Duran Kalkan, member of the KCK Executive Council, said that "the youth is the social segment that is the most active, demands freedom and democracy the most, and wages the most courageous and self-sacrificing struggle."

Part One of this interview can be read here

Part Two can be read here

How would you describe the level of organization, consciousness and action of the global youth in 2022, especially the Kurdish youth? How much has it been able to fulfill its own duties as a pioneer?

Undoubtedly, in the Middle East, especially in Kurdistan, and all over the world, the youth is the social segment that is the most active, demands freedom and democracy the most, and wages the most courageous and self-sacrificing struggle. Together with women, they have assumed the leadership of the revolution of democratic modernity. The youth wages a struggle accordingly. They heroically resist as guerrilla fighters in Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna. The young people are putting up a heroic resistance there that will destroy the fascist, colonialist and genocidal mentality. It is therefore the representative of a very brave and self-sacrificing struggle, leading the Kurdish people in the four parts of Kurdistan and abroad. The young people are undoubtedly one of the most courageous and self-sacrificing groups carrying the burden of the struggle all over the world. In this sense, I salute the Kurdish and global youth. I wish the young people great success in their struggle for freedom and democracy. I am convinced that they will always lead this struggle. Leader Apo said ‘we began young, and we will succeed young’. Indeed, the PKK is a party of the youth. The Apoist group emerged as an intellectual youth group and later became a youth movement. Under the leadership of this youth movement, it then became a party, a guerrilla movement and is developing into a democratic nation today. The youth is waging a great struggle in the four corners of Kurdistan to successfully realize the revolution of democratic modernity in every dimension. It makes this clear through its struggle based on the most heroic form of guerrilla warfare in history. The struggle of the United Revolutionary Youth Movement in the form of the YPS and YPS-JIN is an expression of this. In this sense, we can easily say that the burden of the struggle is mainly being shouldered by the youth and therefore led by it. From this point of view, there is definitely a reason to celebrate and greet the youth and to wish them success.

At the same time, we can ask ourselves: To what extent is this situation sufficient? Couldn´t there be more than that? According to the vanguard role of the youth, what does the current level of its activities entail? And how adequate is it? We need to discuss these questions and look at the current state of the youth movement. Especially with regards to the year 2022, we need to evaluate the situation of the youth in Kurdistan and the world more realistically, objectively and holistically. When doing this, we need to, of course, do justice to the struggle the young people are  waging, the courage and sacrifice it is showing. At the same time, we need to criticize the mistakes and shortcomings it has and thus guide it in the right direction. There are indeed shortcomings. There are deficiencies in the organization of the Kurdish youth. There are also deficiencies and weaknesses in the global youth movement. When we define the women’s movement as a vanguard force of the revolution of democratic modernity, we can easily say that today´s youth movement is very inadequate and weak. Let’s for example, take a look at the middle of the 20th century and see how advanced, organized, conscious and active the youth movement was back then all over the world. Let’s remember the youth revolution of 1968. Not only did the youth wage the most conscious and organized struggle against the system of capitalist modernity at the time, but it were also the revolutionary youth movements that took the most conscious attitude against the mistakes and shortcomings of real socialism.

The women’s movement was not that strong at that time. The women’s liberation revolution existed at some level. There was a certain awareness for the pioneering role of women, but it was very narrow and incomplete. It was far, far behind today’s level. In the last years, the women’s movement has become very organized and conscious. The 21st century has therefore become the century of women. In 2022, they have organized two big international conferences. The women´s movement is waging a struggle in every field. It is struggling massively and with great sacrifice against the reactionary attacks, harassment and rape caused by the male-dominated mentality and politics. But we cannot see a youth movement on the same level. Neither in Kurdistan nor in the world. We cannot see developments that would be comparable to the situation of the youth of the 1960s. The level of organization and consciousness of the youth is weak. The organizational development of youth movements in different countries, the extent to which they shape social life and the struggle for freedom are weak.

The global youth movement is not very organized. For example, they are not able to hold youth meetings and conferences at a global level. Their international efforts to create a youth confederalism are very weak. Such a meeting was not held in 2022, whereas the revolutionary youth could have organized a few of them. This is what they should have done. The theory of democratic modernity, the dissolution of capitalist modernity and the fact that the revolution of democratic modernity has become so concrete today requires, first of all, that the youth, as its vanguard, reaches a very conscious, organized and global level. In this respect, young people have shortcomings and need to be criticized.

