In the second part of this in-depth interview, Duran Kalkan, member of the KCK Executive Council, talked about the situation of the guerrillas on the war front and the wage of the PKK for freedom.

The first part of the interview can be read here

Just a few months ago, there were still voices claiming that the Kurdish freedom movement would be crushed in the coming weeks, definitely this summer. Now, however, these voices have become quieter again, speaking of “difficult circumstances” and the like. It is the guerrillas, including people like Orhan Bingol and Rosida Merdin, who are letting the efforts of the Turkish state come to nothing. What do you think of these statements by the fascist press?

I commemorate our martyrs with respect, love, and gratitude by commemorating our great commander Orhan Bingol and comrade Rosida Merdin. We really need to understand these martyrs correctly. The press published some information about and some statements by both comrades. They revealed the history of their struggle. These are very important, very meaningful. It is not such a simple thing. To devote such a large part of one’s life consciously and deliberately, with great courage and sacrifice for the Kurdish existence and freedom, for humanity, to the guerrilla struggle, to sacrifice for the existence and freedom of the people, to give everything to lead it. It is easy to simply say these things, but everyone should know what this means and how this can be achieved.

I personally know both comrades closely. We worked, fought, and waged war side by side for quite a long time. War does not come without a price. With the resistance, leadership, courage, sacrifice, and heroism of these martyrs, the fascist, colonialist, genocidal mentality and system are being dealt blow after blow. Hopes for freedom are developing, the principles for free life are developing, and the consciousness of freedom, organization, and action is developing and spreading all over Kurdistan and everywhere.

On this occasion, let me express the following: The summer is basically over; today is September 1st, and we have entered the fall. Some people said that with the end of this summer, there will be the end of the PKK. Some even said that by the end of the summer, there would be “no trace of them left in northern Iraq.” Now it is as if they have backtracked, as if they have forgotten that. Now again, they talk about November, or even winter. This story has been going on like this for years.

Let me point out the following: the PKK is standing upright, maintaining its full strength. It resists heroically in every aspect. Its guerrillas are resisting, the party leadership is resisting, and the masses are resisting. All kinds of work, literature, art, everything together, in a total, holistic, resistance. Also, our international friends are in resistance.

Some people have convinced themselves that these attacks would destroy the PKK. This is a blunder. They only exhaust their own power. They will see, but by the time they realize this, their power will already be exhausted, and they themselves will be exhausted. The PKK has tens of thousands of active militants and hundreds of thousands of potential more ready to be activated. It leads to more than twenty million Kurds. It has not hundreds of thousands but millions, but even tens of millions of friends all over the world. Why are you exhausting yourself? How and with what do you want to destroy such a movement? Those who fantasize about it will only end up ruining themselves. They will experience that destruction anyway, and that will be their end. I can express this clearly. Our guerrillas are the vanguard of victory in such a resistance. Under the leadership of this victory, our resistance and our people will surely triumph. The PKK grows, spreads, and expands more in the line of victory. It affects humanity more. By keeping Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] in Imrali, they want to reduce his influence, to rot him. But Rêber Apo became part of the whole world. He once said, “Wherever my prison writings are, I am there.” His prison writings are now in the hands of people all over the world. They are in the hands of women, youth, workers, and laborers, revolutionary socialist forces from all ethnicities, societies, and nations. Rêber Apo is everywhere. He is in everyone’s hands, minds, and hearts. Therefore, is it possible to encircle and rot Rêber Apo in Imrali? Those who hope and expect this will only rot themselves. It is not possible to destroy the PKK. Autumn came, and once again their failure was revealed. Once again, the failures of the AKP-MHP fascism have become clear. Because the PKK is standing upright, stronger than ever, and closer to victory than ever. It is waging its struggle for freedom in every field, stronger and more meaningful than ever. And it will continue to do so until victory.

In recent months, there have been new developments regarding the Iraqi government’s collaboration with the Turkish government. Most recently, on August 15, a new agreement was signed in Ankara. How do you assess the current alliance policy in the genocidal war against the Kurds?

The meeting between Iraq and Turkey on August 15th was important. It was reflected in the press that they made some decisions that they agreed on before. Right after that, on August 23rd, there was a dastardly attack on members of the free press in Sulaymaniyah. Just about a week had passed since the agreement. The attack was based on this alliance. Some circles and the movement of the free press defined and evaluated it in this way. These were correct and accurate assessments. It was the first implementation of the August 15 agreement. On August 23, they cowardly attacked members of the free press, civilians, and unarmed people in Seyidsadiq.

Fascism means fear. It is a regime of fear. Betrayal is a regime of fear even more than fascism. They try to overcome their fear by attacking unarmed civilians like this, slaughtering them, and spilling their blood. They are trying to appease themselves.

On this basis, I commemorate Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin with respect and gratitude. On their behalf, I commemorate all the martyrs of Sulaymaniyah with respect and gratitude. The press gave the necessary response. They can never be silenced.

Now for the other point: some agreements were already signed on April 22nd. A week before April 22nd, Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani went to America and stayed for a few days. After he came back, he announced a strategic agreement with Turkey, and so a few days later, Tayyip Erdoğan visited Baghdad and Hewler (Erbil). Sudani announced his signature when he came from America. So this decision came from America. This is not difficult to understand. America asked the Iraqi government, and it agreed. They are using water as a bargaining chip to genocide the Kurds.

