In the second part of this long interview, Duran Kalkan, member of the Executive Council of the KCK, talked about the month of May, the month of martyrs for the Kurdish Liberation movement. He also talked about a new possible Turkish military attack in South Kurdistan.

The first part of this interview can be read here

We are in the month of May, which is an important month for your movement, as for you, it marks the ‘Month of the Martyrs’. How do you evaluate the importance of this month?

First of all, on the forty-seventh anniversary of his martyrdom, I commemorate the great revolutionary comrade Haki Karer and all our martyrs of the freedom struggle with respect, love and gratitude. As we enter the forty-eighth year of his martyrdom, I reiterate once again my promise to achieve the goals of all martyrs and to keep their memories alive. Again, I would also like to commemorate Ibrahim Kaypakkaya, one of the leaders of the Turkish revolution, and all the martyrs of the Turkish revolution with respect, love and gratitude. Ibrahim Kaypakkaya was also murdered through torture on May 18, 1973. Comrade Haki Karer was also murdered by the same forces in Antep on May 18, 1977. May is also a month of martyrs for the revolutionaries of Turkey.

On May 6, Deniz, Yusuf, and Huseyin were executed. On May 9, comrade Ulas Bayraktaroglu was martyred. The end of May marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Sinan Cemgil and his friends. Arab revolutionaries also consider May 16 as the day of martyrs. On May 16, 1916, Arab intellectuals were massacred by the Ittihat & Terakki. I commemorate with respect and gratitude all those who were martyred resisting against the occupation and colonialism. We will keep these martyrs alive and walk in their footsteps through the struggle we are developing for a united revolution in Turkey and Kurdistan. We are keeping the memories of these martyrs alive with the democratic struggle we are developing on the basis of the Kurdish-Arab alliance in the Middle East. As a movement, we will keep them alive even more.

Rêber Apo has always expressed that the resistance against the fascist coup on 12 March 1971 shaped him. He said that the great resistance led to revolutionary organization and action, on the basis of preserving the memories of the martyrs. In other words, he entered this struggle in order to hold up the memories of the martyrs correctly. To hold up the memories of those who walked with Deniz, Ibrahim, and Mahir. He then said that “the PKK is the practical and organizational memory of Haki Karer.” He stated that it is the martyrs that form the PKK and described Haki Karer as his own, hidden soul. The PKK declared May 18 as Kurdistan Martyrs’ Day a few years later. Indeed, if we look at the PKK and the history of its struggle, every step of development was made through the sacrifice of martyrs. It was developed and achieved on the basis of upholding the memories of the martyrs. The Hilvan resistance was a struggle developed in memory of Halil Cavgun. Halil Cavgun was martyred by the fascist, colonialist, genocidal enemy while he was commemorating Haki Karer on the anniversary of his martyrdom. The historical Hilvan resistance developed on the basis of the correct preserving of the memory of our martyrs.

The prison resistance is another example. The resistance of the four, the resistance of Mazlum Dogan, the resistance of July 14th, are what caused the historical prison resistance to become so effective. What inspired Ferhat Kurtay and his friends was the anniversary of Haki Karer’s martyrdom. The action of the four is a result of the strength they gained from the martyrs. What gave them direction was their effort to claim the memory of comrade Haki Karer correctly. On the basis of the Hilvan resistance, the prison resistance, and then the August 15 breakthrough, May became a month of action. Dozens of actions and dozens of martyrs every day, have brought us to where we are today. A great army of martyrs had emerged.

The martyrs command this struggle, they educate the people and unite them. Our martyrs are the most righteous participants of our party. Understanding the reality of Rêber Apo correctly and acting accordingly successfully requires, first of all, understanding the reality of the martyrs correctly and walking in their footsteps correctly. These are so intertwined. In this respect, May 18 was defined as Martyrs’ Day.

