In the second part of this interview, Mustafa Karasu, member of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about the impact of the 15 August 1984 breakthrough on today's Kurdish culture, as well as the impact of the politics of the AKP-MHP government on every aspect of life in the country, including sport. Karasu also spoke about the current stage of the war against guerrillas and the resistance of the HPG.

The first part of this interview can be read here

Abdullah Öcalan describes the 15 August 15 breakthrough as the Kurdish resurrection. Looking at Kurdish culture, language, and literature today, what impact did August 15th have on this dimension? According to your movement, what kind of attitude is needed to preserve this impact?

Culture and art are the most basic sources of life for a people and a society. If a society lacks culture and art, it is a dead society. Before August 15th, in a way, Kurds were dying. Their hopes were dashed, their emotional ties were weakened, and their enthusiasm for life was broken. The Kurdish society had become a society that only lived from one day to another; it barely worked and fed itself and had little hope for life and the future. There can be no strong art or literature in such a society. Art and literature reveal emotion and hope. It reveals belief in the future and expectations of the future.

In this regard, the August 15 breakthrough yielded some very important results. Through it, Kurdish society regained hope. That’s why Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] used to say, “Hope is more valuable than anything else.” There is a Japanese proverb that says that if you lose your property, you have lost something, but if you lose hope, you have lost everything. Indeed, the Kurds had lost hope, but it was recreated on August 15. New emotions, excitement, and faith in the future came up again. Kurdish society was revitalized. The Kurdish people realized again that they are a nation, a society by themselves, that they can be liberated and democratized, and that they can create hope for the future.

The impact of August 15th in terms of emotions, hopes and values is enormous. The essence of human life is created through art, literature and culture. It is those that make life meaningful. But for art, literature and culture to emerge, there must be hope, there must be faith in the future, there must be factors that create change and dynamism in society. This is what the August 15th breakthrough created. It was an explosion of emotion, excitement, enthusiasm, and new belief in the future. People’s eyes shone; their outlook changed. And what followed was an explosion in culture, art and literature. The Mesopotomanian Cultural Center was founded based on the developments that followed August 15. This in turn played an essential role in creating the values that were upheld in the later Serhildans.

Music, literature, poetry, and so many other things were developed. Kurds started to live with a new enthusiasm. They became aware of life and started to live like Kurds. Previously, there had been a process, a period of running away from their Kurdishness. Kurdishness was not dead, but it seemed hopeless. In this respect, the Turkish state’s policy of genocide and turkification had a certain effect. The August 15th initiative created great social dynamism with the emotions, thoughts, and values it created, creating great developments in art and culture. Looking at the history of humanity, one can see that the periods when art and literature have developed the most are periods of great revolutions and struggles. The great French literature emerged during the period of enlightenment after the renaissance. Russian literature was mostly created by the dynamism of society both before and after the revolution; a new life emerged at that time. Aleksandr Pushkin’s novel ‘How to Live’, for example, reveals the new thoughts and feelings in Russian society, which later led to great developments. In this respect, Rêber Apo calling August 15 the Kurdish renaissance, the Kurdish resurrection, really hits the nail on the head. Rêber Apo revealed how emotions in Kurdish society were killed, broken and destroyed; how Kurds were moving away from a life of morale and hope. August 15th changed this situation and created a great change. Today, in order to prevent this transformation, the Turkish state is attacking, particularly literature, art, culture, and language. Because these are the factors that create a society. It is a life based on new, deepened emotions, in which actions are chosen in harmony with one’s own emotions. It is literature, art, and culture that enable us to live a meaningful life. That is why the Turkish state is now attacking the govend, Kurdish music and language and why it is not allowing concerts. Instead, it allows concerts that will serve its own policy of Kurdish genocide. We hear that some Kurdish artists attend concerts organized by this state; this is special warfare. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms. No Kurdish artist can put himself at the service of the state for such a policy. No Kurdish literature can be created on this basis. Those who act in this way show that they have no understanding of the meaning of art. They see art only as entertainment or as a way of making money. This is neither art nor artistry. If there really are artists who do this, they should definitely give it up. Otherwise, they will be cursed in Kurdish history.

