Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkey (since 1923) 1920–1938: Republic of Ararat (1927–1930) Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK, since 1978) Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (since 2004) Mustafa Kemal AtatürkNureddin PashaBinbaşı Kâzım İnançMürsel BakûNaci Eldeniz İsmet İnönüKâzım OrbayAbdullah Alpdoğan [Wikidata] Fevzi Çakmakİbrahim Tali Öngörenİzzettin ÇalışlarSalih Omurtak Alişan Bey [7]Nuri DersimiAlişer Halid Beg Cibran Sheikh Said Ihsan Nuri Ibrahim Heski Ferzende Halis Öztürk Seyid Riza (POW) Kamer Aga (Yusufan)Cebrail Aga (Demenan)Kamer Aga (Haydaran)AlişerZarîfe † Kocgiri: 3,161–31,000 military Said: 25,000–52,000 men Ararat: 10,000–66,000 men Dersim: 50,000 men[8] Kocgiri: 3,000–6,000 rebels Said: 15,000 rebels[12] Ararat: 5,000–8,000 rebels[13] Dersim: 6,000 rebels[citation needed] Kocgiri: Unknown Said: Unknown Ararat: Unknown Dersim: 110 killed Kocgiri: 500 rebels killed[20] Said: Unknown Ararat: Unknown Dersim: 10,000–13,160 killed Said revolt: 15,000–20,000[27] to 40,000–250,000 civilians killed[28]Ararat revolt: 4,500 civilians killedKurdish-Turkish conflict (1978–present): 6,741[19] to 18,000–20,000[29][30][31][32] civilians killed Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the present day with the current PKK–Turkey conflict.

In 1925, an uprising for an independent Kurdistan, led by Shaikh Said Piran, was quickly put down, and soon afterward, Said and 36 of his followers were executed.

[37][38] The British consul at Trebizond, the diplomatic post which was closest to Dersim, spoke of brutal and indiscriminate acts of violence and explicitly compared them to the 1915 Armenian genocide.

"[39] The Kurds accuse successive Turkish governments of suppressing their identity through such means as the banning of Kurdish languages in print and media.

Atatürk believed that the unity and stability of a country both lay in the existence of a unitary political identity, relegating cultural and ethnic distinctions to the private sphere.

[44] After the defeat of the uprising on 4 April, one of the rebel leaders, Molla Selim, successfully sought asylum in Russia.

The fact was that many Dersim tribal chiefs at this point still supported the Kemalists — regarding Mustafa Kemal as their 'protector' against the excesses of Sunni religious zealots, some of whom were Kurmancî Kurds.

[46] In the aftermath of the Koçkiri rebellion there was talk in the new Turkish Republic's Grand National Assembly of some very limited forms of 'Autonomous Administration' by the Kurds in a Kurdish region centered in Kurdistan.

The repression and aggression of Kemalist secularism followed and all public manifestations of Kurdish identity was outlawed which, in turn, prepared Kurds for more rebellion.

[47] The rebellion failed, however, by 1929, Ihsan Nuri's movement was in control of a large expanse of Kurdish territory and the revolt was put down by the year 1930.

According to General Ihsan Nuri Pasha, the military superiority of Turkish Air Force demoralized Kurds and led to their capitulation.

In addition to destruction of villages and massive deportations, Turkish government encouraged Kosovar Albanians and Assyrians to settle in the Kurdish area to change the ethnic composition of the region.

It is strange how a defensive nationalism develops into an aggressive one, and a fight for freedom becomes one for dominion over othersKurdish ethnic revival appeared in the 1970s when Turkey was racked with left-right clashes and the Marxist PKK was formed demanding a Kurdish state.

[58] PKK declared its objective as the liberation of all parts of Kurdistan from colonial oppression and establishment of an independent, united, socialist Kurdish state.

It characterized its struggle mainly as an anti-colonial one, hence directing its violence against collaborators, i.e., Kurdish tribal chieftains, notables with a stake in the Turkish state, and also against rival organizations.

[citation needed] The military coup in 1980 lead to a period of severe repression and elimination of almost all Kurdish and leftist organizations.

[citation needed] Around this time, PKK changed its goals from full Kurdish independence to a negotiated settlement with the Turkish government, specially after some promising indirect contacts with President Turgut Özal.

[63] The word serhildan describes several Kurdish public rebellions since the 1990s with the slogan "Êdî Bese" ("Enough") against the Turkish government.

The first violent action by the populace against police officers and state institutions occurred in 1990 in the Southeast Anatolian town Nusaybin near the border to Syria.