May became the month of martyrs, when almost dozens of people were martyred every day. This was a reality which developed in life. The memory of Haki Karer created an organized struggle, step by step. And an army of martyrs became the vanguard of this struggle. And it was them who led the struggle. Therefore, just as our movement and our people defined May 18 as Martyrs’ Day, they also defined May as the month of Martyrs. We commemorate on this basis, evaluate the month of May on this basis, and embrace our martyrs on this basis.

Undoubtedly, there are two main dimensions of embracing martyrs correctly. One is to understand and participate correctly, in the reality of martyrs and therefore the reality of Rêber Apo. To see and eliminate mistakes and deficiencies. To renew oneself in the line of martyrs through critical, self-critical questioning. This is something that all revolutionaries and patriots must do. This is what we are all doing this May, as the movement and the people, as revolutionaries and patriots. This is what we must do. If we are to understand the martyrs correctly, then we will have to renew, change, and correct ourselves in the reality of the martyrs. If there are aspects of our feelings, thoughts, mentality and behavior that keep us away from this reality, we will discard them. We will fill ourselves with the measures, spirit, emotion and thought of the martyrs. We will be closer to the life of the martyrs. We will not distance ourselves. We will always live close to our martyrs. We will live and work in the line of the martyrs. We will struggle.

The second is struggle, of course. It is the struggle to claim their memories correctly, to struggle to achieve their goals. Those martyrs are martyrs of this freedom struggle. They believed in the freedom of Kurdistan, the freedom of the people, women’s freedom, social freedom with all their being, and they carried out such a struggle that they sacrificed their entire being for it. They were so passionate about freedom. They adopted the line of freedom defined by Rêber Apo at this level. This is how they participated sincerely and marched without hesitation. The reality of martyrs expresses this. It is a reality of struggle. Then we will struggle. We will develop the struggle more. We will develop and advance the struggle for freedom wherever we are on the basis of maximizing opportunities and possibilities. Otherwise, martyrs cannot be embraced correctly; the month and day of martyrs cannot be understood and lived correctly. If we are to live right, this is definitely the right life. The right life is the life of the martyrs. Therefore, if we are to live correctly, we will understand the reality of martyrs correctly and try to achieve them in principle. That is our goal. We will live and struggle on that basis. There is no other way.

In this respect, I especially greet the relatives of martyrs, the families of martyrs, the mothers of martyrs. They know this reality better; they represent it better. They organize and struggle more to achieve the goals of the martyrs. They will make more effort to educate and organize society in the line of the martyrs, on the basis of the reality of Rêber Apo. We need to do this as a whole party. But the relatives of martyrs also have a duty and responsibility. It is the martyrs that educate us, keep us together, make us organized. They are our main source of strength anytime, anywhere. We find the solution in the line of the martyrs. We reveal the will, consciousness and assertion on the basis of understanding the reality of martyrs correctly. This is a clear fact. We have no other source of power.

The reality of Rêber is the sum of the reality of the martyrs. Rêber Apo said, “I am in a position to strive to carry out the line of the martyrs correctly, to ensure that it is understood and embraced correctly.” A martyr is a witness, a witness that the cause for which one has given their lives is right and will triumph. Now we have more than fifty thousand martyrs. The idea of Rêber Apo, the paradigm, the line of victory of the PKK and PAJK has been verified by so many witnesses. There can be no hesitation or doubt. There can be no weak approaches. With these facts, we cannot live in any other way. We cannot set other measures and goals before us. This is how to understand May correctly.

Finally, let me express the following. May 16th is also the anniversary of the Hewler (Erbil) Massacre. I commemorate the martyrs of the massacre with respect and gratitude in the persons of comrades Salih, Helin and Ozan.

Let us understand correctly what betrayal and collaborationism are. How did the Hewler Massacre happen? What has collaborationism done, and what is betrayal doing today? it is important to see this correctly. The reality of the martyrs shows us this. The struggle against colonialism, genocide and fascism is inseparable from the struggle against collaborationism and betrayal. We need to see this fact and understand it correctly.

