Akademik

Devrimci Dogu Kultur Ocaklari
(DDKO)
   The DDKO, or Revolutionary Eastern Cultural Hearths, was an important network of cultural clubs established across Turkish Kurdistan beginning in 1969. It advocated political, civil, and economic rights for the people in the east (Turkish Kurdistan). This, of course, meant implicit development and recognition of the Kurdish national movement in Turkey. The state responded with a strong military crackdown reminiscent of its earlier excesses against its Kurdish population before World War II.
   In October 1970, many DDKO leaders were arrested, and trials were held in Istanbul and Diyarbakir. Musa Anter, Serafettin Elci, and Ismail Besikci were among those imprisoned. The DDKO was closed down, but not before it had played an important role in reviving the modern Kurdish movement in Turkey.

Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. .