Cemil Bayık said that the conspiracy launched on 9 October 1998 was developed against all peoples and humanity, and called on those still involved to give up their policies against the PKK.

24 years ago, a conspiracy was organized against the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan by international powers and regional collaborators. How would you describe the purpose of this conspiracy?

It is well known that shortly after the beginning of the International Conspiracy, protests under the slogan 'You cannot darken our sun' were led by Halit Oral. The aim of these protests was to create a circle around Rêber Apo and to thus defeat the conspiracy. These protests had a great impact. Many people later participated in them. By remembering our friend Halit Oral, I would like to take this opportunity to respectfully commemorate all our martyrs who stood against the conspiracy and defended the Leadership [Abdullah Öcalan]. All of these martyrs are still alive in the hearts of the Kurdish people. We have reached this stage today thanks to these heroic martyrs. Because they created values for us and showed us how we need to struggle. The International Conspiracy was developed against our movement and our people in the form of the attack on Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan], but it was not simply limited to this.

This conspiracy was developed against all peoples and humanity. It is a huge conspiracy. I would like to once more condemn all the powers who carried out this conspiracy. Everyone who promoted the conspiracy, who served it, who took part in it and who led it, should be honest to themselves: They need to see what they have done, which goals they have served. They should no longer insist on the conspiracy and rather acknowledge their mistakes. In fact, they have committed a great crime, not only a simple mistake. They need to give up their policy against the PKK and the Kurdish people. Rêber Apo has always wanted to solve the Kurdish question. Solving it means solving the problems of the peoples of the Middle East. Rêber Apo has dedicated his whole life to this. That is what he has struggled for. He has always wanted to solve this problem through dialog.

Europe created the Kurdish problem. That is why this problem needs to be solved together with Europe. Europe created the Kurdish problem and passed it on to the Turkish state. They told the Turkish state to carry out this politics and the state is still doing exactly this. Rêber Apo's aim has always been to solve the Kurdish question. He wants to create a change in the current mentality and conscience. He wants to develop a revolution of democracy and freedom. To fulfill this aim, he has always tried to solve the problem with whoever created it. That is, with Europe. Yet, every time Rêber Apo wanted to solve the problem with Europe, Europe's response was: 'You cannot solve this problem. We won´t solve this problem either. This does not serve our interests. Our interests are not in favor of solving the Kurdish problem.´ In other words, they want a constant war between Kurds and Turks. Because they have developed their system in the Middle East on this basis.

When Rêber Apo went to Europe and presented his 8-point-plan to solve this problem, the forces there should have welcomed his efforts. Rêber Apo has put his life on the line for this cause. He said, "I want to solve this problem," but the answer of the international powers was the conspiracy. Because if the Kurdish problem was solved, a democratic system would develop in the Middle East and this would lead to a change in the whole world. That is why those who created the Kurdish problem continued to aggravate it. Rêber Apo had fulfilled all the conditions for the solution of the problem but they responded with a conspiracy and built the İmrali system. The International Conspiracy was led by the US, England and Israel, but it was Europe that planned and promoted it. Rêber Apo later said that when he was captured and taken to İmrali, the first person he spoke to there was a representative of the CPT (European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). Back then, the CPT clearly said that they had created the Imrali system and that they would keep track of it. Therefore, not only Turkey but also Europe is responsible for İmrali.

Rêber Apo has said that Turkey is just the guardian. Just as the Turkish state today gives the Barzanis a task which they then fulfill, the conspiratorial forces have given this task to the Turkish state and the Turkish state is fulfilling its duty. The AKP-MHP is deceiving the people of Turkey when it spreads the lie of "We are nationalist and against the US and Europe". The AKP-MHP came to power with the support of these powers. Because those who established the conspiracy and the İmrali system wanted a Kurdish war. They wanted to achieve this goal with the help of the AKP-MHP government. That is why they brought the AKP-MHP to power.

Never before has such a huge conspiracy ever been carried out against any person, people or movement. Rêber Apo is not an ordinary leader. He is not like other leaders. The bigger a leader and the bigger a movement, the bigger the conspiracy against them. This is the reason why the international powers are involved in the conspiracy. Because they saw that Rêber Apo wanted to solve the Kurdish question. Solving the Kurdish question meant solving the problems of the peoples struggling for freedom and democracy in the Middle East. The forces involved in the conspiracy saw that this constituted a great danger to them. That is why they wanted the Kurdish question to remain unresolved and the brotherhood of the peoples in the Middle East not to develop. They wanted the contradictions they created in Kurdistan, Turkey and the Middle East to continue.