Everything in Turkey is shaped by the politics of the government. Sports is one of these fields. The 2024 Paris Olympics were held, and even though Turkey participated with more than a hundred athletes, it returned without a single gold medal. There were serious discussions on the reasons for this situation. How do you address this situation?

Actually, this is a result that reveals what the AKP-MHP government is. The AKP-MHP government has rotted everything in Turkey. It has rotted morality, conscience, culture, art, and it has even rotted sports. Sport is not like it has been before. It has ceased to be a competition. Every country wants to compete, wants its athletes to win. This is natural. But the AKP-MHP government has turned it into a kind of war. They present every victory as a battle won in a war. Immediately after, in their media, they always draw a direct parallel and say that they will also be successful in the fight against the Kurds. In Turkey, everything, be it politics, art, sport or anything else, has been put at the service of special warfare. This also applies to soccer, for example, which has played an important role in their concept of special warfare, especially since the 1990s.

Now one really feels sorry for those athletes. They put in so much effort, they work, and they are under stress. When they lose, they will be called traitors; that is why they have to win. For them, it is like a war; when you lose, it’s a big defeat. They are not comfortable. They are leading them to a war, not a race. That is, at the same time, also the reason why they lose. They cannot think clearly. They compete in anxiety and lose. This was the case during the AKP rule, especially in the last twenty years. In this environment of oppression, sports are being turned into a war, a special war, a part of the war against the Kurdish people.

The sports minister is blaming the federation for the lack of success, while the government is responsible. They are really shameless. They are all his men anyway. The AKP doesn’t even hire workers from others anymore. Even when it hires civil servants, it hires only those who are loyal to it. The federations are all under their orders, but he still blames them. He is the one to blame; it is the AKP’s MHP government and its ministers who have brought sports to this state. It is the chauvinism they have built on this sport. Those athletes give their labor; they are wasted. Athletes take care of their lives, give their lives, and everything, but they are used like this. They are all pressured to win a war. War against the world. If you put such a burden on those young people, they cannot even get a bronze medal when they could get a gold medal with that psychology. In this respect, the sports minister is responsible, not the federation. This government is responsible. The sports policy of this government in Turkey should be examined and criticized on this occasion. It must be removed from being an instrument of this special war.

The August 15 breakthrough marked the beginning of Kurdish guerrilla warfare. Today, thousands of male and female guerrillas are waging a historic resistance in many parts of Kurdistan. Murat Karayilan, commander of the headquarters of the HPG, shared important information with the public about the extent of the war. What can you say about this ongoing war? What awaits us in the 41st year of the breakthrough?

First of all, I salute all HPG commanders and all fighters who are waging this great struggle. I also commemorate all the martyrs with great respect and gratitude. Indeed, our young comrades are waging a historic struggle. This is not just the resistance of a handful of people – of ten or fifty people. It is the resistance and value of a people. And they resist under the most difficult conditions. Our comrades who are currently fighting the war with the tactics of tunnel and mobile team warfare in the Medya Defense Zones are waging a historic and exemplary struggle. All Kurdish people should see them. These are our comrades, who deserve all kinds of respect.

Before talking about the resistance in the Medya Defense Zones, there had been a very important resistance in northern Kurdistan in this last period. Some crucial clashes have taken place, in which some very valuable friends were also martyred. In this regard, I commemorate with respect and gratitude all our friends and all our valuable comrades who were martyred in northern Kurdistan recently. Their determined struggle will enable society to continue its struggle with determination.

