The Dersim Massacre, which took place on May 4, 1937, marks its 88th year. The event was rooted in the "Eastern Reform Plan", a framework based on the 1924 Constitution that aimed to build a Turkish nation-state through assimilation and violence. A report by the then-Chief of General Staff Fevzi Çakmak, dated September 18, 1930, urged an immediate military operation in Dersim. Based on such reports, the Council of Ministers launched the massacre on May 4, 1937. As part of the operation, Pir Seyit Rıza, his son Resik Hüseyin, and others were tried by a special court in Xarpêt (Elazığ) and executed on November 15, 1937.

 

Following Seyit Rıza's execution, the people of Dersim faced mass exile. According to official figures, one thousand 737 people were killed in 1937 and 6 thousand 868 in 1938. However, historians estimate the number of victims to be around 70 thousand, including thousands of women, children and the elderly Tens of thousands were exiled, and young girls taken from their families were given to soldiers. Despite the passage of 88 years, the massacre has not been formally investigated by the state, and the burial sites of Seyit Rıza and his companions, along with the whereabouts of Dersim's missing girls, remain unknown. 

 

‘MEDIA WAS THE SECOND MAIN ACTOR’

 

Prof. Dr. Bülent Bilmez, a historian at Istanbul Bilgi University, described the events of May 4, 1937, as both a beginning and a conclusion. He stated: “When considered a ‘conclusion,’ we can see May 4, 1937, as the day when seasonal operations aimed at bringing the region under direct control, came to an end. It also marks the completion of a ‘preparation phase’ initiated by legal and administrative changes in late 1935 and early 1936, including the establishment of Tunceli Province and the Fourth General Inspectorate.”

 

He explained that these developments led to extensive military, bureaucratic, infrastructural, and socio-economic preparations, finalized by spring 1937 under the command of Abdullah Alpdoğan, who held colonial-like authority.  “If the military and bureaucracy were the primary actors of the operation, the media of that time, acting almost as the regime’s spokesperson, was the second major actor,” Bilmez noted.

 

Bilmez also remarked that Dersim was systematically targeted for destruction: “Dersim, with its language, belief system, pluralistic way of life, and particularly its resistance to central authority, was severely crushed. What was left behind was a ‘compliant’ and ‘civilized’ Tunceli, which provided the state a sense of triumph — at least until the 1960s.”

 

Addressing calls for confronting the massacre during a time when the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue is being discussed, Bilmez said: “Confrontation is as much about the future as it is about the past — maybe even more so. Therefore, the process must be pursued not with a sense of revenge but with two essential goals: restorative justice and the principle of ‘never again.’ However, the ongoing genocide in Palestine today clearly reflects the miserable state of public and political awareness on this issue.”

 

‘CONFRONTATION COMES THROUGH STRUGGLE’

 

Bilmez underlined that justice and confrontation are only possible through political and social struggle: "The effort to open eyes and hearts to this reality begins with political and social mobilization -  it is an inseparable part of the struggle for democracy."

 

Bilmez added that in the context of an ongoing but unofficial "process", which he believes is centered around Syria and Iran, efforts toward resolution and peace also open the door for democratic progress and reckoning with the past. Bilmed stressed: “The continuation and success of this process are therefore very valuable and of vital importance.”

 

MA / Müjdat Can