This was the purpose of the conspiracy. That is why they wanted to neutralize the movement that Rêber Apo had built for humanity and for the cause of human values. The goal of the conspiracy was the complete annihilation of Rêber Apo. First physically, then politically, they wanted to destroy Rêber Apo. That is why isolation is getting more and more severe every day. That is why the CPT, the US and Europe are all silent. Their aim is to destroy Rêber Apo. They think that when they destroy him, they will also crush the movement. Because Rêber Apo and the PKK are preventing genocide against the Kurdish people. Rêber Apo has stood strong against the conspiracy and has thus defeated it. By creating his paradigm, he has given humanity a great weapon to defeat the conspiracy as well. He has given everyone a clear answer to the question of what kind of philosophy and ideology those who oppose the conspiracy, slavery and power and fight for freedom and democracy need in order to achieve their goals. Today, those who defend Rêber Apo have realized that the conspiracy is not only directed against Rêber Apo and the Kurds, but also against humanity as a whole. That is why they are defending Rêber Apo and the PKK.

The struggle against the conspiracy is growing stronger every day. This is important for everyone to understand. The conspiratorial forces should not insist on their politics but need to redeem themselves instead. They cannot do politics without the Kurdish people and the PKK. If they want to do politics, if they want to be friends with the Kurdish people, they need to give up their politics against the PKK and Rêber Apo. The PKK, the Kurdish people and the international friends of the Kurds also have duties to fulfill. We must understand why the conspiracy was started and what the conspiratorial forces have benefited from since then. We also need to understand our shortcomings and mistakes in this respect and then correct them. Our people need to know very well that as long as the Kurdish problem is not solved, the conspiracy will continue. Our movement started the campaign "Dem dema azadiyê ye" [´The Time for Freedom is Now´]. If we want to bring an end to the International Conspiracy, we must strengthen this campaign even more. Thus, we can ensure the physical freedom of Rêber Apo.

The CPT went to İmralı at the end of September. After their visit, they announced that they would submit a report to Turkey in 6 months and then give Turkey another 6 months to respond. How do you evaluate this development?

Our people need to understand well why the CPT recently went to İmrali. They did so because the CPT had said that the Turkish state needs to publish its plan [regarding the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan] by the end of September. Now, September is over, but the Turkish state has still not presented any plan. In response to this, the international protests for the freedom of Rêber Apo have increased. The people have demanded that Europe fulfill its laws. They have demanded that Rêber Apo be released from prison and see him. Thus, great pressure has been created. Although the deadline given to the Turkish state had expired, Turkey did not publish its plan and thus did not fulfill European laws. That is why the CPT had to go to Imrali. If they had not gone, their crimes against Rêber Apo, the Kurdish people and humanity would have become even clearer. So they went to free themselves of this burden. Neither Turkey, nor Europe uphold their own laws. There is no law and justice, only a total war.

Not only Turkey, but also Europe is guilty of the politics against Rêber Apo. Because they are the ones who created the Imrali system. Our people and international friends need to know well that the existing laws are not applied to the Kurds. The laws only exist to eliminate everything with the name Kurdistan or Kurdish. And they even see this as the right thing to do. They consider it their right to do all this. The only thing that will bring Rêber Apo out of prison is our struggle. Whatever Kurds have won so far, they have won through their struggle. Whatever they will gain from now on, they will also gain through continuing this struggle. All other ways are closed to the Kurds. Therefore, Kurds should not deceive themselves.

Kurds should not say "there are laws, democracy, human rights and they apply to us too". These laws are not for the Kurds but for the current powers. Therefore, Kurds are no longer obliged to act according to the laws of these powers. They should not expect anything from these powers. If there was law and justice, would these powers deal with Rêber Apo like this? The CPT says it will release a report in 6 months and will then give Turkey 6 more months to respond. So all this will take another year. They are simply trying to make fun of everybody. The Kurdish people should not accept this. The CPT needs to immediately share the results of its latest visit to Imrali with the public. Our people, the lawyers, artists, writers, artists and writers need to demand this. Pressure needs to be put on the CPT.