Based on this, I once again respectfully remember Comrade Haki Karer and all of our May martyrs, including Mehmet Karasungur and Kasim Engin, as well as all of our martyrs of the freedom struggle, and I declare that we will strengthen our struggle for our freedom while honoring their memory.

There has been some news that a new military operation was initiated by the Turkish state in the region of Metina in the Medya Defense Zones. What can you say about this operation?

The history of the ongoing war is known, there is no need to repeat this. Actually, there may be a need for more discussion and better understanding. But if we talk about the new situation, our Central Headquarters institutions have already disclosed the information. Since 16 April, there has been an occupation attack against Metina. In fact, there had been occupation attacks in and around Metina before. There is a partial occupation attack aimed at occupying Metina as a whole. The HPG-BIM has explained this many times. Journalists and members of the press who receive information have explained in detail how these attacks are being conducted. Our Central Headquarters also outlined the characteristics of the attack. “It is a piecemeal attack,” they said. In other words, step by step, they want to take various places and combine them to reach a general occupation. By occupying Metina, they want to besiege Zap, that great stronghold of resistance. It is said that the Iraqi state has given 20 kilometers of the border to Turkey under the name of a buffer zone. In fact, they want to occupy those 20 kilometers completely now. The guerrilla has been resisting to prevent this occupation for years, giving so many martyrs.

Now there are important resistances against the development of this occupation. There were actions against this occupation operation in Metina. From Seladize to other areas, blows were struck to the Turkish army. As the hordes of the fascist AKP-MHP take steps towards occupation, the guerrilla seizes the opportunity and strikes. There is an intense conflict situation.

The balance sheets of HPG-BIM give broad information on the losses of the Turkish army. They also announce our martyrs. There is nothing that the HPG is hiding or keeping secret from the public on this issue. The guerrilla is cautious, and it takes action. It is no longer just resisting only when it is attacked. It plans and carries out actions itself. In other words, it is in a tactical attack position. Therefore, of course the losses are low. Our martyrs are few. I salute the HPG and YJA Star forces who are carrying out this resistance. I commemorate the martyrs of the resistance with respect, love and gratitude.

Maybe not with the intensity of some periods of the past years, but there is an attack with such a purpose and framework. There are also some other things. As the HPG has explained, the Turkish army uses forbidden weapons when it fails, when it is forced. The HPG also announced, that the Turkish army is using chemical weapons. It uses tactical nuclear bombs. It is concentrating on such weapons. There has also been an increase in aerial bombardment recently. It seems that the negotiations with the US on the basis of Sweden’s entry into NATO have yielded certain results in their perspective. They have bought new warplanes. They are carrying out more attacks from the air.

In the same way that they ensure the isolation on Imrali through legal pretexts, they carry out the attack against the guerrillas at the same level and they receive support. The Turkish state doesn’t have the power to attack on its own. They cannot do one step if they do not have backing. Just as there is a unity in the system of isolation, torture and genocide in Imrali – on the basis of the states of the UN, NATO and the Turkish Republic as the implementing power – the same situation exists in the attack against the guerrillas. They are pursuing the same objective of elimination by assaulting both Rêber Apo and the guerrilla at the same level.

In fact, what is being attempted in Imrali is extermination. They wanted to exterminate Rêber Apo on 9 October 1998, but they failed. They envisioned extermination by execution on February 15, they failed. They said they would destroy us ideologically, politically and organizationally with the policy of the Imrali system, they failed again. As if they were taking revenge for this, they are attacking to destroy the guerrilla, and on the other hand they are attacking Rêber Apo by violating and ignoring all kinds of law, by disguising lawlessness. They could not win in the Imrali struggle, they were defeated. They want to take revenge in this way. They see these attacks as an opportunity to disguise their losses. A very important thing here is the goal of crushing the guerrilla; the same forces who are implementing the system of Imrali are working together on the attacks against the guerrilla.

