Duran Kalkan, a member of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about various issues in a recent long interview. Among other things, Kalkan spoke about the guerrillas' decision to halt offensive actions.

Kalkan said: "After the severe earthquake on February 6, the leadership of our movement declared a halt of all military attacks by the guerrilla forces. Thus, it wanted to increase the possibility to heal the wounds of the people who had suffered greatly due to the earthquake. Later, despite all kinds of aggression by AKP-MHP fascism, our leadership took the decision to maintain this halt of all attacks until the election in order not to become a party to provocations in this process. This decision was publicly announced. Our halt of all attacks continues. We are acting in accordance with the decisions we have taken and the statements we have made. As long as there is no attack on the guerrilla, the guerrilla does not carry out any attacks. If there is an attack, the guerrillas defend themselves. This applies to all freedom forces. Especially in terms of the cities [in Turkey], our administration has made a concrete call. Yet, this war cannot be stopped with a unilateral decision to halt all attacks. The halt of attacks must be bilateral. In the past, Leader Apo declared countless unilateral ceasefires. But why didn’t he get any response? Now this has become much clearer."

Kalkan added: "The AKP-MHP fascist dictatorship continues its attacks on an even higher level in the Medya Defense Zones [areas in South Kurdistan/North Iraq]. It continues its attacks against the tunnels and bases of the guerrillas. And these attacks are not limited to these areas only. The AKP-MHP attacks everywhere. Lately, they have carried out attacks in Çukurca, Merdin and Gever [areas in North Kurdistan]. Before that, attacks took place in Amed and Dersim. They attacked Sulaymaniyah and Şengal. And they attack Rojava every single day. They shoot at civilians, not just armed forces, there basically every night. They have declared all Kurds, all those who associate with the Kurds and cooperate with them on the basis of freedom as enemies and are attacking them. The HPG Press Center [HPG – People’s Defense Forces] publishes the results of these attacks on a daily basis. AKP-MHP fascism has not stopped its attacks. They even consider this decision [halt of all guerrilla attacks] as a weakness and want to take advantage of it. They are making up excuses to try to weaken the guerrillas even more."

Kalkan continued: "This is how they reveal their real intentions. How aggressive they are, how they resort to all kinds of provocations and conspiracies; this can clearly be seen. This needs to be understood. Indeed, the attacks continue in Zap, Avaşîn, Metîna, Xakurkê and Heftanîn [all areas in South Kurdistan/North Iraq]. War planes carry out bombardments, drones strike these areas, just like helicopters, artillery and tanks do. Of course, when the guerrilla has to defend itself, it engages in defensive actions. It defends itself where it deems necessary. But the Turkish state does not stop. Everyone needs to know this.

The attacks of AKP-MHP fascism despite the halt of all guerrilla attacks declared after the February 6 earthquake needs to be recognized and understood. Everyone must assume responsibility. In fact, there have been a few statements from some circles, but they are weak. We still think that there need to be stronger attitudes, both from internal and external circles. No one should misunderstand the guerrillas and make any miscalculations on this basis. The decision to halt all attacks taken by our leadership due to a great moral and conscientious approach, taking into account the current political situation, should not be misunderstood. This decision puts responsibility on everyone. It puts responsibility on all political circles, social circles and state forces. That is why we say that everyone needs to fulfill their responsibilities."

Kalkan said: "There were also attacks against the Medya Defense Zones in previous years. Today, we are witnessing the anniversary of the process in which the AKP-MHP fascist dictatorship launched an invasion attack against all of [the South Kurdish areas] Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna in order to occupy them completely. On April 14 [2022], the air strikes began. And on April 17, the ground attacks started. Although they have been attacking for a year using chemical weapons, tactical nuclear weapons, phosphor bombs, different kinds of forbidden bombs and all kinds of technical resources, with the support of everyone from NATO to Russia, they have not been able to occupy these areas. They have failed to achieve their goal of crushing the guerrillas. The guerrillas have waged one of the most meaningful resistances in history there. It has defeated the invasion attacks and thus prevented the enemy’s success. The AKP-MHP dreamed of invading Zap and then Rojava in a short time – thus crushing the PKK and completing the Kurdish genocide – and then carrying out elections, which were said to be held a month later, with a great victory. Now all their dreams have been shattered. The great guerrilla resistance has revealed this. We have seen during this one-year resistance that what is really decisive in war is the commitment to the cause, the sacrifice and courage of the fighters, their consciousness. Creativity, professionalism and heroism. In Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna, the Apoist spirit of resistance and victory, the spirit of sacrifice have fought and resisted. In such an environment of inequality, the guerrillas have not let this aggressive force that has all kinds of resources pass. This is very, very important, very meaningful. It shows that the guerrilla can carry out the freedom struggle of the peoples and the oppressed under all conditions. Everyone can learn a lesson here."