Mustafa Karasu
Senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mustafa Karasu also known as Huseyin Ali is a deputy chairman[2] Turkish founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),[3] 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.[4]
Leader of ERNK
Politibureau member
Mustafa Karasu | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Huseyin Ali[1] |
| Born | 2 January 1950 |
| Allegiance | Kurdistan Workers' Party |
| Rank | Deputy Chairman of PKK Leader of ERNK |
| Unit | ERNK (previously) |
| Conflicts | Kurdish–Turkish conflict |
Biography
Karasu was born in Karapınar, Gürün.[5] 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.[6] He is the leader of the Alevi groups within the PKK.[7] His name was on the list of 248 PKK members of which Turkey wished extradication from Iraq on July 10, 2010.[8]
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 popular front: the ERNK.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] He has repeatedly spoken out on the side of the Palestinians when talking about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[12][13]