Malatya massacre

The events started when the bomb in the package sent to the house of Hamid Fendoğlu, also known as Hamido, exploded and he, his daughter-in-law, and 2 grandchildren died in this explosion. It was determined that the package was sent from Ankara on 7 April 1978. On the same date, 3 more bomb packages with a similar structure were sent to the post office, not only to Fendoğlu but also to Pazarcık, Kahramanmaraş CHP District Chief Memiş Özdal, Adıyaman Deputy Police Chief Abdülkadir Oltu and Adana businessperson Ahmet Akalın.

Although there is no consensus about who or by which organization the bomb was sent, the researchers announced that the bombs could only be produced in the Ankara Nuclear Research Center, according to the news published in the following days, and a search was carried out in this institution. Former President of the Grey Wolves, Muharrem Şemsek, and several people working at the facility were detained,[4] and the Nuclear Research Center was closed for a while. Şemsek and other detainees were later released. MHP officials denied it and claimed that the bomb was sent by right-wing groups and claimed that the bomb was sent by communist groups.[5] The Ortadoğu newspaper falsely claimed that they had seized a tape stating that the assassination was "the work of leftists and separatists collaborating with them".[6]

Shortly after Hamit Fendoğlu's murder, a group of about 100 people gathered in front of Fendoğlu's house. It has been reported that after being taken to the hospital, a group of about 1000 people gathered in front of the hospital marched to the city chanting slogans, and started to engage in attacks.

One day after the assassination, on April 18, 1978, more than ten thousand people from the Bulgurlu/Izollu Tribe, to which Fendoğlu was affiliated, and the surrounding villages came to the city. The group, consisting mostly of young individuals, marched towards the neighborhoods where Alevis and leftists lived, with the slogans "Down with Communism, murderer Ecevit, Muslim Turkey, revenge on Dan Dan Hamido". The group, which also includes masked people, destroyed or destroyed the headquarters of political parties and democratic mass organizations such as CHP, TÖB-DER, TÜM-DER and the Tobacco Association, as well as the printing houses and administrative offices of Gayret, Görüs, Ekspres, Baydağı, Güneş Newspapers, monopoly and newsstands. set it on fire. Previously marked workplaces belonging to Leftists and Alevis were also destroyed.

On the same day, Tahir Kökçü, a student of İnönü University, who was among the attackers, was shot dead by an unknown killer. Malatya Public Prosecutor Necati Sezener and Captain Arif Doğan, the commander of the Gendarmerie Commando Unit from Adıyaman, were attacked and both were wounded with a knife and a bullet. Milliyet reported that "Religion is lost, bombs are being placed on mosques" announcements were made over municipal loudspeakers. In the following time, aggressive groups killed Naci Erguvanlı, Özcan Türksever, and Sait Hazar, 14 to 15 years old high school students, by shooting them in the head.

In the following days, the attacks spread to the neighborhoods of Malatya, and many people were injured. Meanwhile, the allegation that a large amount of poison was thrown into the main water reservoir of the city spread throughout the city in a short time. Thereupon, the Governor's Office announced that the city water should not be drunk and informed that the results of the analysis are expected to come. Some people applied to hospitals on suspicion of being poisoned. It has been reported that nearly 200 people applied to Doğu Private Hospital with the complaint of poisoning. However, the analysis revealed that there was no poison in the water.

The attacks and destructions continued on the evening of 17 April until 20 April and were taken under control 3 days later. During the massacre, nearly 1000 workplaces, most of which belonged to leftists and Alevis, were destroyed and burned.

Bülent Ecevit (Prime Minister): "It is said that the Malatya incident is not a coincidence and that the forces and organizations that want to fuel polarization in the country have a part in it. Opposition parties have not fully acknowledged the events in Malatya because they are taking sides. There are those who do not agree to peace."[7]

Yaşar Okuyan (MHP Deputy Chairman): "Mayor of Malatya, who was brutally murdered by communist scoundrels, takes the real murderers of the late Fendoğlu, a valuable person of the cause, under the auspices of the CHP government. And he slanders the nationalists."

Süleyman Demirel (AP Chairperson): "The government has not yet mentioned that there is communism, destructiveness, and separatism under the incidents. This is the real reason that disturbs Turkey. How many more of our citizens will die for the government, which is incapable of understanding the real reason for these events, to wake up from its slumber of heedlessness? This government is in a sleep of heedlessness."[8]

Alpaslan Türkeş (MHP Chairman): "I invite Ecevit and the Minister of Interior to prove their allegations about us, albeit implicitly. If they can't prove these claims, they will be the most despicable and dishonest people in the world."[9]