STRUGGLES

Popular rebellion in Cizîr in 2014
In October 2014 people came out onto the streets in Cizîr, like in cities all over north
Kurdistan (Bakur), in support ofKobanê. People began to build barricades in their
neighbourhoods. More barricades were built in December in response to new attacks by the
police. The resistance developed into a popular rebellion.
voices from the struggles for freedom in bakur
This rebellion was a direct response to the state violence against Kurdish people, and
particularly against the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), a party supporting
democratic autonomy in the Kurdish region which was preparing to stand in the general
election the following year against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The
attacks against Kurdish movements were being carried out by the police, and also a shadowy
group called Kurdish Hezbollah (KH). The aims ofthese attacks were to intimidate Kurdish
people, to provoke them into violence and to prevent the HDP from building electoral support
to rival the AKP.
Kurdish Hezbollah
Kurdish Hezbollah, whose name means 'party ofgod' are a Kurdish Sunni Islamist group that
is carrying out increasing numbers ofattacks on the HDP, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers'
Party) and the communities that support them. The group is unconnected to the Lebanese
Hezbollah. In the 1990s KH was in direct conflict with the PKK, killing hundreds ofits
members.
Many journalists have examined the historic links between KH and the Turkish state and a
retired colonel in the Turkish army has admitted setting up the group to 'fight the PKK'. In
2012, Hür Dava Partisi, or Hüda-Par, the Free Cause Party, was formed as a legal political
party, and front group for Hezbollah.
In many ofthe cities Corporate Watch visited in July 2015, people told us about KH attacks
and claimed that the group is armed by the Turkish state.
The following two interviews were carried out in July 2015. They talked about their
experiences ofthe resistance and repression between September 2014 and January 2015 and
they called for solidarity.
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