The resistance in the Medya Defense Zones has truly gained scale. Recently, there have been important actions taken by the Dogan Zinar Air Defense Unit. They dealt important blows to the enemy. The enemy has changed its strategy. So far, they have come overland from the north and have tried to advance step by step through battles. However, this has now changed thanks to the collaboration of the KDP. Now they are entering KDP areas via Habur, using the KDP’s paved roads, and trying to gather their forces in the south in order to encircle and attack the guerrillas. At the moment, they are attacking not only Zap, Metina, and Avashin, but also Gare through Dereluk since they come on the roads from the south. They are currently attacking all over Bergare, carrying out airstrikes, and burning and destroying villages. In this respect, the war reached a new dimension after July 3, with the collaboration of the KDP. Now, in a way, Turkey is using southern Kurdistan as if it were its own region. In the past, it used to attack from the north, from the border, using its own roads and terrain. It used to come wave by wave, first sending airplanes, helicopters, and UCAVs. Now it is not like that. Now their strategy has turned into an attack that completely encircles the guerrilla areas of Metina, Zap, and Avashin from the south. On the other hand, as I pointed out, Gare has also been targeted. The villages in Bergare are currently being burned. Right now, there are fires everywhere in the Medya Defense Zones. The public should be aware that airplanes attack the region dozens of times every day. Every airplane attack means fire. Therefore, there is constant fire in the Medya Defense Zones. Kurdistan is on fire, and the KDP is watching. Such is their patriotism, such is their love for their homeland. Especially after spring, for six months until winter, every airplane attack means fire. Think about the fires in Turkey right now. The slightest thing causes fires. There are also fires in Greece. What would happen if nature were struck by airplanes dozens of times on a daily basis? This is the case in the Medya Defense Zones. There is an intense war. Not to forget also in Xakurke. There is war everywhere.

The Turkish state says it will take over everywhere. They are working on exactly this with the support of the KDP. The reason why they have been saying so much lately that they will do this is because they now consider southern Kurdistan to be an area governed not only by the KDP and the Iraqi government but also by itself. It sees it as their own areas of dominance, like Merdin (tr. Mardin) and Sert (tr. Sirt). That’s why they talk like that. But of course, the resistance against this continues and will continue. The guerrillas respond to the attacks of the Turkish state with appropriate tactics, tunnels, and mobile teams. Each tunnel is like a castle, and from there, mobile teams are constantly deploying and attacking. Another feature of the tunnels is that they dominate the area. The occupying Turkish soldiers cannot approach areas where there are tunnels. Thus, mobile teams mobilize and strike a blow against the enemy. Whereas the guerrillas used to only be able to attack in rainy weather, they have now learned to attack in all seasons, whether under rain or open skies. This war will continue. Because this resistance is the Kurdish people’s resistance to freedom. It is a war about existence or extinction.

They are waging a war to destroy the Kurdish people. They are waging a war to genocide the Kurds. They neither recognize the existence of the Kurds nor the existence of the KDP. They currently collaborate with them for the single reason of using them against the PKK. In an environment where the PKK does not exist, the KDP is finished. There is nothing it can do. They want to destroy the Kurdish people with their nation-state understanding. They want to turn the whole of Kurdistan into an expansion area for the Turkish state. This is what the Turkish state is aiming for. All Kurds must be aware of this. The enmity of the Turkish state is not only against the Kurdish left and socialists. For the Turkish state, it does not matter what political thought the Kurds have. They are hostile to them in any way. The Turkish state’s enmity towards the Kurds has no political color. It is hostile to all Kurds simply because they are Kurds, because they have a Kurdish identity, and because they want to live their own identity and culture. Don’t fool yourself.

The resistance of the comrades will continue. I send my greetings to them. At the same time, our people, our intellectuals, and all Kurdish parties must express their solidarity more clearly. They cannot just stand by and make occasional statements. Regardless of whether they come from the north, east, south, or west of the country, all Kurdish parties must take responsibility and support this struggle. People, particularly young people and women, must give all kinds of support to this struggle. No one can say that, because the guerrillas are fighting and resisting anyway, they themselves have no role to play. This is not a conflict of the guerrillas; it is about the survival of a people, and that concerns everyone. That’s why more concrete support for the struggle is necessary.