Early this morning, police and army forces launched a crackdown in the southeastern province of Lice, Diyarbakır in order to demolish the statue of Mahsum Korkmaz, one of PKK’s founders.
Several armored vehicles reportedly entered the district from early hours of the morning.
According to the information provided via twitter, security forces are using bullets and several injuries have been reported.
The statue of Mahsum Korkmaz was erected in Lice’s Yolçatı village on August 15, 1984, on the 30th anniversary of PKK’s start of “armed struggle”.
Following the erection of the statue, Diyarbakır Governor’s Office filed a complaint, Lice Peace Court ordered the removal of the statue for “making terrorist organization propaganda”.
Who is Mahsum Korkmaz?
Born in Silvan on 1956, Mahsum Korkmaz, also known as Agit, was the first commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s military forces.
Korkmaz join the PKK in 1977 and moved to Palestine in 1979. He returned to Batman in 1980. Along with Kemal Pir, he was appointed in charge of PKK recruitment across Turkey.
He is known to have led the 15 August 1984 PKK attacks which was the start of the PKK's armed rebellion for Kurdish independence. He was killed on March 28, 1986, by Turkish forces.
The PKK's main training facility during the 1980s and early 1990s, the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy, which was located in the Lebanon's Beqaa Valley was named after him. (EKN/ÇT/BM)
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.
* Photo credit: Evrensel reporter @Faruk_Ayyildiz
