Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) was originally formed in 1978 as Devrimci Sol, or Dev Sol, a splinter faction of the Turkish People's Liberation Party/Front. Renamed in 1994 after factional infighting, it espouses a Marxist ideology and is virulently anti-U.S. and anti-NATO. The organization finances its activities chiefly through armed robberies and extortion. It also operates as, or is known as Devrimci Sol, Revolutionary Left, and Dev Sol.

Organization activities. Since the late 1980s, the DHKP/C has concentrated attacks against current and retired Turkish security and military officials. The group began a new campaign against foreign interests in 1990. DHKP/C adherents assassinated two U.S. military contractors and wounded a U.S. Air Force officer to protest the Gulf War. The group launched rockets at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul in 1992. In early 1996, the group assassinated a prominent Turkish businessman and others, its first significant terrorist acts as DHKP/C. Turkish authorities thwarted DHKP/C attempts in June, 1999, to fire light antitank weapons at the U.S. Consulate. DHKP/C conducted its first suicide bombings, targeting Turkish police, in January and September 2001. A series of safehouse raids and arrests by Turkish police over the last few years have weakened the group significantly.

The exact membership in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front is unknown. DHKP/C conducts attacks in Turkey, primarily in Istanbul, and raises funds in Western Europe.

█ FURTHER READING:

ELECTRONIC:

Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. < http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ > (April 16, 2003).

Taylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001. Annual Report: On the Record Briefing. May 21, 2002. < http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/10367.htm > (April 17, 2003).

U.S. Department of State. Annual reports. < http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/annual_reports.html > (April 16, 2003).

SEE ALSO

Terrorism, Philosophical and Ideological Origins
Terrorist and Para-State Organizations
Terrorist Organization List, United States
Terrorist Organizations, Freezing of Assets