For the Kurdish people, the self-immolation actions of Bubo Taş and Mehmet Akar were drastic experiences. Bubo Taş burnt himself to death in Artuklu, Mardin and Mehmet Akar burnt himself to death on the city wall of Amed (Diyarbakır). Bubo Taş was a patriot who was imprisoned during the military coup of 12 September 1980, where he met Hayri Durmuş. He lived as a consistent patriot until his last breath. Mehmet Akar, on the other hand, was the child of a family that was deceived and bought by Tayyip Erdoğan and Süleyman Soylu and protested at the door of the HDP's Amed Provincial Association because "the HDP took our child to the mountains". He himself declared that he had not gone to the mountains and that his family had been deceived.

Both 65-year-old Bubo Taş and young patriot Mehmet Akar said they set themselves on fire to protest against the isolation on Imrali. While Bubo Taş did so via video message, Mehmet Akar left a letter. Both stated that the isolation on Imrali and the 22-month lack of information about Abdullah Öcalan's situation were unbearable and called on all patriotic Kurds to stand stronger against the isolation and for the physical freedom of Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan]. So, their message was as strong and significant as the courage they showed.

There is no doubt that the actions in question are a continuation of the self-sacrifice actions under the slogan "You cannot darken our sun". These were actions that started on 9 October 1998 with the launching of the international plot. Today, AKP/MHP fascism has taken Turkey and Kurdistan back to the time of the coup of 12 September 1980 and the 1999 plot. The indicators are clear. The self-immolation actions of Bubo Taş and Mehmet Akar show this clearly. The fascist AKP/MHP dictatorship is mainly responsible for these self-immolations. People are forced to self-immolate in the face of fascist policies of oppression and extermination.

The military coup of 12 September 1980 lives on in AKP/MHP fascism today, as does the plot of 15 February 1999. It is quite clear that the Imrali torture and isolation system is a continuation of the international plot and aims at annihilation. In such extermination attacks, there will always be self-sacrificial actions. In this respect, the actions of Bubo Taş and Mehmet Akar are clear and understandable. Of course, they are also meaningful to the same extent. Their stance expresses the culmination of revolutionary patriotic feelings, thoughts and behaviour. It embodies the existence and the will for freedom of the Kurdish people, which is reflected in the reality of Öcalan. It is an expression of the feeling of the greatest danger to which the Kurds are exposed by the annihilationist attitude of capitalist modernity. This attitude is an example of courage and sacrifice.

Of course, these actions with their deep meaning have deeply shaken the Kurdish revolution and patriotism. The shock waves coming from these actions will lead to further development and correction of the previous resistance against the isolation on Imrali. Everyone will re-evaluate their own stance in the face of these actions, rectify any mistakes and shortcomings and develop an active position for the physical freedom of Öcalan and against the murderous system of Imrali.

However, as the Co-Board of the Executive Council of the KCK has explained, these actions are methodologically problematic. If you look at the actions, they are meant to hit the fascist system, the enemy, but actually we hit ourselves.

One could say that it is a method aimed at softening the conscience of the other side, i.e. the enemy, by hitting oneself. But the Turkish state and the fascist AKP/MHP regime are not such an enemy. It has no conscience to appeal to. The Turkish state and AKP/MHP fascism is a power that has built its existence on the negation of the Kurds. It considers the complete destruction of Kurdish society as its most important right. Therefore, such an enemy cannot be softened. Only by destroying this mentality and politics is it possible to get rid of this enemy. This makes it necessary to attack not itself but the fascist-genocidal mentality and politics.

This fact is understandable and can be clearly understood by one characteristic. The Kurds are no one's enemy and do not want to be hostile to anyone. This is a historical characteristic of Kurdish society. It is the decisive characteristic of the Apoist line, which envisages the free and equal coexistence of all diversities. It is remarkable that in the fifty years of its struggle, it has never sought its own existence in the annihilation of others and, in this way, has never made an enemy of anyone. This is a reality of Kurdish freedom. But just because the Kurds are like this, not all of them are like this. The Kurdish hostility of the Turkish state and the AKP/MHP government is different. Therefore, the Kurds must identify those who are hostile to them and develop their own attitude and struggle accordingly.

Moreover, the situation outside must not be confused with the situation in prisons. Both against the fascist coup regime of 12 September and against the attack of the international conspiracy, revolutionaries and patriots in the prisons mainly carried out actions that we can call "hitting themselves", that is, actions that are also embodied in the form of self-immolation. Because they had no other choice and no other possibilities for action. When similar actions took place outside, Öcalan intervened and demanded that this method be abandoned. He also did not think it was right that these actions continued in the dungeon, and he tried to stop them again and again.

Similar questions are still relevant today. Yes, the isolation on Imrali is tantamount to genocide and the fight against it is absolutely necessary. Ordinary and small actions are not enough. To break the system of torture and genocide and to ensure the physical freedom of Öcalan, it is necessary to stand up and resort to the most effective methods. This is the only correct revolutionary and patriotic stance. This is the standard. However, during such an action, it is necessary to determine the methods well. The method of action must be such that it hits the fascist enemy, not the movement itself; it must destroy the fascist-genocidal system, not the activists themselves.

The Turks who were sent out by AKP/MHP fascism to kill the Kurdish people by deceiving and buying them, should have conscience bites. This could lead to the fragmentation of the enemy front. It is not right that Kurds, who have all means at their disposal, choose such forms of action. Because they have no other effect than appealing to the conscience of the Kurds, but they have no influence on the enemy. Fascism cannot be defeated in this way. Therefore, we must choose forms of action that hit the fascist system and are effective. There are a thousand and one ways to do this. We can carry out actions that strike effective blows to the AKP/MHP genocide everywhere. On this basis, we must direct our actions and become a victorious force. In this sense, we remember the martyrs Bubo Taş and Mehmet Akar with deep respect and we believe that their message will find an effective echo.

Source: Yeni Özgür Politika