The Maraş massacre (Maraş katliamı) was the massacre of more than one hundred Alevi civilians in the city of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, in December 1978 by the neo-fascist Grey Wolves. Though the tensions were initially ignited by a noise bomb throwing into a movie theatre frequently visited by ultra-nationalists. The incident is best remembered for the subsequent campaign of violence directed against left-wingers, largely Alevis, although some left-wing Sunnis and Kurds were also targeted.
The incident in Kahramanmaraş lasted from 19 to 26 December 1978. It started with a bomb thrown into a cinema attended mostly by right-wingers. Rumours spread that left-wingers had thrown the bomb. The next day, a bomb was thrown into a coffee-shop frequently visited by left-wingers, In the evening of 21 December 1978 the teachers Hacı Çolak and Mustafa Yüzbaşıoğlu were killed on their way home. They were known as left-wingers. While a crowd of some 5,000 people prepared for the funeral, right-wing groups stirred up emotions saying that “the communists are going to bomb the mosque, and will massacre our Muslim brothers”.
On 23 December 1978, the incidents turned into a pogrom: crowds stormed the quarters where Alevis were living, destroying houses and shops. Many offices including that of Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), Teachers’ Association of Turkey (TÖB-Der), Association of Police Officers (Pol-Der) and Republican People’s Party (Turkey) (CHP) were destroyed. During the incidents, over 100 people were killed, more than 200 houses and approximately 100 shops were destroyed. The figures on casualties vary slightly.
The court cases, opened at military courts, lasted until 1991. A total of 804 defendants, mostly right-wingers, were put on trial. The courts passed 29 death penalties and sentenced seven defendants to life imprisonment and 321 people to sentences between one and 24 years of imprisonment. The Court of Cassation quashed the sentences and because of legal amendments all defendants were released in 1991
A COMMEMORATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN LONDON
On its 38th year, Maraş Massacre martyrs will be commemorated in London on the 24th of December at 2 PM at the Kırkısraklılar Community Centre along with another commemoration event on the same day at 6 PM at the Cemevi in Dalston with Abbas Tan and Ali Sizer as speakers.
