Gülnaz Karataş

Gülnaz Karataş (1971, Solhan - 25 October 1992[1]) (nom de guerre - Berîtan) was a female fighter of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Born into a family of Alevi Kurds from Dersim, she went to the primary and secondary school in Elazığ. In 1989 she began to study at the Department of Economics at the Istanbul University. It is reported that until 1990 she was not aware of her Kurdish identity.[2] In 1990 she got to know networks of the PKK and was arrested, but released shortly after in 1991.[1] On the 9 May 1991 she entered the PKK in the Cudi Mountains, Şırnak.[1] In 1992 she was sent as a leader of a small group to Şemdinli. On the 25 October 1992 she fought against the pro barzani Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan who have allied themselves with the Turkish army during kurdish civil war. The legend says, she fought until the last bullet. The commander of the adversary peshmerga called her to surrender. But she threw herself off a cliff in order not to be arrested.[2] She became an iconic figure within the history of the PKK and many songs and newborns are named after her.[3] Halil Uysal produced a movie about her life in 2006.[4] Her remains were found in 2005 and transported to an area controlled by the PKK, where she was buried.[1]

References
  1. "Beritan, a symbol of the PKK's resistance". ANF News. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  2. Orhan, Mehmet (2016). Political Violence and Kurds in Turkey: Fragmentations, Mobilizations, Participations & Repertoires. Routledge. p. 114. ISBN 9781317420439.
  3. "Martyr Beritan remembered in Kurdistan". ANF News. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. Ginsberg, Terri; Lippard, Chris (2010-03-11). Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema. Scarecrow Press. pp. 241–242. ISBN 9780810873643.
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