Haki Karer

Haki Karer (1950, Ulubey - 1977, Gaziantep) was a Turkish leftist activist and is a central figure in the memory of the PKK.

After finishing high school he went to Ankara to study physics at the University of Ankara.[1] He left the university before he received a bachelor's degree.[2]

In 1972 he lived together in house with Kemal Pir and together they received Abdullah Öcalan to live with him after Öcalan was released from prison in Mamak. Following influential political talks for the political left took place between them and other leftists to form a political movement. In 1973 a small group of people around Abdullah Öcalan and Haki Karer was formed named the Kurdistan Revolutionaries.[1] In November 1973 the Ankara Democratic Association of Higher Education (Ankara Demokratik Yüksek Öğrenim Demeği, ADYÖD) was founded and soon after, Haki Karer was elected to join its board. ADYÖD was short-lived but with an intense activity until its closure in 1974.[1] But the revolutionary movement was carried on and in 1976 a meeting took place where it was decided that Öcalan becomes the chairman of the movement and Karer his associate. Following he moved to Gaziantep to engage in political work where Karer was killed in a coffeehouse on the 18 May 1977.[1] His body was taken to Ulubey where he was buried.[3] The environment of Karer accused Alaattin Kaplan, a member of the Kurdish movement Sterka Sor as the murderer of Karer. Kaplan was killed in Iskenderun.[4] In interviews Öcalan later stated, that the PKK was founded as an oath to Haki Karer. After the death of Karer the movement decided to act more professionally and become a party.[1]