Today marks the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the PKK's (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) armed struggle. The commander of the People's Defence Centre (HSM), Murat Karayılan, made a statement to Stêrk TV on this occasion, saying the following:

"Dear people, dear comrades, I greet you all and congratulate you on the Day of Resurrection! First of all, we would like to congratulate Rêber Apo [Leader Abdullah Öcalan] on the 40th anniversary of the uprising of 15 August and on the Day of Resurrection on behalf of the entire Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla. We emphasise our respect and solidarity with Rêber Apo. We also congratulate the people of Kurdistan, the peoples of the region, the friends of the Kurdish people, all those who work for the movement and our sympathisers on this day and wish everyone every success in the 41st year.

40 years have passed since the historic resistance of 15 August. These 40 years are an epic written in golden letters in the history of the Kurdistan freedom struggle. This epic is written with the blood of the martyrs. We commemorate all the revolutionary martyrs with respect and gratitude by remembering our immortal commander, comrade Egîd (Mahsum Korkmaz), and respectfully bow to their memory. We repeat our promise to them: We will stick to our camaraderie promise, we will keep them alive by enhancing the Kurdistan freedom struggle.

Dear people and comrades, the initiative of 15 August was no ordinary initiative. It was a milestone in the history of Kurdistan. It changed everything. It changed the course of Kurdistan's history. It corrected history, turned it upside down and led to uprising and revolution. The revolution of resurrection was first and foremost an intellectual, social and cultural revolution. It was also a revolution of women. This is how Kurdish society was recreated on 15 August. This did not just happen. In addition to the perspectives, thoughts and unique work of Rêber Apo, the foundation of 15 August was laid by the resistance in the Amed (Diyarbakır) dungeon.

Over the past 40 years, many legendary resistance offensives have been developed and many courageous fighters have emerged. Egîd, Erdal, Bedran, Cemşid, Mahir, Bêrîvan, Bêrîtan, Zîlan, Azime, Zelal Botan, Piling Kiçî, Hüseyin Mahir, Cemal Amed, Rojhat Bluzerî, Cuma Bilîkî, Xelîl Dêrîk and Kemal Spêrtî are just a few of them. (...) As Kurdistan's freedom guerrillas, we have sworn to defend the whole of Kurdistan. We have kept this promise to this day. Turkish colonialism has been trying to occupy South Kurdistan for seven years. We have stood up to it, we have made sacrifices, we are fighting and resisting. We are keeping our promise. The resistance has been going on for four years. The resistance in Metîna, the western and eastern Zap region is being waged against chemical weapons and other banned war technology. I salute the heroes and heroines there. I salute them a hundred thousand times! They are the vanguard of the will of the Kurdish people against the brutality and cruelty of occupation and colonialism.

Dear people, today the Middle East is in turmoil. The crises have increased. However, we see that Turkish colonialism, the fascist AKP/MHP regime, is endeavouring to turn this crisis into a regional war. In the meantime, they want to develop an alliance between the states that occupy and dominate Kurdistan, they want to develop an alliance against the freedom movement of Kurdistan, our movement. It is obvious that dangerous times lie ahead of us. As a movement, we will fight against this. We will intensify the struggle for the establishment of a free and independent Kurdistan in the Middle East. This war is a struggle for dignity and love of one's country. We will wage this struggle and back down in the face of the traitors and colonialists. But our patriotic people must support us in this holy war against the enemy. We appeal to all Kurdish patriots, parties, organisations and individuals. Recognise this reality and support the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla.

We appeal to the Kurdish and Arab youth: join this sacred struggle. Today there is a war of annihilation against the Kurdish people; there is also danger for the Arab and Assyrian-Syriac peoples. Therefore, unity must be created between the Kurdish, Arab and Syriac peoples on the basis of the paradigm of Democratic Nation. Unity must also be built with the working classes of Turkey. The Turkish state wants to plunge the region into darkness on the basis of Turanism. First of all, the Kurdish people must create national unity and develop a common strategy. As a movement, we see this as an essential necessity, and we will work for this at all levels.

Today, there is a regime of aggravated isolation and psychological torture against Rêber Apo. The dignity of our people, our culture, our dances and our values are under attack. Our people must take part in the global campaigns against these attacks. Everyone should be aware of their responsibility and act accordingly. Self-defence must be developed further. We must build social self-defence against the attacks. We, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla, will act in the spirit of Egîd and Zîlan, in the spirit of 15 August, in this period, the 41st year of the 15 August Awakening. Within the framework of our tactical perspective and in a creative way, we will wage the war on the ground, underground and from the air even more strongly. We will show everyone the invincibility of the Kurdish people and the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla. This is our claim and determination.

In this context, we, the command of the People's Defence Centre, send our respectful greetings to all our people, our friends, all our employees and comrades. We call on everyone to fulfil their duties at this historic time. We wish them every success in this important period. We wish everyone success in the struggle for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo and the freedom of Kurdistan and the peoples of the region. Down with colonialism and betrayal! Long live the revolutionary people's war! Bijî Serok Apo!”