Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council spoke about the latest developments in Rojava and the upcoming local elections in Turkey.

The first part of this interview can be read here

As you mentioned, the Turkish state turns its attention to Rojava every time after being hit by the guerrilla. Sometimes they even put forward the propaganda that “[the guerrilla] came from Rojava and carried out actions”. What are the reasons for this, and how should it be understood?

As I said, the Turkish state is conducting a psychological warfare policy. The AKP-MHP government insists on the politics of genocide. Everyone knows that the actions being carried out have nothing to do with Rojava. But in order to deceive the public, in order to legitimize their attacks on Rojava, the Turkish government says that those who carry out actions cross through Rojava and all their weapons come from Rojava. They even say that America trained the people to carry out actions, that America gave them weapons and sent them. “Otherwise”, they say, “the Kurds would not be able to carry out attacks during the winter season”. Because they see Kurds as simple. They don’t see Kurds as a society. They see them as those who must be destroyed. That is why they say that the Kurds cannot wage such a war and strike a blow against them. The aim of the Turkish state and AKP-MHP is to eliminate Rojava. They openly express this. World War 3 is already being waged, and they want to take advantage of this. They want to eliminate the Rojava Revolution and want to commit genocide against the people.

They want to occupy the whole of Rojava like they did in Efrîn, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. They are placing ISIS gangs in Efrîn, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî and helping them in every way. They want to completely occupy Rojava, Northern and Eastern Syria with these gangs. That is why they are attacking Rojava. They target electricity, water, energy stations, hospitals, wheat fields. In other words, they are bombing the infrastructure of the people of Rojava. That is being seen by everyone. They say they are attacking the YPG-SDF, but this is a complete lie. They are trying to legitimize their attacks by saying that those carrying out actions in Turkey come from Rojava. Our people need to see this. With these attacks, the Turkish state wants to destroy the basis of life in Rojava, to make the people migrate so they could occupy and take over these areas. This is the aim of the Turkish state. Our people must stand firm and courageous against this. No one should migrate, no one should leave their lands, they should not leave their city, village or house. Because when you leave, you are following the will of the Turkish state. If you leave, you have no chance to return. Efrîn, Serêkaniyê, Girê Spî are in front of our eyes.

Our people can only survive by resisting and struggling. They should not prefer any other way. Our people must fight against the brutality of the Turkish state in every way. This is their right. Our people must develop their self-defense. I also want to make a call to some states; Russia, America, coalition forces are silent against these attacks. In Rojava, the people’s means of life are being bombed. There is no water, no electricity, no hospitals, but these states have not made a sound. This is understood as accepting barbarism. In other words, they are partners of the Turkish state. Our people must also stand against this. They must ask the coalition, “What are you doing here? Are you conducting the politics of the Turkish state or are you here for your own purposes? You are practicing politics over the Kurdish people, sacrificing Kurds for your own purposes. We do not accept this” and they must make their stance clear.

Rojava is in great danger right now. They brought Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda gangs there. It was also revealed that they brought Hamas members to Rojava during the Palestinian-Israeli war. What should the people from Rojava do in the face of this danger?

As it is known, ISIS was headed to Damascus when Erdoğan directed them to Kobanê. Erdoğan is the one who directs ISIS. ISIS fighters also expressed this; they said that they were heading towards Damascus, but then the Turkish government changed their route to Kobanê. They used ISIS completely against the Kurdish people. They wanted to strike a blow against the Kurdish people with ISIS. But when the people stood resolutely and courageously against ISIS, Erdoğan realized that he could not stand against the Kurds with ISIS. That is why the Turkish state itself invaded Rojava. In the history of our movement, there were many moments when they mobilized some fascists against us, and they mobilized some tribes. Always, when they realized that it was not working, they mobilized their own forces. They did in South Kurdistan what they did in North Kurdistan.

The Turkish state bombed many living areas, but what does the KDP say? It says the PKK is the reason why the Turkish state attacked Rojava. In other words, the KDP legitimizes the attacks and bombardments of the Turkish state. The ENKS-KDP serves the politics of the Turkish state. They can call themselves Kurds all they want, they have nothing to do with Kurdishness. When the Turkish state launched an attack, they attacked the prison in Hesekê to get the ISIS fighters out. Erdoğan wants to mobilize ISIS again. He wants to achieve some results in Northern and Eastern Syria with ISIS.

