Kurdish revolutionary Anter Dersim passes away in Rojava

Longtime Kurdish revolutionary Anter Dersim (Kazim Ergün) succumbed to a heart attack in Rojava on Nov. 11. The 52-year-old was active in the Kurdish liberation movement for decades, including in Kurdistan, Turkey, Europe, Maxmur and most recently in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria.

Anter Dersim’s real name is Kazim Ergün and he was born in Dersim in 1969. In 1988, he became acquainted with the Kurdish liberation movement in Istanbul, and later joined Abdullah Öcalan at the Mahsum Korkmaz Academy. From there, he returned to Northern Kurdistan and was arrested. He used his time in prison to further his education, and even after his release he continued his revolutionary work. Due to continued threats from the Turkish state, he had to go to Europe and continued to be active there. He was married and had two children. Because of his involvement, he was arrested again in Europe, but did not let that stop him from working. After his release, he continued to work with even greater determination. He stayed for a while in the mountains of Kurdistan and from there went to the Maxmur camp in southern Kurdistan.

During the defense of Kobanê against ISIS, Anter Dersim moved to Rojava and participated in the fight in various areas. Most recently, he was active in the PYD.

The funeral will take place in Qamişlo on Wednesday.

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