July 14 marks the anniversary of the beginning of the death fast in the prison of Amed (Diyarbakır). The hunger strike in 1982, in which Mehmet Hayri Durmuş, Kemal Pir, Akif Yılmaz and Ali Çiçek gave their lives, went down in history as "the great death fast of July 14" and was a decisive action against the burial silence after the 1980 military coup in Turkey.

HPG guerrillas Orhan Lotos and Armanc Kolîs spoke to ANF about the July 14 resistance.

Remembering all the revolutionary martyrs, Orhan Lotos said: “I commemorate all our martyrs in the person of comrades Kemal, Hayri, Ali Çiçek and Akif Yılmaz on the 42nd anniversary of July 14 resistance, which has an important place in the history of Kurdistan and humanity and determines the manner of our struggle even today. The isolation and torture imposed on our leader in Imrali Prison today are even worse than the conditions in Diyarbakır Prison. Leader Öcalan has been subjected to strict isolation for 24 years and denied visits from his lawyers and family members for months without a single explanation to the public.

Leader Öcalan is raising his resistance on Imrali Island every moment. On the other hand, the freedom guerrillas are putting up self-sacrificing resistance in response to genocidal attacks and the Imrali isolation, in almost all areas of Kurdistan, mainly in Zap, Avashin and Metina.

We will continue our struggle to the last drop of blood for the physical freedom of Leader Öcalan. Every patriot and every single person with a conscience should resist these genocidal attacks because resistance is the only way out against fascism. We believe in and trust our people. Everyone should join this honorable resistance and wave the flag of victory. We will continue our struggle in the spirit of July 14.”

Armanc Kolis said: “Comrades Kemal, Hayri, Ali and Akif made this decision to achieve freedom and continued their fight to death. It is thanks to those heroes that the resistance has continued with resolve since 1982. The leader, who says ‘I take strength from the martyrs’, has also put up uninterrupted resistance in Imrali for 24 years.

The invading enemy cannot break the will of the leader in any way. The spirit of July 14 resistance is alive in Imrali and the mountains of Kurdistan today. The Turkish state seeks to cow our imprisoned comrades into submission once again today. I once again remember with respect all those heroes who started the unbroken resistance in 1982. We all owe them. We will continue our struggle on this basis and make the freedom of our people inevitable.”