Our Interviews

War Crimes Committed by Turkey as Part of its Ongoing Attacks on South Kurdistan

“With their selfless resistance, the guerrilla has defeated the strategy of the Turkish state. They have shown everyone that it is possible to resist against this state. Their resistance has proven that it is possible to deal heavy blows to the Turkish state. This is a very important result. Since the Turkish state has taken such heavy blows, it has understood that it will not achieve its goals in this way. So it has brought the KDP on board to help out. But even that was not enough. And so the Turkish state began to use chemical weapons. In the course of this month alone, it has used chemical weapons 157 times in South Kurdistan. Many of our comrades have fallen due to these attacks. But still, the enemy does not succeed in achieving its goals.”

Silence of NATO and its Member States Towards Turkey`s War Crimes

“The Turkish state is using chemical weapons in South Kurdistan. Turkey is a member of NATO. But NATO remains silent. Both Europe and the United States keep silent. When someone else uses chemical weapons somewhere, there is a great outcry. They sometimes even create the impression that chemical weapons have been used, although this is not the case. Thus they create a pretext for their own attacks. But when the Turkish state uses chemical weapons 157 times in a single month and there are şehits [casualties ], they simply remain silent. What does that mean? Turkey has permission to use chemical weapons. NATO is responsible for that. So NATO regulations allow Turkey to use chemical weapons and NATO itself to keep silent. Our people must see this clearly. And they must hold those responsible accountable: `Why are you silent? Why don’t you do something about it? So you want Turkey to use chemical weapons.` Our people must recognize those responsible for this.”

Hope and Inspiration Abdullah Öcalan`s Resistance has Given Millions of People All Over the World

“Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] has become a source of hope for humanity. That is why so many people around the world are supporting him today. And this support is constantly increasing. Rêber Apo and his struggle are creating more and more hope. In Imrali prison he has not wasted a single day. Under the most difficult conditions, he has given meaning to his life and struggle there. It is important that everyone understands this very well and takes Rêber Apo seriously accordingly. Through him, one can learn how to resist against the system of state, power and domination. How to resist against Capitalist Modernity and achieve results. This is what Rêber Apo has taught everyone. Therefore, whoever wants to fight against the international conspiracy and achieve results in this struggle, must understand Rêber Apo’s struggle against this conspiracy comprehensively and correctly.”

Erdogan`s Renewed Threats to Attack Rojava

“The fascist Erdogan is currently threatening Rojava again. He says: `We have already occupied some areas. We have settled 450,000 refugees there. But there are millions more living in our country. We no longer have the possibility to host them. We therefore want to relocate them elsewhere.` Thus, in effect, he is saying that he wants to occupy even more parts of North Syria in order to settle refugees there. And nobody protests against this. What does that mean? Erdogan is saying, `I will commit a massacre against the Kurds and you must support me.` To remain silent about this means giving Erdogan the green light for a massacre. Our peoples in North and East Syria, no matter whether they are Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs or the other peoples, must realize this well. They have resisted against the Turkish occupation until now. Now they must resist even more against this new danger. They must prepare themselves thoroughly for renewed occupation attacks.”

Central Importance of International Solidarity for the Protection of Rojava

“Revolutionaries came to Kobane from all parts of the world and joined the fight against IS. Thus, after Vietnam, there was again an international movement, in this case for Kobane. It was a very strong movement. As a result, Kobane was victorious. Without this support, it would have been impossible to defeat IS and defend Kobane and the Rojava Revolution. We must never forget this. The Kurdish people and their international friends are the ones who defend the revolution. That is the truth. It is not the states. The states have never supported the Rojava Revolution this much. Some states may have established tactical relations with Rojava because of their own interests. But the people and the revolutionaries are the ones who started this revolution and kept it alive.”

Abdullah Öcalan`s Vision for a Solution of the Kurdish Question in Turkey

“For several weeks now, there has been a discussion in Turkey about whether Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] is the interlocutor for the solution of the Kurdish question or not. This is an absolutely pointless discussion and nothing other than a distortion of the truth. For the Kurds, this is not even up for discussion. Moreover, things are being said today that Rêber Apo said years ago. All of this is documented. So some are simply repeating things that Rêber Apo has said before. What did he say back then: `The parliament is the place where the Kurdish question must be solved.` He said that very clearly again and again. And he has referred to the HDP as an interlocutor. These are all statements made by Rêber Apo. He has even met with the HDP and sent them to talk to the AKP government. So he has made the HDP the interlocutor for the government. And he said to the HDP at that time: `Don’t just meet with the AKP, but also with all other parties, so that this problem will be put on the agenda of the parliament. The parliament must set up a special commission for this purpose. This commission must also invite me so that I can speak there.` He outlined all these possible solutions at the time.”