july 11, 2022
An interview with Cemil Bayik, KCK co-Chair, about the latest developments in Kurdistan, the Middle East and the world, including the isolation policy against Abdullah Öcalan, the guerrilla´s resistance against Turkish attacks on South Kurdistan, the activities of the Turkish intelligence service MIT in South Kurdistan, the likelihood of new attacks by Turkey on North and East Syria, the crisis in Iraq and the influence of the Ukraine-Russia war on the Middle East:
The aggravated isolation of the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan continues. Abdullah Öcalan cannot be heard from in any way, and he is constantly given disciplinary punishments. What does the AKP-MHP intend with this isolation? Reactions against the isolation also continue. One of these reactions was the Gemlik demonstration. How do you evaluate this demonstration, the attitude of the people and the protests against isolation?
The Gemlik demonstration was organized against the isolation of Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan]. The Turkish state wanted to prevent this march but failed. That is why the Gemlik march had a great impact. Therefore, I salute and pay my respects to everyone who took part in this demonstration. The curtain of fear created by the AKP-MHP government in the society was destroyed with this march. The Gemlik march has given courage to everyone. After the march, there were both positive discussions and discussions that served the psychological warfare. But this shows the power and influence of Rêber Apo. If Rêber Apo was not so influential, such discussions would not have taken place.
There is a reason why the isolation of Rêber Apo is being aggravated day by day. The AKP-MHP maintains the isolation in order to maintain their power and perpetuate their fascist system. The AKP-MHP are putting pressure on Rêber Apo in order to maintain their power and perpetuate their fascist system. Rêber Apo does not accept this and resists. They want to break the will of Rêber Apo. That is why they are deepening the isolation even more. He was imprisoned because he has been fighting for freedom for the Kurdish people and for the peoples of the Middle East. Both when he was outside and after his imprisonment, Rêber Apo has been committed to the democratization of Turkey and the resolution of the Kurdish question on this basis. Rêber Apo has claimed, defended and expanded the values created by revolutionaries, socialists and democratic forces in Turkey.
If democratic values have been kept alive in Turkey until today, Rêber Apo has played a very big role in this. He wants to develop a democratic system in Turkey. He wants to solve the problems of all peoples and faiths in this system. That is why he is struggling. AKP-MHP are against democracy and are using all the means available in Turkey to perpetuate their fascist system. The biggest obstacle in front of them is Rêber Apo. That is why psychological warfare is also being waged in İmralı. AKP-MHP fascism wants to impose acceptance and completely eliminate anyone who does not serve it. Rêber Apo stands against this and fights for democracy and freedom. A war is being waged on this basis in İmralı. A war waged by the AKP-MHP government against the Kurds, the peoples of Turkey, socialists and the forces of democracy and freedom is unfolding in İmralı.
Therefore, everyone must stand against isolation. Anyone who says they are against the AKP-MHP, who wants to establish a democratic Republican system in Turkey, who wants to solve problems through democratic means must stand against the isolation. Today, the measure of democracy and freedom is the opposition to this isolation. It is a struggle for Rêber Apo’s voice to be able to reach everyone. Those who do not stand against isolation cannot say that they are democrats, socialists, against fascism and that they will develop democracy in Turkey.
Since April 17, 2021, a fierce war has been going on in the South Kurdish [North Iraq] areas Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna. What is the latest situation in the war and how do you evaluate the resistance of the HPG-YJA Star guerrillas?
A great war is being waged in the Medya Defense Zones. The AKP-MHP are a war government. There is an unwritten law in Turkey that whoever wages war against the Kurdish people can come to power. Otherwise it is not possible. If a new government cannot succeed in its war against the Kurdish people, it cannot stand. The AKP-MHP government is using all the means available in Turkey to fulfill the task assigned to it. Because if they cannot liquidate the PKK and the guerrilla, they cannot complete the genocide. Then they cannot stay in power either. They will even be held to account. They know this very well. That is why they are attacking Rêber Apo, the PKK, the guerrilla and the free Kurds by using all their means. In this way they want to maintain their fascist system and turn Turkey into a dungeon for Kurds, for the peoples, for intellectuals, writers, artists, socialists and democratic forces.
