Cemil Bayık
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Cemil Bayık
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| File:جەمیل بایک.jpg | |
| Nickname(s) | Cuma |
| Born | 1951 Keban, Elâzığ Province, Turkey |
| Years of service | 1978 – present |
| Rank | Member of PKK Presidency Council Vice-Chairman of KCK Executive Council Former ARGK commander |
| Battles/wars | Turkey–PKK conflict |
Cemil Bayık (born 1951 in Keban, Elazığ), also known as Cuma, is one of the five founders of the Kurdish movement Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),[1] and is among the organization's top leadership. He is a member of the 12-man leadership council of the Koma Civaken Kurdistan (KCK), a Kurdish political umbrella organisation that the PKK is part of,[2] and is also part of the three-man PKK Executive Committee, the leading body of the organisation, which consists of himself, acting PKK leader Murat Karayilan and Fehman Huseyin, a Kurd from Western/Syrian Kurdistan who is the PKK's military commander.[3][4]
Cemil Bayik has accused Turkey of the protecting and supporting of the ISIS. He also asked international observers to study Turkey's bomb attacks. [5]
Contents
Life
In the PKK's first meeting in 1978, Bayik was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the organisation, making him the PKK's second man (after Abdullah Öcalan)[6] and until 1995[7] he served as the leader of the PKK's military wing, the Arteshen Rizgariya Gelli Kurdistan (ARGK) or Peoples' Liberation Army.[2] In the early nineties he was the camp director at the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy, the PKK's training camp in the Syrian-controlled Beqaa Valley in Lebanon.[8]
After the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Bayik teamed up with Murat Karayilan against the reformists in the PKK. As a result, reformist leaders such as Osman Öcalan, Nizamettin Tas (who previously backed Bayik against Osman Ocalan in a leadership struggle[9]) and Kani Yilmaz left the organisation, Karayilan served as acting leader of the PKK with Bayik's support. Bayik's position was weakened when Fehman Huseyin was made leader of the PKK's new military wing, Hezen Parastina Gel (HPG) or Peoples' Defence Force. Since then Bayik has been a political leader in the PKK and is in charge of the organisation's relations with Iran. Bayik himself is said to have been to Iran numerous times, including to a base in Urumiyeh.[2]
Just before the 2015 Ankara bombings Bayik stated that PKK does not want war and is again ready to an immediate ceasefire. Because if war could solve the kurdish challenge in Turkey it would have been solved long time ago. The ceasefire came into action on the day of the Ankara bombings.[10]
Controversies
Capabilities
His capabilities as a military commander have been criticised by many PKK leaders, including Öcalan, who doesn't hold Bayik in very high regard.
Suspicions of drug trafficking
On April 20, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of PKK founders Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan and other high-ranking members as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNT) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Pursuant to the Kingpin Act, the designation freezes any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these individuals. However, the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution says that there is no evidence that the organisational structures of the PKK are directly involved in drug trafficking.[11][12]
References
- ↑ http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Leading PKK Commander Cemil Bayik Crosses into Iran. Jamestown.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-20.
- ↑ New PKK Leadership Takes Over Insurgency. Menewsline.com (2008-05-25). Retrieved on 2012-08-20.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Jamestown Foundation: PKK Leadership Under Pressure in the Post-Öcalan Era. Jamestown.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-20.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Markus, Aliza (October 2011). Blood and belief. p. 159. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2012-08-20.
- ↑ Nizamettin Tas [dead link]
- ↑ PKK leader says ready for new Turkey ceasefire, AFP, 2010-10-09.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
| Preceded by | 23x15px Military Commander of the PKK 1986 – 1995 |
Succeeded by Nizamettin Taş |