The AKP-MHP fascism is using this. They have squeezed Iraq in the same way that they are squeezing Syria on these issues. There has been this issue of the Euphrates and Tigris waters since the past, as well as energy issues. They use these as justification, but one can definitely point out that the US is behind this. The US wanted this strategic agreement, and Iraq signed it. Why did the US want this? Because the Tayyip Erdoğan administration is an administration assigned by the US to lead the international conspiracy to succeed. They say that he came to power through elections, but this is a deception, just a formality. It has nothing to do with reality. What is real is that it is an appointed administration. When the Ecevit government failed and Rêber Apo won the Imrali struggle, a new government was needed. They looked for someone who could do the job; they chose Tayyip Erdoğan and formed the  AKP party around him. Tayyip Erdoğan carried out an attack with all his power in Imrali. His end was like Ecevit’s end. Rêber Apo won the Imrali struggle. Tayyip Erdoğan also lost in 2005. After that, the conspiratorial forces could find no other alternative. They constantly supported Tayyip Erdoğan. They met with the US president, and foreign ministers came to Turkey. They were always behind the Tayyip Erdoğan administration in the struggle in Kurdistan. Whatever they did, they made political attacks as well as military attacks; they developed tricks; they played games under the name of a solution, but they could not succeed. The Tayyip Erdoğan administration came to the point of collapse. So, accordingly, Devlet Bahceli and his MHP were placed at his side as a crutch. The two of them attacked together for years. Again, they were not successful. It again came to the point of collapse. Now they have given him the Barzanis, on the other hand, as a crutch. They are carrying out this ‘collapse plan’ with them. With this, they wanted to crush and destroy the PKK.

The alliance of AKP, MHP, and KDP; in other words, the Tayyip Erdoğan, Bahceli, and Barzani alliance failed in its aim of bringing the international conspiracy to success, crushing and destroying the PKK. New crutches were needed. This time, the US told the Iraqi government to be the next crutch. And now they are attacking with that support as well. The US is behind all these attacks; NATO is behind them. By adding the Iraqi state to AKP-MHP fascism, KDP collaborationism, and betrayal, they now want to weaken the PKK, particularly the guerrillas, in order to reduce its influence on politics and the struggle in Kurdistan and the region. This is the aim.

This alliance is an alliance formed on this basis. And it is definitely the international conspiratorial forces that are directing it. There is the USA and also England. NATO gives the biggest support. It is absolutely necessary to be aware of the broader picture of these attacks. Some people think that Tayyip Erdoğan is doing it, or that Devlet Bahceli is doing it, and that it would be them who take decisions. They inflate and exaggerate themselves as if they are doing it themselves. But that has nothing to do with reality. Those forces are behind it. Why are they doing this? It’s an internal contradiction, and the conflicts are very deep. Therefore, they intervened in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and also in Syria. They turned the whole Middle East into a war zone. But they cannot overcome the crisis and chaos.

They cannot find a way out. There is no solution coming from them. The important focal point of the war is Turkey. They will intervene in Turkey. They will create change in line with their own interests. But they cannot do this as long as the PKK exists. They are afraid that when they intervene, the PKK could win its struggle. There is a historical example for what they are currently planning with Turkey. For more than ten years, they kept Saddam Hussein in power in Baghdad. Back then they said, “Rêber Apo and the PKK exist. If we go against Saddam, the PKK will spread to southern Kurdistan and Iraq.” So they realized the international conspiracy through. They put Rêber Apo under the Imrali system. Then they were able to attack Baghdad. Now, in order to intervene in Turkey in line with their own interests, they want to remove the PKK as an obstacle, as an obstacle to realizing their wishes.

They are afraid that the PKK will develop an alternative, democratic modernity, an alternative system, a democratic Turkey on the basis of Kurdish freedom, spreading democracy in the Middle East and the world. That is why they are attacking the PKK in unison. This is a clear fact. This is not difficult to understand. Otherwise, what power do Tayyip Erdoğan and Devlet Bahceli have? These are actually unknown people. Some idiots in Turkey have been brainwashed; they are following them; they are clapping their hands. A fascist mob has been formed. Otherwise, there is nothing beyond that. This state is occupying Kurdistan, settling in Bashiqa, taking Kirkuk, taking Rojava, and becoming the master of all these energy resources.

But will they feed it to them? If they were to feed this to Turkey, why did the First World War happen? Why was this century-long Middle East war created? Is there anything that can be explained with reason? Some people think that they will feed it to Turkey. This is not the case! It is all a game; it is all planned. Games are being played against Turkey. But Turkey needs to be smart to understand this. Rêber Apo has pointed this out for years when there were talks. He warned that there are games, there are conspiracies, and that it will be the people of Turkey that will face disaster. They didn’t listen, nobody understood, and they didn’t take care of it. Now we are not on the brink of disaster, not on the brink, but almost on it.

The AKP-MHP, with their current anti-Kurdish policies, pushed Turkey into such a disaster. They are still supporting it; there is still no one actively opposing it. In such a situation, what is the solution? What is the remedy? The only solution is the democratization of Turkey based on Kurdish freedom. This is the solution for Turkey, the solution for the Middle East, the solution for the world. The solution of democratic confederalism based on democratic autonomy developed by Rêber Apo is the only possible solution of democratic modernity. The salvation of Turkey is in the hands of Rêber Apo.

It is necessary to be able to see and understand this. On this basis, we have repeatedly put forward solution projects and made statements as a movement. We will continue our efforts. We are not hopeless, but there is no response in Turkey. Even the circles in Turkey that call themselves left, socialist, and democratic do not understand this reality. They do not see this game. The CHP is heading towards becoming a part of it.

You won’t be able to go beyond being an extension of them. In fact, if they understood the situation, if there was a stance and a struggle against this disastrous course of events in Turkey, of course there wouldn’t be so much bloodshed. Solutions would have developed earlier. The peoples would have reached a more fraternal and democratic life without so much oppression, persecution, and exploitation.