That is why they are carrying out all kinds of attacks. They have thrown aside morality, the laws of war, the constitution and international law. They work day and night to destroy the PKK and the Kurdish people. They declare anyone who does not serve them in this regard a traitor. This is the kind of politics they are pursuing. They are using all the techniques given to them by NATO. Not only that, they also use chemical weapons, tactical nuclear weapons and thermobaric bombs. They attack with these weapons day and night without a break and they want to get results in this way. The fact that no one raises their voice despite the use of all these weapons has nothing to do with the power of the Turkish state. Certain states give all these weapons to the Turkish state because of their own interests, and the Turkish state uses them. These states have also promised the Turkish state that they will not make a sound when it use these weapons. Since the Turkish state has received permission for this, it uses these weapons unlimitedly.
There have been reports in the media that chemical weapons have been used, that there have been a different kind of explosions. But no one knows what these explosions were. However, why and how these explosions happened should be explained to the public. The bombs used by the Turkish state are not normal bombs. Where they explode, they destroy caves and kill everything in the cave. In other words, the Turkish state is not waging a normal war against the guerrilla. It has trampled on the laws of war, the morality of war. It wants to get results by using all prohibited weapons. And the guerrilla is fighting heroically and sacrificially against these attacks. It is putting up a historical resistance. The guerrilla knows the aim of the Turkish state. That’s why they are fighting against the Turkish state and its chemical weapons. They do not have heavy weapons and facilities. The guerrilla is writing epics in difficult conditions, striking blow after blow against the enemy.
The occupying Turkish state is at a loss as to what to do. Because it is suffering great blows. And it hides this from the people and public opinion in Turkey. They don’t want anyone to understand their weakness. Many soldiers are being killed but this does not appear in the press. Because the Turkish state, the AKP-MHP government has warned them all not to write about these deaths. If anyone writes, they are simply eliminated. This is how they hide what is happening in Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn. On this occasion, I congratulate and pay my respects to the sacrifices of the Kurdish people, the peoples of the Middle East and those sacrificing themselves in Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn. They are not only fighting for the Kurdish people and the PKK, they are fighting for humanity. That is what they are falling şehit for [being martyred]. They are all great şehits [martyrs] of the Kurdish people and humanity. I respectfully commemorate the friends who have been martyred in this struggle. They are giving their lives, and the Kurdish people and humanity are defending their values. The people draw strength from their struggle. Those heroes, those sacrifices are playing such a historical role.
The occupying Turkish state is attacking the Media Defense Zones as well as many areas such as Maxmur, Şengal [Sinjar] and South Kurdistan. For example, Ferhat Şiblî was martyred in the attack on Kelar. Can the Turkish state carry out these attacks without the help of intelligence information? Who supports the Turkish state? What is the reaction of the South Kurdish political parties and the Iraqi state against these attacks?
I commemorate with respect Ferhat Şiblî and those who were martyred with him. Ferhat Şiblî was a pioneer of the Rojava Revolution. He gave a great service to our Rojava people. He lived his whole life for the freedom of the Kurdish people. He dedicated his life to the service of his people. He fought against ISIS. If ISIS, which is a great scourge for humanity, has been eliminated and weakened, it is necessary to see the labor and struggle of heval Ferhat. When he was martyred, our Rojava people strongly embraced Şehit Ferhat. Not only the Kurdish people, but all the peoples living in North and East Syria embraced him. This proves his service for those peoples.
The Turkish state attacks North Kurdistan [East Turkey], South Kurdistan and Rojava every day. It openly says, ‘Whoever fights for the freedom of the Kurdish people is my enemy’. Because it wants to eradicate the Kurds. That is why it targets everyone who fights for the Kurds. The Turkish state does not have the power to massacre Martyr Farhad and his friends in Kelar district of Sulaymaniyah on its own. If the KDP, the KDP’s intelligence and those who collaborated with them had not given information to the MIT [Turkish secret service], the MIT would not have been able to go to Kelar and commit such a massacre. Our people know this very well. The KDP and KDP intelligence Parastin gather information, give intelligence to the MİT in and outside the Media Defense Zones, they identify friends, especially responsible friends, places, houses, vehicles and they give all this information to the MİT. With this information, MİT carries out attacks and massacres. If the KDP and Parastin do not cooperate with the Turkish state, Turkey cannot take a single step into any area of South Kurdistan, let alone Kelar. The KDP works with MIT in every sense. That is why MIT is carrying out such massacres.
