Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Education Committee Member Doğan said that the occupying Turkish army could no longer protect itself against the guerrillas and had to withdraw from many guerrilla areas. “The Turkish state was clearly defeated in this war,” he stressed.

In an interview with Dengê Welat radio, Doğan said that the 23-year-long isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan aims to silence the Kurdish people and their leader. “The resistance of Öcalan and the Kurdish people will continue to spread all over the world in the new year. Öcalan’s resistance has frustrated all the attempts of the Turkish state.”

KURDISH PRISONERS

Doğan remarked that recent deaths in Turkish prisons were part of a massacre attempt against the Kurds. According to him, a message is given to the Kurdish people through the ill-treatment of the political prisoners.

“Turkish authorities tell prisoners that ‘if you insist on the cause for freedom, you will be eliminated’. Thus, they want to intimidate the Kurdish people. They tell the Kurds not to take care of deaths in prisons. Numerous prisoners have medical reports, yet they are not released. The country’s existing laws are not valid for the Kurds, especially for the resisting Kurds,” he said.

JUSTICE VIGILS FOR PRISONERS

Doğan underlined that the Kurdish people have embraced the resistance in Turkey’s prisons by organizing justice vigils in Amed and Van cities. “Undoubtedly, these campaigns should be far-reaching and spread all over the country. Not only the families of prisoners and martyrs but also all Kurdish people should endorse the prisoners of freedom.”

STATE-SPONSORED RACIST ATTACKS

Doğan also spoke about the deadly racist attack on the HDP İzmir headquarter. “The murderer was told not to escape the scene. They pretend that the perpetrator of the massacre was a lone wolf. There is a hitman, but the murder plan was conceived by the Turkish state. He was under the protection of state authorities. The state is behind the murder but put the blame on a nationalist man. The Turkish authorities are trying to deceive the public. These are special war policies. One day before the trial of Deniz Poyraz's killer, an HDP office in Bahçelievler, Istanbul, was attacked by a nationalist mob. Police released the attackers later. At the trial of Deniz Poyraz's murderer, the prosecutor remained a state partisan.”

The PKK member continued, “Three Syrian refugees were burned to death in Izmir just a few weeks ago. The Turkish police reported that the place was burned down with three people inside. They tried to close the case which, however, was exposed. The Turkish state is giving messages through these attacks. It wants to intimidate the HDP, the Kurdish people and political leaders. The Turkish state is very afraid of the idea of a free and oppositional Kurd. That's why it keeps attacking to a greater extent. Undoubtedly, the resistance will deepen and continue to spread.”

YOUNG PEOPLE TARGETED

Doğan pointed out that the Turkish state is most afraid of the young activists, because it knows very well that it is them who will determine the fate of this revolution. “The Turkish state is aware that the freedom struggle is growing stronger under the leadership of Kurdish youth. Young people reclaim their history, culture and society. Turkish forces targeted young people in Kobanê on purpose. The more organized the youth become, the better they frustrate the enemy's policies,” he said.

TURKISH ARMY WITHDREW FROM GUERILLA AREAS

Doğan emphasized that the occupying Turkish troops could no longer protect themselves against the guerrilla forces. “The Turkish forces had to withdraw from several guerrilla areas. The Turkish state has clearly been defeated in this war. The AKP-MHP government had made plans to destroy the guerrilla forces before the next general elections in 2023. The Turkish government gave the highest priority over the war, but now it is going through an economic crisis as it has been defeated in battle. The guerrilla resistance won; the economic crisis has deepened. The defeated Turkish state will be defeated in every field in 2022. The AKP-MHP government will lose tremendously. Success belongs to the people of Kurdistan under the leadership of the guerrillas, and therefore to all peoples.”

ÖCALAN’S RESPONSE TO PARIS MASSACRE

Doğan continued, “The Turkish state wanted to give a message through the Paris Massacre 9 years ago. It said: ‘You will not be able to enjoy your rights and be free in any way. You do not have the right to live wherever you are’. Kurdish leader Öcalan understood it correctly and responded accordingly.”

“This attack is the continuation of the Dersim Massacre. Against these attacks, I will defend the line of Sakine and respond with stronger policies,” Doğan cited Öcalan as saying. “Öcalan understood the message correctly and came up with a countermove. He expanded the Kurdistan freedom struggle and developed a line of resistance. He has been struggling and resisting based on this line. The people support it. The day when we remove the isolation and gain freedom, we will avenge our martyrs and hold their murderers to account,” he added.