BUCAKS

   The Bucaks are an influential pro-government Kurdish tribe or clan in the area around Siverek, Turkey. They are seen by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a leading example of the Kurdish exploitative landlord class. To announce its establishment, the PKK in 1979 unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Mehmet Celal Bucak, who was then leader of the tribe. Sedat Bucak, the subsequent Bucak leader and True Path Party member of the Turkish parliament, was one of the principles involved in the notorious Susurluk incident involving the highest-level connections between Turkey's intelligence community and organized crime. Sedat Bu-cak headed a 2,000-strong militia, which was deputized as village guards and received more than $1 million a month to battle Kurdish separatists.

   See also Ashiret.