The same is true for the Kurdish youth. Let’s look at the situation of the youth in North Kurdistan, Rojava, East Kurdistan and abroad. There is a limited level of organization, but it is very weak. On this basis, the entire youth cannot be mobilized and the youth´s will does not gain a dominant position. Reading, studying and learning about the theory of democratic modernity, understanding the Apoist theory and ideology more deeply by examining and discussing it, raising consciousness on this basis, organizing and putting this into practice accordingly – all this is weak. In North Kurdistan, the youth have gotten stuck in the narrow field of democratic politics. The youth should have a level of consciousness and organization that far exceeds this. The field of democratic politics should be only one of the 5 or 6 fields of the youth movement, but now it has basically gotten trapped in this field. The creation of a free, democratic, revolutionary youth organization, becoming part of the party, and the development of the system of democratic confederalism are weak. We ourselves have not been able to strengthen our party organization sufficiently. We have not been able to make the party youth, the PKK youth, sufficiently and effectively organized. Of course, the development of Komalên Ciwan is also weak. It only appeals to a small part of the youth. It is not in a position to lead the construction of the democratic nation in all its dimensions. In this sense, there is a weakness of consciousness and organization. There is definitely a need for the youth movement to renew itself on the basis of overcoming these weaknesses.

The Apoist youth must focus on this with great seriousness and attention. It needs to read more, study more, internalize the Apoist line better and initiate more discussions. Where there is no consciousness, there can be no organization and no actions. Everything is based on consciousness. Therefore, the youth must have a very high level of consciousness against all the effects of the liberalism of capitalist modernity – against its individualistic, pacifying, materialistic, corrupting effects. Becoming conscious means organizing yourself. Its organizing must reach a level that is versatile, rich, developed and that fully expresses the will of the youth. Most importantly, young people´s actions must be creative and diverse. From the strongest positive actions to attacks that deal heavy blows to all kinds of reactionary forces, the youth movement must be able to develop a highly creative and result-oriented style of action. And it must be able to do all this as a pioneering force.

It seems like the youth is not fully convinced of its pioneering role. Or there are mistakes in the youth´s understanding of what this role really means. They claim to be pioneers, but in reality they are detached from society. Youth movements are disconnected from youth. Therefore, they treat the youth as something detached from society and remain within the narrow scope of youth organizing and activism. They have been unable to fully combine their autonomous status with their leadership role. Instead, they remain narrow while talking about freedom, they are content with general statements while seeking a leadership role, thus not fulfilling its requirements in practice. There is definitely a need for serious criticism, self-criticism and correction with regard to these issues. The Apoist youth must be able to do this. The Apoist youth movement has the power and the will to do this. The strategy of democratic modernity shows clearly what the appropriate methods are. All they need to do is internalize this strategy correctly and apply it successfully. It is very important for young people to do exactly that. In this sense, Komalên Ciwan needs to reorganize itself. It must be able to do all this by undergoing a process of correction. It must be able to overcome its mistakes and shortcomings by subjecting them to Apoist criticism and self-criticism. It must be able to carry out the necessary correction of its line. This is necessary in order for young people to create the future. It is also necessary in order for the youth leadership to win victories for the revolution of democratic modernity. It is necessary to lead the youth party, which is the essence of the PKK, to a level at which it can shape all structures according to its youth character. We believe that on this basis, the young people will discuss more among itself, intensify its search and approach this issue in a more brave, deep and holistic manner. It will engage in stronger criticism and self-criticism, show the strength to distinguish between right and wrong, unite more strongly on the basis of Apoist principles and will unite more strongly with the spirit and willpower of the 1968 youth revolution and of Kurdistan in the first quarter of the 21st century. In the first quarter of this century, on the basis of the Kurdistan Freedom Revolution, in unity with the Women’s Freedom Struggle and based on the women’s freedom line, a youth leadership will emerge that will far surpass the youth movement of the 1960s. It will thus determine the fate of humanity, rapidly bring about the collapse of capitalist modernity and lead the democratic modernity revolution to victory everywhere. This is what the youth in Kurdistan must achieve, and this is the level that the global youth movement must reach. On this basis, I would like to once again salute the Kurdish youth, the Apoist youth movement, and express my belief that they will successfully play their pioneering role in the development of the revolutionary youth movement both in Kurdistan and in the world.

In light of your evaluations, what kind of struggle do you expect to take place in 2023? What kind of developments do you expect?

As the Kurdish people and as humanity, we are now entering the year 2023. First of all, I would like to wish everyone who struggles for freedom and democracy a happy new year and wish them great success in 2023.

With regards to the year 2022, we tried to analyze a number of issues. We evaluated the situation of the global capitalist modernity system in connection to the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, within the framework of the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle, we discussed the Women’s Freedom Movement, the development of the democratic modernity revolution and the situation of the forces of democratic modernity today.

