Welat Gabar, a guerrilla fighter in the ranks of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), spoke to ANF to mark Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan's birthday on April 4.

Celebrating the 74th birthday of Öcalan, guerrilla Gabar commemorated Mahsum Karaoğlan and Mustafa Dağ who were murdered by the Turkish state in Amara on 4 April, 2009. Gabar emphasized that a new page was opened with the revolutionary struggle in Kurdistan after the birth of Kurdish leader Öcalan. “Before Öcalan, there was a lot of internal betrayal, oppression and fear among the Kurds. With the emergence of our leader, many novelties took place, and the fear of the rulers was replaced by great courage and revolutionary struggle, especially in Kurdistan.”

The HPG guerrilla continued: “Our patriotic people and Kurdish youth enhanced the struggle against betrayers and fascist attacks through a great revolutionary wave and the leader's teachings. The peoples of Mesopotamia are marching towards freedom and enlightenment with the ideology of our leader. We will do whatever we can in the mountains of Kurdistan relying on our faith, our commitment to the leader and fallen comrades. The spring of 2023 will pave the way for major novelties. We will expel the state forces that have carried out great massacres against our people and our youth in our own lands.”

‘NO FORCE CAN STOP US’

Guerrilla Gabar underlined that the struggle against the fascist AKP-MHP regime in the mountains of Kurdistan continued at full steam. “No force can stop us from fighting until we achieve victory with our belief in the leader and the Apoist spirit. We will remove the fascist Turkish army from our mountains. We will live freely in Kurdistan and our mountains with our leader. We believe it.”

Gabar continued: “Our leader stands for all peoples who seek a free and democratic life. For this very reason, Turkish authorities are preventing meetings with Öcalan. They are trying to destroy the bond between the people and Öcalan. In order to do so, they have introduced absolute isolation against him. And this isolation has spread all over Kurdistan. Attacks against our people and our comrades in prisons continue. All this pressure and crackdown are not independent of the systematic torture implemented against Öcalan. However, no matter what they do, they will never achieve their goal. Now there is a people who defy state persecution, they have an army. We have them thanks to Öcalan and our fallen comrades. Based on the ideology of our leader, we are moving towards a free future as a people and as guerrilla troops. Because no price has been given for nothing. Everyone should know that no matter what, the guerrillas will continue to fight with an Apoist spirit in the mountains of Kurdistan to secure the physical freedom of Öcalan and the freedom of our people.”