Müslüm Durgun, better known as Dr. Baran, was a commander in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the head of PKK operations in Tunceli province during the 1990s. He was known for organizing the Başbağlar massacre in 1993, and disappeared shortly after.
Biography According to state registries, Müslüm Durgun was from Güdeç, Tunceli, born around 1951 to Ahmet and Beser Durgun.Derin Devletin Çakalları, Ali Bayram, 2022, pp. 84-85, ISBN 9786056957451. He was part of the ARGK, the PKK armed wing.A'dan Z'ye Kürtler: Kişiler - Kavramlar - Kurumlar, İbrahim S. Işık, 2013, pp. 160-161, ISBN 9786055402648. As a native of Tunceli, of Zaza origin and Alevi faith, he was influential in his community and was quickly promoted to commander.Zones of Rebellion: Kurdish Insurgents and the Turkish State, Aysegul Aydin, Cem Emrence, 2015, pp. 65, ISBN 9780801456206.Turkey's Alevi Enigma: A Comprehensive Overview, 2021, pp. 205, ISBN 9789004492356. He first came in contact with the PKK while working in Libya, and later travelled to Lebanon to train in the PKK camps. He was always interested in medicine, and had caught tuberculosis in Lebanon, which he cured by himself. He was then trained as a medic with the PKK, and wrote all his knowledge in a medical brochure which he distributed to new recruits, earning the nickname Dr. Baran. He rose through the ranks, becoming a commander in the 1990s. At the time, he was the only Alevi commander in the PKK, and his strongest support base was in Tunceli.Eine religiöse Ethnie mit Multi-Identitäten: die europäisch-anatolischen Alevit_Innen auf dem Weg zur Institutionalisierung ihres Glaubenssystems, Zeynep Arslan, 2016, pp. 112, ISBN 9783643507181. He held the son of Veli Yeşil (head of the DYP in Tunceli) during his circumcision ceremony.Zones of Rebellion: Kurdish Insurgents and the Turkish State, Aysegul Aydin, Cem Emrence, 2015, pp. 164-165, ISBN 9780801456206. Dr. Baran was involved in the Israel-PKK conflict, and claimed to have visited Palestine along with a TDKP delegation, although he had a tense relationship with Turkish leftists and was criticized by the TDKP.Derin Sol: Çatışmalar, Cinayetler, İnfazlar, Volume 2, Hakkı Öznur, 2004, pp. 1049-1050, ISBN 9789758356775. In one instance in 1992, he "recklessly" led his troops from the mountainside into the center of Ovacık in daylight, seen as an example PKK overconfidence at that time.The Settlement Issue in Turkey and the Kurds: An Analysis of Spatial Policies, Modernity and War, Joost Jongerden, 2007, pp. 62, ISBN 9789047420118.
Dr. Baran was infamous for organizing the Başbağlar massacre in July 1993, in retaliation for the Sivas massacre. His fate after the massacre was unknown, with some claiming he committed suicide, and others suspecting that the PKK leadership killed him for leading the "unplanned, stubborn action" which was not in PKK interests.Eine religiöse Ethnie mit Multi-Identitäten: die europäisch-anatolischen Alevit_Innen auf dem Weg zur Institutionalisierung ihres Glaubenssystems, Zeynep Arslan, 2016, pp. 112-113, ISBN 9783643507181. Abdullah Öcalan claimed that Dr. Baran orchestrated the massacre without having informed him. He reportedly targeted Başbağlar for being a Sunni village,Türkiye'de Sınıf Mücadeleleri, Volume 2, Sungur Savran, 2024, pp. 418, ISBN 9786051727066. and for voting for the MHP. Dr. Baran reportedly died on March 12, 1994, in the Yılan Mountain range, by strangulation. It was alleged that he was executed by the PKK unit led by Hıdır Sarıkaya, although during the PKK 5th congress, Dr. Baran was declared a "revolutionary martyr" who committed suicide due to depression for not fulfilling his duties. His son, Aslan Durgun, tried to desert the PKK and finally escaped after a year, also having surrendered and turned informant, and claimed that the PKK executed his father. The PKK, which already struggled to gain support in Tunceli, became increasingly unpopular in the region after the claims circulated that Dr. Baran was executed by the group for acting independently.Turkey's Alevi Enigma: A Comprehensive Overview, 2021, pp. 205, ISBN 9789004492356. He was succeeded in 1994 by Şemdin Sakık as commander of the Tunceli region.The A to Z of the Kurds, Michael M. Gunter, 2009, pp. 40, ISBN 9798216302896.L'autre Turquie: le mouvement aléviste et ses territoires, Élise Massicard, 2005, pp. 116, ISBN 9782130549475.
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