The Turkish state has given the MIT the major task to eliminate the Kurds and provides huge ressources for this. And the MIT is carrying out these massacres in cooperation with the KDP. They also have collaborators in North Kurdistan and carry out attacks through them. The stance of the Iraqi state is evident. They do not take any stance against the Turkish state. The Turkish state occupies South Kurdistan, builds military bases, carries out massacres everywhere, but there is no voice from the Iraqi government. That means they are partners in the massacres. That is why they do not raise their voice. If they decide to react to the massacres of the Turkish state in South Kurdistan and Iraq, they should clearly stand against them. But they are silent. This means that they consider what the Turkish state is doing as right. Of course, the Iraqi people and some parties are against the Turkish occupation. But they also need to put pressure on their government. If they put pressure, the government cannot remain silent like this. Because there are great dangers for Iraq.
In South Kurdistan, both the KDP and the government are silent. The KDP has also put the South Kurdish parties under pressure. Both the Turkish state and the KDP are pressuring the South Kurdish parties to remain silent regarding the occupation. Anyone who says ‘I am fighting for the Kurdish people, for democracy and freedom’ must stand against this occupation. In this sense, pressure must be put on the KDP. Then, everybody will have played their role for the Kurdish people and humanity. Some people show their reaction by making statements, but they need to be even stronger. The claim that ‘these attacks are only against the PKK’ is only self-deception. Today, there are reasons why the MIT carries out massacres against the PKK. Because they see the PKK as the biggest obstacle to their goals. But this does not mean that these attacks will be limited to the PKK. The danger for South Kurdistan and even Iraq is growing every day. On this occasion, I call on the Iraqi parties, the Iraqi people and the political parties in South Kurdistan to stand against the Turkish state’s occupation attacks. If there is no reaction to the occupation today, they will be dealt an even bigger blow tomorrow.
The MIT is doing the same in South Kurdistan as it has been doing in Turkey and North Kurdistan. It threatens patriots, people who are struggling, offers them money to surrender, and imposes spying on young people. What does this work of the MIT mean and what should society do against it?
Elimination attacks against our movement and genocide attacks against our people are being carried out. The Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government have given a major role to the MIT in this policy. MİT is conducting genocide politics. MIT is a special psychological warfare center. The MIT is essentially conducting special psychological warfare. It also carries out physical massacres on the basis of special psychological warfare. It does this in North Kurdistan, Rojava, South Kurdistan and Europe. Since MİT plays such a role in these massacres, the state has provided great ressources for it. MİT carries out massacres with these means. MİT also has powerful technical ressources at its disposal.
MIT’s biggest collaborator is Barzani. Everyone knows this. If Barzani had not collaborated with MIT, the situation of the Kurdish people would be much better today. Because Kurds can lead a better life in the Middle East with the opportunities they have. But the KDP and Barzani are preventing this. They serve the Turkish state. That is why day by day Kurdish society sees their real faces better. Just as the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government have been exposed, Barzani and the KDP have also been exposed. MIT especially uses telephones. They have formed a team on this basis. Some of that team focus on North Kurdistan, some on South Kurdistan and others on Rojava. This is how they carry out their work. They have trampled on laws, codes and morality.
They reach out to patriotic people, especially through phones. They contact people who have şehits in their family, who are struggling, who are working, in other words, who are against the Turkish state. They create opportunities: ´We will give you money, we will arrange jobs for you, if you have committed a crime we will get rid of your lawsuits, we don´t have a problem with the Kurds, we are against the PKK, if we eliminate the PKK you will be comfortable, then we will solve the Kurdish problem´. That is how they try to make themselves look sympathetic. They want to confuse everyone. In other words, they want to give the message that they are friends of the Kurds and just enemies of the PKK. This is how they aim to turn people away from the PKK. They threaten people who don’t serve them with death and even kill some of them. They tell those who serve them that if they don’t stand against the PKK and the guerrillas, they will eliminate them. They talk to their families, they threaten them, they say, ‘Bring your relatives, if you don’t, we will kill you too’. If they are working, they fire them, arrest them. They are under constant pressure. They are waging a special psychological war. Their aim is to confuse people, alienate them from the movement and use them against the Kurdish people.