Of course, we are focusing on the war. The war needs to be evaluated well. Its consequences in Turkey have not been discussed enough. It is discussed very little. However, we need to make a good analysis of Turkey. The economic crisis, the political crisis, the social crisis, the cultural crisis, all kinds of corruption, the drug policy, the destruction of all kinds of sociality are all for the war. The resources exploited are always invested in the war. This is being done so that no one raises a voice against the war. Tayyip Erdogan has brought his own end, in fact he has finished Turkey, he has finished society. After the election, he said “this is not the end”. But it was an end. He finished Turkey and he finished himself. Now, he is still searching for a new way. He begged and pleaded so much that he would take power from NATO and the US. It didn’t work; he wanted to get power from Iran, Iraq, KDP and PUK. These were evaluated. He was invited by the US administration to meet with Biden. The AKP press propagandized this for weeks. Suddenly, when a US official said we don’t have such a program, the lies deflated like a balloon. In order to camouflage this, Erdogan tried to show off by hanging Turkish flags everywhere. He even went to Barzani’s feet. 30 years ago, when there was no PKK, they wouldn’t even send a sergeant to meet the Barzani’s. Now they are bragging. The Barzani’s are also very eager to turn South Kurdistan into a province of Turkey, a province of AKP-MHP fascism. That is how they behave. But the situation Tayyip Erdogan is in, is obvious.

Various agreements have been made. It is said that a new invasion will be developed based on this. Everyone is waiting, wondering what this attack will be. I mean, it could happen. Everyone should be prepared. That’s how we approach it. We shouldn’t take it lightly. We shouldn’t take anything for granted. Because life is not simple. We should always be prepared. But it is not that easy for them right now. They are not in a position to do whatever they want. If they were, they would do it. So what is happening? They tried to do things with some agreements. It seems that they could not create the joint force they had planned. This was not possible anyway. Neither Iran nor Iraq wants it. No one has the power or the need for it. Why should they serve as a soldier for Turkey? Has everyone become KDP? Are they Barzani? I mean they are not. They are struggling against them. Everyone has their own interests.

But we need to understand this so-called Development Road project correctly. There is no such road. There is no trade. If there really was such a project, everyone from America to Israel would oppose it. They are actually deceiving Iraq. Some of our friends also discussed this. They want to enter Iraq under the pretext of a trade route. They want to go deeper into Iraq. They envision that they will send troops to build the roads, then they will send soldiers, police, intelligence. Erdogan said he would encircle from Sulaymaniyah to Zaxo with a joint force. He failed in the Medya Defense Zones. In this way, he is attempting to encircle all of Southern Kurdistan from the south. This Battle Road project has such a military purpose. According to his plans, Erdogan’s forces will enter Iraq turn it into a battlefield. Probably Iran, Iraq and everyone sees this. Of course, this would be a disaster for Iraq. No one will accept it. Of course, we will fight against such a thing. The entry of so many Turkish forces into Iraq is an occupation, it should not be underestimated. How did mercenary territories come to be? Disguising them as Turkmens, Erdogan will create territories for his mercenaries in Iraq. They did this in Cyprus and is doing this in many other places.

Our leadership has warned the KDP regarding military movement in guerrilla areas. I have nothing more to say in this regard. The KDP has commanded that its war forces get ready. This would be a disaster for the KDP. If they take one step further and go directly to war on the side of the Turkish Republic, they will bring their own end. I can say this much. We will surround them everywhere. The PKK and the guerrilla are everywhere. Everyone should know this. Everyone sees what the guerrilla is and how it fights. Therefore, we are watching and observing.

We are continuing our struggle. We will continue our global freedom campaign on the military front as well. The campaign is spreading, so is the guerrilla. There are also actions in the cities. We believe that this will develop much more in the coming period. In general terms, those who develop this war and insist on it will drown in the blood they shed.