page_title: History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
section_title: Marking the border
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party / Paramilitary II (1993–1995) / Marking the border
context_page_description: The history of the Kurdistan Workers' Party began in 1974 as a Marxist–Leninist organization under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan. In 1978 the organization adopted the name "Kurdistan Workers Party" and waged its low-level Urban War in Turkish Kurdistan between 1978–1980. The PKK restructured itself and moved the organization structure to Syria between 1980–1984, after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict began in earnest in 1984. The rural-based insurgency lasted between 1984–1992. The PKK shifted its activities to include urban attacks against Turkish military bases between 1993–1995 and later 1996–1999. Öcalan was captured in Kenya in early 1999. After a "self declared peace initiative of 1999", hostilities resumed in February 2004. 2013 saw another ceasefire, but the conflict resumed again in 2015 and has continued since.
  Since 1974, the PKK has been able to evolve and adapt, having gone through a metamorphosis, which became the main factor in its survival. It has gradually grown from a handful of political students to an armed organization of thousands.
context_section_description: During 1988 after the Halabja poison gas attack 36,000 Kurdish refugees were located in Diyarbakir.  Iraq began to spread out its problems to Turkey. After the Gulf War of 1991, the problem was not just PKK insurgency. It was a humanitarian problem that can turn into a regional war. Turkey didn't want to open border for Kurdish refugees.
  The "vacuum of power in North Iraq" refers to a security concept related to creation of a "safe haven" in North Iraq. Its first use was attributed to Turgut Özal. The goal has been stated as stabilization of economical, social, and cultural the conditions of Kurds under "Unified Iraq." The "Unified Iraq" has been the dominant position for Turkish foreign policy. Turkey was strictly against any kind of independent Kurdish state in Iraq. This sentiments was apparent during the "March 1" incident, in which Kurdish origin representatives prevented Turkey's participation to 2003 invasion of Iraq. Turkey with its Kurdish population is sensitive to the short term and long-term problems of Iraqi Kurds.
  On May 1995 Suleyman Demirel proposed moving the border from the heights to stop the insurgency:
  The border on those heights is wrong. Actually, that is the boundary of the oil region. Turkey begins where that boundary ends. Geologists drew that line. It is not Turkey's national border. That is a matter that has to be rectified. I said some time ago that "the area will be infiltrated when we withdraw [from northern Iraq]." . . . The terrorists will return. We will be confronted with a similar situation in two or three months. So, let us correct the border line. Turkey cannot readjust its border with Iraq by itself. The border line on the heights has to be brought down to the lower areas. I only want to point out that the border line is wrong. Had it been in the low areas at the foot of the mountains, the [PKK] militants would not have been able to assemble in that region.
  — Suleyman Demirel, Middle East Quarterly, September 1995
  This proposal was rejected by Iraq and consequently Iran and Arab countries. Turkey decided to mark the Iraq-Turkey border and eliminate the free movement of the organization in this region. There were ten southeastern provinces located in the mountainous border. On the Turkish side of the border 3000 residential units which had 378,335 villagers were forcefully displaced. Thermal cameras were located on the border. Despite this new project, the government even failed to destroy PKK camps inside of Turkey and also stop their members entering Turkey.
  On June 3, 1997 the Commission on Internal Migration was established to study the controversial loss of residential units. A numerous of sources accused Turkey of war crimes, forced displacement and human right violations.
  While marking the Turkey-Iraq border, Turkey was seeking a way to eliminate the "vacuum of power" created within the north Iraq no-fly zone.
caption: Marking Iraq-Turkey border