Anyone who says, “I am Kurdish, patriotic, democratic, socialist, against fascism, I don’t want to move away from human values” should not get into arguments when the MIT calls them. They should speak harshly to them and hang up the phone. They should warn their friends and neighbors against the MİT. They should tell them that the MIT is doing something like this and everyone should be careful about it. MIT is deceiving everyone. They not only deceive, but they also cause very bad things to happen. Our people should not be influenced by them and should not accept their demands. MİT can offer many material opportunities, but a patriotic, honorable Kurd should not exchange his humanity and honor for money. That is why this war waged by the MİT is part of the genocide politics. In this way, it wants to eliminate the movement and realize the Kurdish genocide. Every one of our people be aware of this reality, must be organized against the MIT, must organize everyone around them. If everyone stands courageously and decisively against the MIT, the MIT will not be able to find collaborators, impose spying on them and carry out massacres.
The Turkish state has increased its threats against Rojava and North and East Syria. It is well-known that the Turkish state wants to completely occupy Rojava and Syria. Why has the Turkish state increased its threats at such a time? Is this related to the international developments?
The Turkish state and the AKP-MHP fascist regime are enemies of the Kurdish people. They want to carry out a genocide against the Kurds. The politics they are conducting is based on this. They have made Rojava their target. They openly say that they will enter Rojava and occupy other areas. And they will definitely invade. The reason why they have not done so until now is because they continue their negotiations. Our people living in North and East Syria should not forget this fact: The Turkish state is not only against Kurds, it is against all Syrian peoples, democracy and freedom. They are against everyone who does not serve them. Therefore, the people of North and East Syria must recognize this reality well and not deceive themselves. They should not act relaxed, they should believe in themselves, get organized and prepare themselves for Revolutionary People’s War. When the Turkish state takes a new step for occupation, they must stand against it, fight and resist.
The Turkish state wants to expel Kurds from all parts of Rojava and settle their gangs and their families there. They are changing the demography of the area. The Turkish state is developing this in Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. They want to occupy many areas and then annex those regions to Turkey, like Hatay, through political moves. They are also using their gangs for this. They brought al-Nusra to Afrin for this purpose. They have prepared themselves to occupy and attack new places. They are negotiating this, and as a result they will attack. That is why our people should never believe in foreign powers. They should believe in their own strength and prepare themselves for a great war. I guess that some results have been achieved in Efrîn, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. If the occupying Turkish state has entered there and changed the demography, one of the reasons is foreign countries, the second is some deficiencies and mistakes that took place there. I guess that lessons have been learned from these shortcomings and mistakes.
If the Turkish state launches invasion attacks once again, I believe that the practice of Efrîn, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî will not be repeated. Because our people have understood very well what it means to be separated from their villages, lands, homes and countries. Our people will never accept slavery. Therefore, they will prepare themselves in every way for Revolutionary People’s War together with their professional military forces. If our people fight and resist together with their military forces, the Turkish state and its gangs will not achieve any results. Our people may experience certain hardships, but they will win in the end. The Turkish state has targeted the Media Defense Zones in 2022 and wants to liquidate the guerrilla. But when the Russia-Ukraine war started, the Turkish state saw this as an opportunity for itself. It realized that no matter how much it fights in the Medya Defense Zones, it can not get results, it is only getting bigger blows from the guerrilla day by day. So it saw the Russia-Ukraine war as an opportunity and has turned its direction to Rojava. It is currently continuing its negotiations to occupy Rojava.
What attitude should the people of Rojava and the forces of North and East Syria take against the Turkish state’s threats of invasion?
If our people prepare themselves against the attacks together with their professional military forces, the Turkish state cannot achieve results. In fact, if the war coordination and war tactics develop correctly, they can even bring the AKP-MHP to an end. Our people should aim for this. This is a great goal and will bring about great results. The Turkish state is a NATO member state. When the Russia-Ukraine war started and when Turkey took new steps against Rojava, it counted on NATO, the US and Europe not standing against it. It even calculated that they would turn a blind eye and help. After NATO, the US and Europe formed a front against Russia, the Turkish state saw that Russia was in a very tense situation and wanted to take advantage of this. The AKP-MHP government realized that these powers needed Turkey at certain points. As a result, the government wanted to blackmail them into accepting some of their demands. That’s why it turned its attention to Rojava.