What we have seen is that the forces of capitalist modernity are definitely in a state of deep chaos, collapse, dissolution and deadlock. The war in Ukraine shows this clearly. But we can see this most clearly in the Middle East, in Turkey, Syria and other parts of the region. We can recognize very well what kind of deadlock and lack of solution they are in. It is true that the forces of democratic modernity also have weaknesses. They have not yet been able to mobilize even two percent of their potential. We have already mentioned that the women’s movement has been increasing its activities and that the youth has fallen behind its old dynamism. We have also talked about how the ecology movement has been forced to surrender to a certain extent. The workers’ and laborers’ movement, the class struggles, have also not fully overcome the past. This is not to say that they are not active or don´t struggle. No, they do continue their activities and struggles all over the world, albeit at different levels. We can also see that they are very active at certain times. They are making progress with regards to their revolutionary resistance and democratic politics. Thus, they are contributing to making societies more conscious, which has also improved the level of debate among intellectuals. All this is a fact. Yet, compared to the potential of the forces of democratic modernity, the current level is quite weak and insufficient. That the system of capitalist modernity can sustain itself and prolong its life despite such deep chaos and crisis is partly due to the fact that the forces of democratic modernity – whose task it is to destroy and overcome this system – are weak in terms of consciousness, organization and action.

These weaknesses need to be overcome. The future of humanity depends on how much the democratic forces are willing to overcome these weaknesses. Capitalist modernity is no longer the decisive force. It has nothing to give to humanity. It is a cancerous, blocked and sick system that produces nothing but decay, collapse, disease and war. It has nothing positive to give to humanity. All that capitalist modernity does is lead humanity to collapse. Therefore, no self-renewal, no breakthrough, no good deeds for humanity can be expected from this system. We are faced with a cancerous system, a system of oppression and terror that is constantly corrupting, exploiting and murdering humanity. It is absolutely necessary to get rid of it. This system must be overcome.

It is the forces of democratic modernity led by women and the youth that will overcome capitalist modernity. We tried to explain this when we evaluated the developments of 2022. We showed the developments that took place on the basis of women’s freedom. This is extremely important and promising. This broadens our horizon and strengthens our will. On the other hand, we evaluated the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle, the heroic resistances of the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas against the fascist, colonialist and genocidal mentality and politics. We showed that the guerrillas have renewed itself based on the paradigm of democratic modernity in all four corners of Kurdistan, including the Medya Defense Zones. This is a very important development that has yielded serious results. Our guerrilla headquarters makes daily statements about the ongoing war. The AKP-MHP fascist-genocidal forces have suffered severe blows from the guerrillas and are now trying to escape from the places where they attacked the guerrillas. This is the state of collapse and dissolution that fascism finds itself in today. The guerrilla resistance has gained great victories and achievements against fascism. This is a very important situation.

We also touched upon the uprising in East Kurdistan and Iran that took place in the last three and a half months. This is definitely a women’s liberation uprising. Women, the youth, peoples and humanity as a whole have been marching under the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’. All the peoples of Iran have been marching together under a common slogan, thus uniting for the cause of freedom and democracy. This is very important. It shows that a strong search and struggle for truth has emerged again in the eastern part of the globe. This is where, historically speaking, freedom movements have flourished the most. These developments are a source of great hope, excitement, willpower and morale.

Looking at it within this framework, we can turn to the question of what 2023 will be like. 2022 was a year of great struggle, a year of war and of resistance. Serious achievements were made on the basis of women’s freedom, the guerrilla resistance and the resistance of peoples, for example, in Iran. There have been great gains which are now being carried on to the year 2023. This shows that 2023 will be a year of an even stronger struggle, a year of an even deeper and more multifaceted struggle. Both the struggle will increase and there will be efforts to turn the achievements of 2022 into a force of permanent solution. There will be a transition from achievements to victory, from resistance to revolution, which can also allow permanent revolutionary gains to emerge. Important gains can emerge on the basis of women’s freedom, the peoples’ resistance in Iran, and most importantly on the basis of the guerrilla-led Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom. All this can happen in 2023. Therefore, it is not wrong to define 2023 in the following two ways: First, it will be a year of greater struggle. The internal contradictions of the global capitalist system and the struggle on this basis, i.e. World War III, will continue to worsen. The struggle of the forces of democratic modernity on the basis of the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle against the forces of capitalist modernity will also become stronger under the leadership of women. New developments will emerge. This fierce and multifaceted struggle will continue.

Secondly, this struggle can lead to lasting developments. In fact, it may come to new developments in the European arena as well. The consequences of the war in Ukraine should not be underestimated. There may be very sudden developments that can bring about radical changes no one had anticipated. The revolutionary developments in Iran are very promising. A new system of democratic modernity can develop there. The current uprisings can lead to this. They can lead the regime towards democratic change on the basis of freedom, albeit in an Islamic direction. An Iran of democratic Islam based on women’s freedom can become an area that opens up new horizons for the whole Middle East, for Asia and for the whole world.

