Dersim Rebellion The Dersim rebellion was an Kurdish uprising against the Turkish government in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey , which includes parts of Tunceli Province , Elazığ Province , and Bingöl Province . The rebellion was led by Seyid Riza , an Alevi chieftain of the Yukarı Abbas Uşağı tribe . Background . Ottoman period . During the Ottoman period , before the Tanzimat , most of the empire ' s eastern regions were administrated by the Kurdish feudal system . Authority in these regions was in the hands of feudal lords , tribal chieftains and " aghas " ( dignitaries ) . Early republican era . The situation of Dersim in the Ottoman Empire continued in the early years of the Republic of Turkey . Tribes from Dersim objected to losing authority and refused to pay taxes . Complaints kept coming from the governors . In an Interior Ministry report in 1926 , it was considered necessary to use force against the residents of Dersim . Law on Resettlement . The Turkification process in Turkey began with the Turkish National Assembly passing the 1934 Law on Resettlement ( ' İskân Kanunu ' Law No . 2510 , 13 June 1934 ) . " Tunceli " law . The Dersim region included the Tunceli Province whose name was changed from Dersim to Tunceli with the " Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province " ( " Tunceli Vilayetinin İdaresi Hakkında Kanun " ) , no . 2884 of 25 December 1935 on January 4 , 1936 . Fourth General Inspectorate . In order to consolidate its authority in the process of Turkification of religious and ethnic minorities , the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed the law , numbered 1164 and dated June 25 , 1927 . Following the First Inspectorate - General ( January 1 , 1928 , Diyarbakır ) , [ the Thrace pogroms ] , the Second Inspectorate - General ( February 19 , 1934 , Edirne ) and the Third Inspectorate - General ( August 25 , 1935 , Erzurum ) , the Fourth General Inspectorate ( " Dördüncü Umumi Müffetişlik " ) was established on June 6 , 1936 , in the traditional Dersim region , which includes Tunceli Province , Elazığ Province and Bingöl Province . On 1 November 1936 , during a speech in the parliament Atatürk acknowledged the situation in Dersim as Turkey ' s most important internal problem . Firstly , military stations were built in the strategical zones . Then the Inspector of the Fourth General Inspectorate , Lieutenant General Abdullah Alpdoğan was given the authority to sign court orders , providing security , to exile people that lived in the city when necessary . The Rebellion . After the " Tunceli " Law , the Turkish government built military observation posts in the centers of districts such as Kahmut , Sin , Karaoğlan , Amutka , Danzik , and Haydaran . Meeting at Halbori cells . The chieftain of Yukarı , Abbas Uşağı Seyit Riza , sent his followers to the Haydaran , Demenan , Yusufan , and Kureyşan tribes to make an alliance . According to Turkish authorities , on March 20 – 21 , 1937 , at 23 : 00 hrs , the Demenan and Haydaran tribes broke a bridge connecting Pah and Kahmut in the Harçik Valley . The Inspector General gave the order to prepare for action to the 2nd Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülümür , the 3th Mobile Gendarmerie Battalion at Pülür , the 9th Gendarmier Battalion at Mazkirt , and the Mobile Gendarmerie Regiment at Hozat , and sent one infantry company of the 9th Mobile Gendarmier Battalion to Pah . Turkish military operations . According to Osman Pamukoğlu , a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s , Atatürk had given the operational order himself . 1937 . First Tunceli Operation . On September 10 – 12 , 1937 , Seyit Rıza came to the government building of the Erzincan Province for peace talks and was arrested . On the next day , he was transferred to the headquarters of the General Inspectorate at Elazığ and hanged with 6 ( or 10 ) of his fellows on November 15 – 18 , 1937 The victims were : On November 17 , 1937 , Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Pertek to take part in the opening ceremony for the Singeç Bridge . 1938 . Second Tunceli Operation . The prime minister , Celal Bayar ( in office : October 25 , 1937 – January 25 , 1939 ) had agreed to an attack on the Dersim rebels . The operation started on January 2 , 1938 and finished on August 7 , 1938 . Third Tunceli Operation . The Third Tunceli Operation was carried out between August 10 – 17 , 1938 . Sweep operations . Sweep operations that started on September 6 , were continued for 17 days . Aerial operations . Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against the rebels during the rebellion . Among the pilots was Kemal Atatürk ' s adopted daughter , Sabiha Gökçen , the first female fighter pilot in military history . A report of the General Staff mentioned the " serious damage " that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb , upon a group of 50 fleeing " bandits " . Muhsin Batur , engaged in operations for about two months over Dersim , but he stated in his memoirs that he wanted to avoid explaining this part of his life . Nuri Dersimi claimed that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938 . Consequences . According to an official report of the Fourth General Ispectorate , 13 , 160 civilians were killed by the Turkish Army and 11 , 818 people were taken into exile , depopulating the province . According to the Dersimi , many tribesmen were shot dead after surrendering , and women and children were locked into haysheds which were then set on fire . According to McDowall , 40 , 000 people were killed . According to Kurdish Diaspora sources , over 70 , 000 people were killed . A key component of the Turkification process was the policy of massive population resettlement - a result of the 1934 law on resettlement . This policy targeted the region of Dersim as one of its first test cases , and it had disastrous consequences for the local population . Hüseyin Aygün , a jurist author , wrote in his book " Dersim 1938 and Obligatory Settlement " : Recent developments . On November 23 , 2011 , Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized " on behalf of the state " over the killing of over 13 , 000 people during the rebellion . His remarks were widely commented on both inside and outside Turkey .