Our people must strengthen their unity with all the peoples of North and East Syria. They must stand together against the occupation. They should complete the preparations for war together. Because the Turkish state will use airplanes, tanks and artillery. Our people should build shelters so that the bombardments do not harm them. They should take precautions for war. For example, they cut off the water to our people. If there is a war, there is a possibility that this will happen even more. So they should take precautions. They should take measures for basic supplies such as food and medicine. They should receive training in villages and homes on the basis of self-defense, they should organize. They should prepare themselves completely for war. They should support their military forces. If they prepare for the war in this way, our people can defeat the Turkish state and its gangs. Thus, they can achieve great success.
Recently, AKP-MHP fascism’s pressure on democratic institutions and the Kurdish people has increased even more. Free press institutions were raided and many Kurdish journalists were arrested. They also attacked villages in Van and Hakkari and tortured the local villagers. How do you evaluate these attacks? Why has AKP-MHP fascism increased violence and oppression so much lately?
The AKP-MHP government has become weak and is afraid that it will loose its power. In order not to let this happen, they are oppressing and persecuting heavily. This is how they are trying to survive. They want to save themselves from the courts and perpetuate their fascist system. They have nothing left to do except persecution. If they do not persecute, massacre, arrest, insult, torture, lynch, they will not be able to maintain their power. With these methods, they aim to intimidate all the peoples who oppose them and make them surrender. They carry out the same persecution in prisons. They arrest and torture many people for no reason. They want to break their will and make them surrender. They murder those who do not surrender; they say that they either died of illness or committed suicide. They don’t even allow their families to see their bodies. Because they don’t want their torture to be revealed. Some of those who do not surrender are not released even though their sentences are over. They just give them new sentences. This is how they want to make the prisoners surrender. They also aim to scare those outside in this way and prevent them from participating in the protests.
The Turkish state releases the murderers who massacred the Kurdish people, especially our patriotic people. What does this mean? In other words, the Turkish state says to the murderers, ‘All those you killed were Kurds, socialists, democrats. Well done!’. This is how they encourage those who want to commit massacres against the Kurdish people. They are conducting such a dirty politics. They are trampling on all human values. They have turned Kurdistan and Turkey into torture centers. They torture openly not only in dungeons but also on the streets, in the neighborhoods, everywhere. They commit such cruelty.
They have turned Turkey and Kurdistan into a dungeon, they don’t even allow anyone to breathe. They ban all artists, they have arrested many journalists and they are still arresting more of them. They passed a new press law. They don’t want anyone to see and write about their torture and war. They want to deceive everyone in this way. There are journalists who write the truth. No matter how much the AKP-MHP government and the state want to hide the truth, this is not possible. They want to silence journalists because the free press reveals the truth. In this way they want to silence everyone and maintain their power. But they will not succeed, they cannot silence journalists and the people. Their power has come to an end.
How do you evaluate the political developments in South Kurdistan and Iraq? Elections were held in Iraq but the government has still not been formed. The Sadr movement, which won the highest number of deputies in the elections, withdrew from the parliament. There is a political crisis in Iraq. Why is there no solution to this crisis? What do you think is the solution?
There are reasons why the crises in Iraq are deepening day by day. Because there is no democratic mentality and approach. If democracy does not develop in a place, there will always be problems there. If the problems in Iraq are not being solved, if the crisis is deepening, it is because there is no democracy. Iraq is based on the nation state. If the nation state is taken as a basis in a place like Iraq, problems cannot be solved. The nation state mentality needs to change. They need to develop a democratic system. Then the problems will be solved. The people clearly showed this demand in the elections. A large part of the people did not go to the polls. They have no faith in elections and parties. People want a democratic system, a democratic nation. That is why they did not participate in the elections. Everyone who is involved in politics in Iraq must see this reality and change.
Another reason for the growing problems in Iraq is foreign states. Foreign countries play a big role in Iraqi politics. They do not think about Iraq and the Iraqi people, they conduct politics according to their interests. They promote fragmentation and enmity in the society. This is one of the reasons for the growing crisis. One of the states that deepens these crises both in Iraq and South Kurdistan is the Turkish state. With the support of the KDP, they are trying to achieve their goals in South Kurdistan and Iraq. They are deepening the problems there. This was also published in the press: It was made public that MIT is organized in Kirkuk and other areas. This is a fact. The Turkish state has established military bases in many places. It is expanding its occupation of South Kurdistan day by day. With the help of the KDP secret service Parastin, MİT is working in Mosul, Kirkuk and even Baghdad.