The guerrilla fighters Sara Tolhildan and Rûken Zelal recently carried out a very effective attack in Mersin against the ongoing attacks on the Kurdish people and the PKK. This attack has led to different debates. How do you evaluate the impact of this attack and the discussions that evolved afterwards?

The attack carried out by our friends Sara and Rûken was very big and successful. Maybe some people are trying to make this attack look simple and meaningless. But all these attempts are useless. No one can hide this attack, nor make it look meaningless or distort it. The Turkish state is doing everything it can against our movement and our people. There is nothing it has not done. All this is happening in front of everyone's eyes. All the things they are doing for our people in North Kurdistan, in the prisons and in Rojava. They are using all kinds of weapons against the guerrillas: drones, helicopters and tanks. They use all these weapons without any interruption. They are also using banned weapons such as chemical weapons, tactical nuclear bombs, thermobaric bombs and all kinds of gases.

Corpses regularly come out of the prisons [in North Kurdistan and Turkey]. Prisoners are regularly executed there. The Turkish state deceives people with claims like "he was sick and died” or “he fell and died". They have put all the Kurdish people in a huge prison and eliminated everything with the name Kurdistan or Kurdish. On this basis, they attack not only the people, but also nature and animals. In other words, the Turkish state wants to destroy everything in Kurdistan. They have left no trees in the Botan region [in North Kurdistan]. This is not simply about cutting down trees and making money by selling them. They are waging a war of extermination. The reason they cut down trees in [the North Kurdish regions] Botan and Dersim is the politics of genocide. This policy eliminates the possibility of life for the Kurdish people. No one in the world has ever carried out such a policy against any people. The Turkish state commits massacres every day in Rojava. They have occupied many places and changed the demography there. There is not a single day that the Turkish state does not massacre people.

The Turkish state assassinates people every day in South Kurdistan, Şengal [Sinjar], Maxmur, Sulaymaniyah and in the South Kurdish Media Defense Zones. In other words, they are pursuing a policy of genocide against the Kurdish people. If you carry out this policy against the Kurdish people, they have the right to defend themselves. This is a principle that is also accepted internationally. Does anybody really think that the Kurdish people will just accept their annihilation? This is impossible. This is an immoral and inhuman policy. The Kurdish people will, of course, defend themselves against all these attacks. This is their right. Sara and Rûken carried out the recent attack in Mersin for exactly this reason. So why don't those who criticize this attack, those who want to simplify, negate and distort it, why don't they oppose the Turkish state's policy against the Kurdish people, against the guerrillas and the use of chemical weapons against them? Why don't they say to the Turkish state, to the AKP-MHP government, "The politics you are conducting is criminal. You are committing a crime and you are trying to eliminate an entire people"? There is a popular saying: ´You reap what you sow´.

What is the Turkish state doing in Kurdistan? War, massacre, torture, violence, forced migration and extermination. This is the kind of policy that they are conducting against the entire Kurdish society. This is this policy against women, men, young, old people, children and even the nature of Kurdistan. Of course, there will be a price the Turkish state will have to pay for doing all this. If you make the Kurds pay this kind of price, won't the Kurds make you pay a price in return? Of course they will. This is the Kurds' right. Those who say that there should be no war and no violence should first demand that the Turkish state stop all this. The Turkish state wants to eliminate the Kurds. The Kurds do not want to eliminate the Turkish state or the Turkish people. Some people claim that the Kurds are splitting up Turkey and that they are committing treason. But those who claim this are actually the ones who are tearing Turkey apart and are thus betraying it. When the Republic of Turkey was newly established, there were certain speeches held by Mustafa Kemal and writings of him with regards to this issue. Back then, there were Kurds in the Turkish parliament. Mustafa Kemal even accepted autonomy. So the Turkish state is the one who betrayed the Kurds. The Kurds have not betrayed anybody.

