Şiyar Kobanê was fighting in the ranks of peshmerga forces when he was influenced by the resistance and struggle of HPG/YJA Star guerrillas against ISIS, and he consequently joined the HPG ranks.

Şiyar Kobanê was born in Sine city of Rojhilat (East) Kurdistan. Due to his rejection of the repressive policies of the Iranian regime, he crossed into South Kurdistan in 2009 and served for the peshmerga forces for 6 years.

When ISIS attacks in the region began, Şiyar Kobanê was deeply influenced by the struggle given by the PKK guerrillas against the intensified attacks targeting the Kurdish people. He joined the HPG ranks in August, 2016 and found here what he had sought.

Şiyar Kobanê spoke to ANF about his experience in the battle in the ranks of the Kurdish movement.

ESCAPE FROM THE IRANIAN REGIME TO SOUTH KURDISTAN

Şiyar Kobanê stated that he moved to South Kurdistan after fleeing the Iranian regime's policies of repression and atrocity against the Kurdish people.

"The Iranian state was subjecting the Kurdish people to continued repression policies. I would not be allowed to question the Iranian regime due to these pressures. I myself was witnessing the torture, execution and imprisonment of Kurds. I eventually decided to move to South Kurdistan, which I did in 2009."

Şiyar Kobanê, who started to serve for peshmerga forces one year after his arrival in South Kurdistan, told the followings: "I noticed that peshmergas were not acting with national consciousness after I saw their attitude in the face of the attacks by the ISIS. I realized that peshmergas mainly remained on a clan, family and local dimension and wouldn't answer the Kurdish people's hope for freedom. Especially during the Mosul operation in which I participated while in the peshmerga ranks, I saw that peshmergas were acting for individual purposes. My pursuit of freedom emerged after I saw such truths during the Mosul operation which I had joined with great excitement."

"GUERRILLAS ARE THE SELF-SACRIFICING FORCE OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE"

Şiyar Kobanê told the followings as to the difference he saw between peshmerga and guerrilla forces:

"Peshmergas are fighters fulfilling a duty in return for money. To this end, some peshmergas have different pursuits that drive them away from acting with a Kurdish national sense and renders them scattered. I easily saw this truth during the Mosul operation. My pursuit of freedom that emerged and progressed during this operation helped me meet the Kurdish Freedom Movement that defended the Makhmur camp. I was greatly influenced by the conversation, life and struggle of guerrillas. They were pretty different than peshmergas. They are the self-sacrificing force of the Kurdish people, and their manner of living was an answer to my pursuit of freedom. During the two months I stayed with them, I read the books of the Leader [referring to Öcalan], and then decided to join the PKK."

"OUR LEADER IS THE LEADER OF ALL WORLD PEOPLES"

Şiyar Kobanê stressed that the ideas of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan lead the freedom struggle of all world peoples today, adding: "Our Leader is the leader of all world peoples, not only of Kurds. His ideas, ideology and philosophy is the liberation ideology of the world peoples. This truth was proved during the ISIS attacks on Rojava and South Kurdistan. This ideology came into existence and became a system in Rojava Kurdistan. For this reason, our Leader has become a beacon of hope for the Middle East and world peoples with the ideas he has put forward despite the aggravated isolation he has been subjected to on İmralı for 19 years now. We will continue and enhance the struggle until our Leader attains his freedom."

HPG guerrilla Şiyar Kobanê called on the youths of Kurdistan, mainly those in East and South Kurdistan, to join the struggle in the ranks of the PKK.