994–1995
* Operation Steel
* Operation Hawk
* Operation Tokat
* 1996 Tunceli bombing
* Siege of Varto
* Sazak assault
* Operation Hammer
* Operation Dawn
* Operation Murat
* 1999 Istanbul bombings
* Blue Market massacre

1999–2004|

2000 Turkish Hezbollah crackdown

2004–2012|

* 2005 Kuşadası minibus bombing
* 2007 Ankara bombing
* October 2007 clashes in Hakkâri
* December 2007 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
* 2008 Diyarbakır bombing
* 2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
* 2008 Istanbul bombings
* October 2008 Aktütün attack
* Reşadiye shooting
* 2010 İskenderun attack
* 2010 Hakkâri bus bombing
* 2010 Istanbul bombing
* August 2011 Turkey–Iraq cross-border raids
* 2011 Hakkâri attack
* Roboski massacre
* June–August 2012 Hakkari clashes
* 2012 Gaziantep bombing
* September 2012 Beytüşşebap attack

2015–present|

* 2015 Siirt bombing
* Operation Martyr Yalçın
* 2015 Hakkari assault
* Siege of Silvan (2015)
* Şırnak clashes (2015–2016)
* Siege of Sur (2016)
* February 2016 Lice bombing
* February 2016 Ankara bombing
* March 2016 Ankara bombing
* March 2016 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
* 2016 Bursa bombing
* May 2016 Dürümlü bombing
* May 2016 Diyarbakır bombing
* 2016 Cizre bombing
* 2016 Elazığ bombing
* Assassination of Deryan Aktert
* December 2016 Istanbul bombings
* 2017 Diyarbakır bombing
* Turkish airstrikes on Sinjar (2018)
* 2018 Siirt raid
* 2018 Gercüş bombing
* 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria
* 2020 İskenderun shootout
* Operation Claw-Eagle 2
* Operation Claw-Lock
* Zakho resort attack
* 2022 Mersin attack
* Operation Claw-Sword
* 2023 Ankara bombing
* October 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes

Protests|

| Serhildan|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1999
* 2001
* 2005
* 2006
* 2008
* 2009
* 2011–2012
* 2014

|

Others|

* Mothers of Diyarbakır

Peace process
and peace efforts|

* 1991–2004 Kurdish–Turkish peace initiatives
* 2013–2015 Solution process
* 1993 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
* Musa Anter peace train
* 2009–2010 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire

Kurdish leaders|

| Insurgent|

* Abdullah Öcalan
* Cemîl Bayik
* Murat Karayılan
* Bahoz Erdal
* Mustafa Karasu
* Duran Kalkan
* Haji Ahmadi
* Osman Öcalan
* Mahsum Korkmaz
* Şemdin Sakık
* Nizamettin Taş
* Mazlum Doğan
* Muhammad Mustafa
* Hüseyin Velioğlu
* Celal Başkale
* İsmail Özden

|

Political|

* Ahmet Fehmi Işıklar
* Yaşar Kaya
* Leyla Zana
* Hatip Dicle
* Orhan Doğan
* Ahmet Türk
* Murat Bozlak
* Tuncer Bakırhan
* Aysel Tuğluk
* Selahattin Demirtaş
* Nurettin Demirtaş
* Ayla Akat Ata
* Gültan Kışanak
* Pervin Buldan
* Emine Ayna
* Sebahat Tuncel
* Kemal Burkay
* Fatma Kurtulan
* Osman Baydemir
* Sırrı Süreyya Önder

Turkish leaders|

| Military|

* Kenan Evren
* Tahsin Şahinkaya
* Bülend Ulusu
* Nurettin Ersin
* Necdet Üruğ
* Necip Torumtay
* Eşref Bitlis
* Doğan Güreş
* İsmail Hakkı Karadayı
* Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu
* Hilmi Özkök
* İbrahim Fırtına
* Faruk Cömert
* Yaşar Büyükanıt
* Aydoğan Babaoğlu
* İlker Başbuğ
* Işık Koşaner
* Erdal Ceylanoğlu
* Necdet Özel
* Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu

|

Political|

* Turgut Özal
* Süleyman Demirel
* Bülent Ecevit
* Ali Bozer
* Yıldırım Akbulut
* Mesut Yılmaz
* Erdal İnönü
* Tansu Çiller
* Mesut Yılmaz
* Necmettin Erbakan
* Ahmet Necdet Sezer
* Abdullah Gül
* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
* Süleyman Soylu

See also|

| Memorials, monuments
and military cemeteries|

* 33 Martyrs Memorial
* Düzce Military Cemetery
* Monument of the Martyrs of Internal Security

|

Other|

* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* Kurdish separatism in Iran
* Rojava conflict
* Kurdish rebellions in Turkey
* Kurdish refugees
* Human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey
* Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey
* Iraq operations

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