The most important and most likely development in 2023 is the overthrow of the fascist AKP-MHP dictatorship in Turkey. The coming year requires a renewal of government in Turkey. This process has already started. How will this renewal take place? This is the question that needs to be answered. But there is no easy answer. Many forces are in a state of contradiction and conflict today. It seems that these contradictions will become deeper and that the conflict will intensify. Anything can happen in Turkey: conspiracies or civil, military, fascist coups. Most importantly, the AKP-MHP fascist dictatorship can be overthrown and Turkey can very quickly turn into the most democratic area in the world on the basis of Kurdish freedom. The way has certainly been paved for such developments. How things will turn out will be determined by the opposing forces, their state of readiness and their creativity with regards to the ways and methods of struggle. Will the oppression, persecution, terror, conspiracies of the AKP-MHP fascist dictatorship succeed? Will there be a smooth transition to the so-called ‘systemic opposition’ based on the capitalist system? Or will fascism collapse, thus turning Turkey into the most democratic part of the world on the basis of Kurdish freedom? So will there be a great democratic revolution in Turkey? This will become clear in 2023. It will be a year of such radical change and transformation. 2023 is a turning point for Turkey, and we will see how this will turn out. If the Kurdish people, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, the revolutionary democratic forces of Turkey, the women and youth of the peoples of Turkey wage an effective joint struggle with the right methods; if they can get the support of external democratic forces; if they use creative tactics to carry out the struggle to overthrow fascism and achieve freedom and democracy – then they can win. Then, the Kurdish Freedom Revolution can triumph and lead Turkey to a victorious democratic revolution. This is not an unlikely possibility. If this does not happen, it may come to a soft, reformist change. But even this would pave the way for further developments. In such a case, the fascist, colonialist and genocidal mentality would also be overcome and a process of struggle to democratize Turkey would begin.

There is another possibility that is basically the worst case: AKP-MHP fascism tries to prolong its life with the help of various conspiracies. This is the most unlikely possibility. The AKP is currently working hard to achieve this. It uses all means of the state and of Turkey for this. This is a clear fact. In this sense, we should not downplay the position of the AKP-MHP. But it is also obvious that they are running out of steam. If the revolutionary democratic forces and the opposition do not make serious mistakes, AKP-MHP fascism will be overthrown, at least through the soft change we talked about earlier. Moreover, it can even go as far as overcoming fascism through a democratic revolution.

Turkey is about to undergo a powerful change and transformation. This by itself can make 2023 one of the greatest years of revolution in history. One should not take Turkey´s current situation lightly. To understand Turkey as a rather new state with just a hundred years of history would be wrong. Four thousand years of state tradition have become most embodied in this state. The fascist, colonialist and genocidal mentality and politics are most deeply institutionalized there. This institutionalization has been developing on the basis of the genocide of Kurds for a hundred years now. Today, this tradition terrorizes the whole world in the form of IS and Al-Qaeda. It imposes itself on the peoples and democracies of the world in the form of IS and Al-Qaeda fascism. It imposes itself as fascist terror. Everyone can clearly see this. What we are experiencing right now is a concrete example of this. Therefore, the overthrow of such a regime, paving the way for Turkey’s democratization on this basis, and moving towards a democratic revolution will solve the Kurdish problem, democratize Turkey, overcome the four thousand years of state tradition there, and ensure the development of a democratic society, a system of democratic confederalism. Only the solution of the Kurdish question will solve the problems in Syria, Iraq, Iran and the entire Middle East. This will be an important contribution to the development of humanity as a whole in the direction of freedom. In Turkey, the overthrow of AKP-MHP fascism and the democratic revolution will gradually break the male-dominated mentality and politics and bring about women’s freedom. This in itself will not only lead to a freedom revolution in the Middle East based on the line of women’s liberation, but also to a global women’s liberation revolution that draws strength from the Middle East.

There is room for further developments in many areas, but 2023 will be determined more than ever by the struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan. The war between the Kurdish people and the colonialist-genocidal Turkish Republic will determine this year. We can see this very clearly. We therefore hope that the revolutionary democratic forces will become more organized, develop a more correct strategy and tackle its tactical implementation. By overcoming AKP-MHP fascism, the year 2023 will become a year in which fascism is brought to an end in Turkey, the democratic Turkish revolution takes place, the Kurdish question is solved on the basis of freedom and democracy, the doors are opened for the democratization of the Middle East and the Democratic Middle East Revolution takes place – all under the leadership of women’s freedom. 2023 will be such a year. In this sense, we are more hopeful and assertive than ever. We believe that we will achieve greater freedom and democratic developments in 2023. On this basis, we wish great success to all those struggling for freedom and democracy in 2023. And we call on all the forces of democratic modernity, especially women and youth, to increase their consciousness, organization and actions even more in 2023.