- Mustafa Karasu
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Mustafa Karasu Nickname Huseyin Ali Born Tunceli Allegiance 
Kurdistan Workers' PartyRank Leader of ERNK
KCK executive council member
Politibureau memberUnit ERNK (previously) Battles/wars Turkey – Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict Mustafa Karasu is a senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party,[1] a Kurdish rebel group fighting an armed insurgency against the government of Turkey for an independent Kurdistan. The group is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and EU.[2] Along with Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan he is viewed as one of the hardliners among the PKK's leadership and is alleged to have links to Iran.[3] He is the leader of the Alevi Shi'a groups within the PKK.[4] His name was on the list of 248 PKK members of which Turkey wished extradication from Iraq on July 10, 2010.[5]
He was imprisoned for several years after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, after his release he became a member of the PKK's politburo (leadership council) and led the group's populair front: the ERNK.[6] After working in the PKK's political wing for 3 years, in Europe he was called back to South-Eastern Turkey by Abdullah Ocalan to gain more battle experience.[7] He is currently the member of the Executive Council (de facto government) of the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (KCK), which is the PKK's umbrella organisation.[8]
References
- ^ PKK ends ceasefire with Turkey, attacks reported near border
- ^ US State Department Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations, October 8, 1999
- ^ Iran's role in the PKK's recent terror campaigns
- ^ Terror expert says Iran wants to use PKK as leverage
- ^ For first time, no PKK extradition list given to Iraq
- ^ Historical dictionary of the Kurds: [1] (page 158)
- ^ The Kurds and the future of Turkey
- ^ ‘Madımak Massacre case needs to be re-open’
Categories:- Living people
- Turkish Kurdish people
- Kurdish politicians
- Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
- People from Tunceli province
- Shia Muslims
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