The California Dream: And Then… Reality Hits

Dreamin’ of epic surf in California? Maybe a chill spot in the Sierras? Or just cruising the PCH? Hold up a second. Because while you’re mapping out your Golden State adventure, let’s take a quick detour. Sometimes, understanding really big stuff happening way far away, like how the world ticks, that’s important too. Not your typical travel guide, this isn’t. But a quick rundown of some heavy events that kicked off thousands of miles from our sunny beaches, all starting with a major movement in Turkey.

The PKK: Started by Abdullah Öcalan in Turkey, 1978. Total game changer

Abdullah Öcalan, born into a Kurdish family in Şanlıurfa, was knee-deep in politics during his university years in the 1970s. Turmoil everywhere. He got really into leftist, communal, revolutionary, and separatist ideas. So, fast forward to 1973 in Ankara. He, with some buddies, cobbled together a group: “Kurdish Revolutionaries.”

By 1975, this crew, now called “Apocu,” was blasting propaganda all over Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia. Their mission? Get their ideas out there. Rally up supporters. And Öcalan, he got a lot of people to follow him. And another thing: on November 27, 1978, in Diyarbakır’s Lice, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party – yup, the PKK – officially started. No small thing, this. The organization quicky became the strongest leftist-revolutionary group in the region.

From Talking Big to Armed Warfare: The PKK, trained by Palestinian groups

The PKK? Didn’t stay a propaganda organization for long. They quickly got armed, like a lot of other revolutionary groups did. They made a name, taking sides in local tribal beefs. Total chaos. If a Kurdish tribal chief didn’t back them, well, assassinations followed. A real fright went through everyone. Turkey’s military wasn’t sitting around, either. Operations to stop these fighters.

By 1979, Öcalan saw the writing on the wall in Turkey. He slipped over to Syria. The 1980 coup actually weakened the PKK’s hold, but Öcalan used that time, regrouping. Building up his shaky group. He journeyed to Lebanon, meeting with many Palestinian groups – the PLO, DFLP, Fatah. The goal? Grab some serious training for the PKK. They did it. A meeting in Dera, Syria, in August 1982, locked down their next move: guerrilla warfare. Their big aim: an independent Kurdish state in Turkey. Öcalan even cut a deal with Masoud Barzani, moving his fighters to Northern Iraq. Setting up a central training camp in Lolan. The ongoing Iraq-Iran War? A super easy way to get weapons with no fuss.

Big Fights: 1980s attacks, Turkey’s big 90s push, Öcalan’s capture

August 1984. The PKK made their big move. First serious terror attacks on military targets in Eruh and Şemdinli. The government waved it off first. But the attacks sped up. Militants, finding spots to hide in Iran, Iraq, and Syria, were coming into Turkey. Ambushing Turkish forces, hitting villages. Sometimes, forcing locals to join. Öcalan had a huge vision: an alternative government. Ankara, honestly, had enough. They slapped a State of Emergency onto the region in 1987.

As Turgut Özal became Prime Minister and then President, the PKK changed. Bigger. More dug-in. Because the Gulf War brought tons of refugees fleeing Saddam. The PKK took advantage, grabbing new recruits. Terrorists could now slip into Turkey easier. Öcalan even tried a political play in 1990. Setting up the People’s Labor Party (HEP) to get his ideas into Turkish Parliament. This political wing actually got popular. Making the group stronger. And, with outside help, the PKK took its messy fight from the rural areas right into the cities. The Southeast became a bloodbath. By the end of 1992, the PKK had killed 1,447 security forces and 2,110 civilians, even women and babies.

The Turkish military hit back hard in 1992. A big cross-border offensive into Northern Iraq. Smashing PKK camps. The government also tried quiet talks with Iraqi officials. Hoping for a political way out. But by 1993, with Süleyman Demirel as President, the policy totally changed: a fierce military annihilation of the PKK. No longer defensive. Turkish forces went on the attack. Between 1992 and 1995, the Turkish Armed Forces really went at it, getting rid of thousands of terrorists in the mountains. Operations “Hammer” and “Dawn” in 1997, massive cross-border actions. Over 3,000 more stopped. Pushing the PKK to its breaking point.