Turkey has taken Iraq, South Kurdistan and Barzani hostage. On this basis, it wants to realize its neo-Ottoman dreams in line with its Misak-ı Milli aims. This constitutes a great danger. Turkey aims to increase the existing disintegration in Iraq and make South Kurdistan a Turkish province. Both South Kurdistan and the peoples of the Middle East should be well aware of the politics of Erdogan and Bahceli. They know well what the Ottomans did in history. If they do not want to go through the same thing again, they should stand against the Turkish state and take a stance against the cooperation of the KDP. If they do so, the Turkish state will not be able to hold Iraq hostage like this.
As a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, relations between NATO powers have strengthened and NATO’s engagement is back on the agenda. At the last meeting in Madrid, China was recognized as a threat for the first time along with Russia. The Chinese Foreign Ministry described this as a return to the Cold War era. What do you think the future holds for the world?
The system of capitalist modernity is going through a crisis and it wants to get out of this crisis. This is why World War 3 is taking place. Its center is the Middle East and Kurdistan. Capitalist modernity wants to solve its crisis in this war. The development of the Russia-Ukraine war is the result of this. In other words, the crisis of capitalist modernity brought about this war. Because Russia is a part of the system of capitalist modernity. But despite this, it has not fully cooperated with global capital. And this creates some problems for global capital which now wants to completely incorporate Russia. This is why the US and NATO are going after Russia. They want to weaken Russia and oblige it to them. Of course, this is not their only goal. They also want to block China. Because China has made great economic and technical progress. The US and the capitalist system see China’s development as a danger to themselves and their interests. They want to prevent this too.
China is also part of the capitalist system, but there are some contradictions between the forces of capitalist modernity. Everyone wants to be in the system according to their power. Some don’t like their place in the system and want to gain a stronger place. The UK and the US, who lead the system of capitalist modernity, see this as dangerous for them. They want to prevent this. They aim to design the system in the couse of World War 3. But the problems in the capitalist modernity system cannot be solved easily. The more they try to solve their problems, the more they create new ones. China says that we are back to the Cold War era, but this is not true.
Both China and Russia are in the capitalist system, their ideologies and philosophies are the same. Therefore, a war like the cold war of the past will not develop. The main contradiction between them is their place in the capitalist system. As long as the capitalist system exists, these contradictions will continue. The real contradiction is between capitalist modernity and democratic modernity. In other words, between the peoples and capitalist modernity. This is the reality. We cannot say anything about what the outcome will be, but Rêber Apo says in his Defense Writings that there will be a reconciliation between capitalist modernity and democratic modernity. Obviously there is such a possibility.
The Turkish state wants to turn its war against the Kurdish people into an opportunity. At the NATO summit in Madrid, the Turkish state made Sweden and Finland a condition for NATO membership and asked them to support it in its war against the Kurds. How do you evaluate this situation and its consequences? Why does NATO support the Turkish state in its war against the Kurds? What policy should the Kurdish people pursue against this?
NATO has been helping the Turkish state since the establishment of our movement. The reason why the Turkish state is a member of NATO, the reason why it wants to join the EU is purely for the establishment of a Turkish state. The aim has been to eliminate other peoples and languages. They wanted to only leave the Turkish language, the Turkish nation, the Turkish state and the Turkish flag. For this, they committed many massacres. This is also the aim of their politics against the Kurds. The Turkish state massacres peoples and commits genocides against them, but no one makes a sound. Again, it uses chemical weapons, tactical nuclear weapons, unique types of bombs against the guerrillas, but no one says anything. It is expanding the occupation, committing massacres, changing the demography, but no one says anything. Because Turkey is a NATO country. The Turkish state is doing all this with the help of NATO. If NATO had not accepted it, the Turkish state would not have the power to do these things.
