After the overthrow of the Baath regime, a wave of kidnappings, massacres, detentions and arrests have been launched against Alawite citizens living in Syria. The HTS-led Interim Syrian Administration launched a “witch hunt” in cities, neighborhoods and villages where Alawites live in large numbers. Massacres were also carried out against Alevis in different periods in Turkey. After the declaration of the republic, Alevis were targeted in Dêrsim, Mereş, Çorum and Madımak for their beliefs and identities. 

 

From Turkey to Syria, attacks against Alevis continue. 

 

KOÇGIRI MASSACRE

 

The soldiers sent to Koçgiri in 1921 under the leadership of Sakallı Nureddin Pasha and Topal Osman by the Ankara Government, who did not see the wishes of the Kurdish and Alevi people in Koçgiri, massacred thousands of people, not even children, old people, women or young people. People's property was plundered and their livestock was seized. Sakallı Nureddin Pasha claimed ownership of the massacre with the words “We finished the Zoos (Armenians), now it is the turn of the Lolars”. Alişer and Zarife Ana, two of the pioneers of the Koçgiri resistance, were killed in a conspiracy during the Dêrsim massacre.    

 

DÊRSIM MASSACRE

 

After Koçgiri, Alevis also faced massacres and extermination policies in Dêrsim. With the Dêrsim Law enacted in 1935, the process leading to the massacre began. On May 4, 1937, the Council of Ministers issued the “Tunceli Tenkil Operation”, the first official decision of the massacre. According to official data, 13,160 people were massacred and 11,818 people were exiled. At the end of the massacre, Seyit Rıza and the prominent tribal leaders of Dêrsim, including his son, were executed in the Wheat Square in Xarpet (Elazığ). 

 

MEREŞ MASSACRE

 

In Mereş (Maraş), 120 people were murdered and thousands injured in attacks against Alevis that began on December 19, 1978 and continued until December 26, 1978. 552 houses were burned and destroyed, 289 businesses were looted. 

 

ÇORUM MASSACRE

 

Following the assassination of MHP chair Gün Sazak on May 27, 1980, nationalists launched attacks against Alevis in Çorum on May 29. The groups, which also received state support, attacked Alevi neighborhoods for days, chanting slogans such as “Victory belongs to Islam even if our blood flows” and “Blood for blood revenge”.  57 people were killed in the attacks that ended on July 4, according to official figures. 

 

MADIMAK MASSACRE

 

One of the biggest attacks against Alevis took place in Sivas, where many people, including intellectuals, artists and writers, had gone to attend the Pir Sultan Abdal festivities. On July 2, the mass gathered after Friday prayers and came to the cultural center where the festivities were held, chanting slogans. In the evening, the crowd marched to the Madımak Hotel. Soldiers and police officers did not intervene in front of the hotel and the crowd set the hotel on fire 2 hours later. 33 people lost their lives after the incidents. 

 

GAZI MASSACRE

 

The events that started on March 12, 1995, when unidentified gunmen attacked 3 coffeehouses frequented by Alevis in Istanbul's Gazi neighborhood spread to other neighborhoods. In the attacks, 23 people were killed and more than 600 people were injured. 

 

ALEVI MASSACRE IN SYRIA 

 

In the civil war that started in Syria in 2011, ISIS attacked many ethnic and religious groups. ISIS raided residential areas in Hama, Homs, Tartus and Latakia, where Alawites live in large numbers, killing thousands of people. On December 9, when HTS gained control in Syria, Alawites became the target of attacks again. 

 

Evaluating the attacks and massacres against Alevis in Turkey and Syria, Democratic Alevi Associations (DAD) Izmir Branch Co-Chair Fırat Dikmen reminded that Alevis have always been subjected to physical attacks by the rulers. 

 

'WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER FOR THE ALEVIS'

 

Stating that Alevis resisted the attacks with self-defence, "Attacks have continued from Karbala until today. Today, the AKP-MHP government continues the 'legacy' it inherited from the past. The aim of the annihilation and denial policies against Alevis is to suppress the democratic-libertarian structure within Alevis and to create their own Ailevi" said Dikmen and added: "People are in fear of their lives. With the attacks there, they do not want Alevis to become a democratic society. We Alevis have always been subjected to genocide and assimilation policies by the rulers. Alevis in Turkey should be a life to those there. Being a life for the oppressed is the greatest teaching of Alevism. We need to make a noise here and put it on our agenda institutionally. We must come together to raise our voices. Because it is seen that Turkey and HTS are very close. When it comes to the sovereigns, they can immediately reconcile with the sovereigns and the power."