The Kurds demand their rights. Those in power in the Turkish state are the ones who have torn Turkey and Turkish society apart. The Kurds are waging a just and legitimate struggle. Now, Sara and Rûken have carried out a huge attack on Mersin. Everyone needs to think carefully about this, draw conclusions for themselves and approach this issue correctly. Why was this attack carried out? What was the reason for it? What is the Turkish state doing to the Kurds? What is it doing to the guerrillas that these two Kurdish women decided to organize such an attack? With this attack, they took a clear stance against the oppression of the Turkish state. This is in line with the strategy of self-defense. No one has the right to say anything against this strategy. Everyone needs to approach this issue correctly and speak appropriately. Any discussions other than those that are about the consequences of this attack for the Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey are simply empty talk. Taking a stance against this strategy and this attack constitutes nothing else but a lack of faith and conscience.

After the murder of the Kurdish woman Jîna Emînî in Iran, an uprising led by women started. This uprising has been going on for weeks now. According to some sources, more than 200 people have been killed. As the Co-Presidency of the KCK Executive Council, you made a statement criticizing the Iranian state. What would you like to say about the uprising and the response of the Iranian state?

A Kurdish woman was tortured to death, which has now led to an uprising. Who martyred that Kurdish woman? The Iranian state. The people were not willing to accept what the Iranian state did. There had already been too much pressure and too many problems in the country. So, when a Kurdish woman was martyred due to torture, the people started to rise up. First, the women rose up, but as the days went by, in many provinces, the people started to rise up together with the women. Now this revolt has grown even bigger. The demands of the people are just and democratic. The Iranian state should listen to women and society in general. It needs to establish a dialog with them, discuss their problems and demands and find solutions. But what is the Iranian state actually doing? Instead of listening to the legitimate and democratic demands, approaching them seriously and solving the problems, it reacts with violence against the people. In other words, it wants to eliminate these demands with violence. This only leads to more deaths and a deepening of the existing problems. The Iranian state needs to realize that the methods it uses only aggravate the existing problems instead of solving them. This even poses a danger for the state itself.

The Iranian state needs to realize this. Its current attitude does not solve the existing problems. They need to be solved through dialogue. Instead of acting accordingly, they say, "America and Israel are carrying out these actions to destroy Iran." How realistic is this? Some people may believe this, but society does not. America and Israel did not kill Jîna. An institution of the Iranian state did. This Kurdish woman was murdered in their custody. If they say that foreign powers are involved in these uprisings, this is not true. You yourself prepared the basis for this uprising. Do foreign powers have plans with regard to Iran? Of course they do. They may also want to benefit from these developments. But the Iranian state provides this basis and these forces simply make use of it.

If you don't want foreign countries to interfere in your internal affairs and create problems, then you need to solve your internal problems. Then foreign powers will not be able to create chaos. So the problem does not lie outside of Iran but inside the country. That's why this has to be solved internally. Therefore, those speeches [by Iranian state representatives] don't have much effect on the people. Kurdish and Iranian women are fighting for democracy and freedom. These women were also the ones who overthrew the Shah [in 1979]. In other words, those who stood against the Shah together with the women are now standing against them. They need to acknowledge this reality. A great democratic revolution took place [in 1979]. If it had continued, Iran would have become a democratic country where everyone can express themselves. It would have become an example for the Middle East. Iranian history also provides the ground for this. But they did not take history and revolution as a basis. On the contrary, they themselves have turned into a power. That is why they are now in a conflict with the women with whom they overthrew the Shah. They themselves are responsible for this, not foreign powers. Their politics are the reason for this.

Women are claiming their freedom. This means claiming the freedom of the people. Rêber Apo has also said that the 21st century will be the century of the women's revolution. Recent events clearly show this. Since the start of the uprising of women in Iran, women around the world have also become active. Everyone has recognized the important role of women. The Iranian state holds the Kurds responsible for this uprising. That's why they attack Kurds and Kurdish institutions. There have been martyrs recently. On this occasion, I would like to respectfully commemorate the martyrs. I would also like to offer my condolences to the Kurdish people, Kurdish parties and institutions. The Turkish state and the Iranian state should not make these mistakes. They should not use violence against the Kurdish people. Instead, they should solve the Kurdish question through dialog. Violence will not solve the Kurdish question, but only deepen it. The deeper the Kurdish question gets in Iran, the bigger the problems in Iran will get. They need to focus on solving the problems through dialogue before they become even deeper.