When the movement was first founded, they murdered Olof Palme and blamed it on the PKK. Olof Palme was a friend of the Kurds and oppressed peoples. He wanted to have relations with the PKK and the Kurds, to help them. Because they saw this, they prevented him. They both murdered Olof Palme and blamed it on the PKK. With such a conspiracy, they put the PKK on the ‘terrorist’ list. The Turkish state takes advantage of this and says, ‘I can kill wherever the PKK is, it is my right’. NATO and foreign states have prepared this ground. When they realized that our movement was developing and returning the Kurdish people from death, they saw that this posed a threat to them. Because the Kurdish problem was created by capitalist modernity. It was capitalist modernity and its institution, NATO, that tore Kurdistan into pieces, subjected the Kurds to the politics of annihilation, accepted the Turkish state in Lausanne, and conspired against our people in the person of Rêber Apo.
Despite all this, our movement still developed and has given hope to the peoples. Right now they see that Rêber Apo’s ideas and paradigm are spreading. This is a danger for them. That is why they want to develop a new conspiracy. In Madrid, they took new decisions against our movement, the Kurdish people and Rojava. Erdogan openly said, ‘Everyone should accept my politics and I will accept Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership, otherwise I won´t’. At Madrid this was accepted so that Sweden and Finland can join NATO. What does this mean? It means that they have accepted Erdoğan’s policy against the PKK, against the Kurdish people. Erdoğan’s policy against the PKK is liquidation, his policy against the Kurdish people is genocide and his policy against the peoples of the region is the new Ottoman Empire. So this policy was accepted in Madrid.
This meeting has once again revealed the true face of the US and NATO. During the Russia-Ukraine war, they said that they were against the occupation and that they were with the Ukrainian people. They wanted to clean their dirty faces in this way. And they got some results. The people who were against the war thought that the US and NATO were on their side. But at the Madrid meeting their real faces have been exposed. It has been revealed how hypocritical they are, how much they think about their own interests, how they deceive the people.
The Turkish state is committing massacres and genocide against the Kurdish people. The Kurdish people are not a threat to the Turkish state, on the contrary, the Turkish state is a threat to the Kurdish people. It wants to eliminate the Kurdish people. It wants to eliminate everything in the name of Kurdistan. It is not the Turkish state that needs to be defended, but the Kurdish people. Capitalist modernity supports the genocide policy of the Turkish state. Our people should see this very well. They did not accept the Turkish state’s demand to put Rojava on the ‘terror’ list, but with the decisions taken at the meeting, the Turkish state’s request was fulfilled.
The Turkish state massacres and martyrs people in Rojava every day. Isn’t this occupation? So the decisions they take regarding Rojava are not in Rojava’s favor. Their statements that ‘we are friends of Rojava, we defend Rojava’ are not true. There is no such thing. They approve the Turkish state’s decision of occupation. Therefore, our people, especially in Rojava, must see the real face of NATO, the US and Europe. After NATO, the US and Europe accepted the genocide policy of the Turkish state, the Turkish state increased its attacks even more. It has increased its attacks and massacres against both Rojava, South Kurdistan and the guerrilla. It bans, arrests and tortures democrats, journalists and artists in Turkey. This means that the Turkish state has made them accept its demands.
Everyone knows the AKP and the Turkish state’s relationship with Daesh [ISIS]. NATO, the US and Europe also know, but they turn a blind eye because of their interests. They act as if they don’t know at all. They were supposedly against Daesh. Rojava, the Kurdish people, the HPG guerrillas waged a great struggle against Daesh, they lost thousands of şehits. They saved humanity from the danger of Daesh. So how are these forces against Daesh, how are they friends of the Kurds? These are all lies. If they were really against Daesh; who fought against Daesh, who paid a great price, who defended humanity? It is clear; the Kurds, the YPG and the PKK. They should have respect for this. But far from respecting it, they see the Turkish state’s policy of genocide as correct and accept it.
Our people see this. No one can deceive the Kurdish people anymore. No one can conduct politics or benefit from the massacres against the Kurdish people. That era has passed, the Kurdish people are now conscious. That’s why no one can surrender the Kurdish people, Rêber Apo and the PKK. No matter what the Turkish state does, no matter what its collaborators inside and outside do, they cannot save the Turkish state, they cannot end the Kurds, they cannot make the PKK and Rêber Apo surrender. They should give up on this. They should respect the Kurdish people. They owe the Kurdish people, they must pay this debt. They should approach Rêber Apo and the PKK in the right way. This is what we want from them.