Meanwhile, Öcalan, still calling shots from Syria, was getting boxed in. By September 1998, Turkey’s National Security Council told Syria straight: kick Öcalan out. Syria buckled. Öcalan bounced from Syria to Greece, then Russia, then Italy. Greek intelligence took him to Kenya. Finally, on February 15, 1999. A joint operation by Turkish special forces and the CIA caught him in Nairobi. Sent back to Turkey. Got the death penalty at first. Changed to life in prison.

After Öcalan: PKK keeps going, gets big in Iraq & Syria, hits cities

After Öcalan’s capture, the PKK went silent. They pulled back. Licked their wounds. Regrouped. In Syria, they got themselves back together as the PYD. Camps in Northern Iraq got busy again. But not as strong as before, the terrorists started hitting targets from 2004. This time? Their tactics took a nasty turn. Unlike the prior conflict years. They started targeting civilians in Western Turkish cities with bomb attacks. The Dağlıca attack in October 2007 was a critical moment. The final straw. In 2008, the Turkish military, with Operation Sun, went into Iraq again.

Peace Talks? Failed. Failed big time

In 2009, the AK Party government tried something new. Politics. They launched the “Democratic Opening.” Hoping for a peaceful resolution. But the PKK kept up their attacks. Troublemakers, especially via their political groups, worked hard to get people on their side. And another thing: things got even more complicated with the Syrian Civil War blowing up in 2011. This messy situation fed the PKK’s Syrian branch, the PYD/YPG. Allowing them to get super powerful in Northern Syria. The US and some European nations, seeing these groups as pawns for their own regional plans, made Turkey’s fight against terrorism even tougher.

In 2012, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly said that Turkey was talking with Öcalan, the PKK leader in prison. This started the “Resolution Process.” The idea? Simple. PKK and its allied groups were supposed to disarm. Instead, the terrorists saw it as Turkey giving in. They piled up weapons in city centers. Formed their own “governments.” And fighters in Northern Iraq and Syria got more muscle. By 2015, renewed PKK attacks and shifts in government policy brought the peace process to a screeching halt. The conflict flared up again. Brutally.

Turkey’s Military Strikes: Operations upon operations in Iraq and Syria

The military response was quick and strong. Operations like “Yalçın” hit cross-border camps hard. When PKK militants tried to run things themselves in Turkish cities during the “Resolution Process,” the military launched “Trench Operations.” After this, military actions against the terrorist group along the Syrian and Iraqi borders really ramped up.

We’ve seen a whole bunch of operations: Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Tigris Shield, Claw, Peace Spring, Claw Eagle, Claw Tiger, Claw Eagle 2, Claw Lightning, and Claw Sword. As of 2024, the “Claw Lock” operation is still active in Northern Iraq. Turkey’s new objective now is to make the existing safe zone in Syria deeper and stronger. Which definitely means more missions coming.

The Human Cost: So many lives lost

The numbers are stark. Plain and simple. Official figures from 1984 to 2024 show this long fight messed up a lot. We’re talking 9,031 Turkish security personnel killed in action. Over 5,000 civilians lost their lives. On the flip side, over 90,000 terrorists eliminated. A truly sad story showing how bad this struggle has been. A complex history, far removed from the laid-back California vibe.

Quick Q&A

Q: When did the PKK start and who by?
A: The PKK officially began on November 27, 1978, in Diyarbakır, Turkey, with Abdullah Öcalan.

Q: What happened with Abdullah Öcalan’s capture?
A: Turkey’s military got more successful. Plus, diplomatic pressure on Syria mounted. Öcalan had to leave Syria in 1998. He traveled through Europe. Then he got caught in Nairobi, Kenya, in a joint operation in February 1999.

Q: Did they ever try to make peace?
A: Oh yeah. They tried. Stuff like the “Democratic Opening” in 2009 and the “Resolution Process” starting in 2012. Both tried for a political fix. But they both fell apart. Just more conflict.