March 31st will be a critical election in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The democratic and freedom-seeking forces continue their preparations decisively under the conditions of fascism. Pre-elections are being held in a democratic way. They state that they will put an end to the trustee regime. What would you like to say about the upcoming elections?

The Turkish state, the AKP-MHP government, is trampling on the will of the Kurdish people, because it does not accept Kurdish society, the liberation of the Kurdish people. What they deem worthy of the Kurds is to slaughter, surrender, enslave and eliminate them. That is why our people gained many results in the municipal elections. The Turkish state did not tolerate this. They put trustees in place to eliminate the will of the Kurdish people. They usurped the municipalities that the Kurdish people achieved through struggle and labor. They put all the opportunities created by the municipalities at the service of AKP-MHP. They appointed trustees for two consecutive terms. This policy did not yield results for them, and they were exposed. They realized that if they appointed trustees for a third term, this would create big problems. This time they are trying to put forward trustees in a different way. Again, they are transporting people who will vote for the AKP to Kurdish cities so to gain control over these cities and prevent the Kurds from having a will. Even if the population of some places is 2 thousand, they transport twice as many people there. Those being transported are either policemen, soldiers, village guards or fascists, the AKP places them throughout Kurdistan. This time they aim to take the municipalities in this way.

That is something our people must not accept and must stand against. In the cities or districts where voters have been brought from outside, our people should ask where these voters have come from, who sent them and what they will do in Kurdistan. They should say ‘we are the people of this place, and we will live with our will, you cannot usurp our will’. In this way the government wants to send the message that it has ‘won’ municipalities in Kurdistan and that there is no Kurdish question. The Kurdish people say that they do not accept the trustees and that they will win back their municipalities. The Kurdish people are decisive and courageous in defending their will. That’s why there are now pre-elections. The people have developed a democratic system. There has never been such a democratic pre-election in Turkey. This shows the truth of the Kurdish people. The Kurdish people have developed great moves in the field of freedom and democracy. They are leading the peoples of Turkey in this sense. I congratulate our people on this occasion. Whoever comes out in these elections, everyone should support them. It should be known that this is a war. The Turkish state, the AKP-MHP government wants the Kurds to lose, and the Kurdish people must struggle and organize to win. They must reach everyone and frustrate the AKP-MHP politics. This must be a new move for the Kurdish people.

The MHP and Hizbul-Kontra act as if they are opposed to each other, but they are in the same alliance. How is this happening and what is the basis of this alliance?

Right now AKP-MHP and Hizbul-Kontra have formed a front. As it is known, the AKP-MHP is against Kurds, how can someone who claims to be Kurdish take part in such a front? We need to question this. The MHP says it is against Hizbul-Kontra, but this is a big lie. Because it was the MHP that developed Hizbul-Kontra. The MHP developed Hizbul-Kontra to prevent the freedom movement from developing and to strike a blow against it. They want to take over Northern Kurdistan completely and maintain their power there. They’ve put all the laws aside. Their only goal is to take over Northern Kurdistan.

When Hizbul-Kontra emerged, they massacred thousands of our patriotic people. They wanted to prevent the further development of our movement in this way. Could someone who slaughters Kurds and sheds the blood of Kurds, be a Kurd simply because they claim to act in the name of Kurdishness? Of course not. If the MHP makes some criticisms against Hizbul-Kontra, it is doing so to hide the truth. Because they organize and mobilize the contras. In order that this is not disposed, they pretend that they are against each other. This is a scenario. No one should deceive themselves; they stand against our movement together.

The AKP-MHP, Hizbul-Contra front was formed to destroy the PKK and eliminate the Kurds. Those who are based on fascism, racism and religious fanaticism are in that front. In other words, none of those on this front are different from each other. Our people, the democratic and socialist forces must ask these questions; ‘How can those on this front speak on behalf of the Kurds?’, ‘What do they have to do with the Kurds?’ and ‘How can those who massacred Kurds speak on behalf of Kurds?’

In the past, Hizbul-Kontra wanted to prevent the development of our movement by massacring Kurds. Now they have been assigned a political role because they had been exposed. This time they want to prevent the further development of the movement and the Kurdish people in the political arena. That is why the Hizbul-Kontra is offered many opportunities. They aim to deceive the people by using these opportunities. AKP-MHP wants to take over Kurdistan by using Hizbul-Kontra. What does this have to do with Kurdishness? Not only Hizbul-Kontra, but also the KDP has nothing to do with Kurdishness. They help each other. To prevent the truth from being understood, the MHP pretends to be against the Hizbul-Kontra.