Haki Karer

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

Education After finishing high school he went to Ankara to study physics at the University of Ankara but left the university before he received a bachelor's degree.

Political activism In 1972, while living with Kemal Pir they invited Abdullah Öcalan to live with them after he was released from prison in Mamak. Following influential political talks between them and other leftists they decided to form a political movement. In 1973 a small group of people around Abdullah Öcalan and Haki Karer was formed named the Kurdistan Revolutionaries. The associates of Karer accused Alaattin Kaplan, a member of the Kurdish movement Sterka Sor of murdering of Karer. Kaplan was later killed in Iskenderun.

Legacy In interviews Öcalan later stated, that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (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.