The press center of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) has published information about guerrilla Bêrîtan Sîser (Gurbet Kaymaz), who died in Garzan. In the obituary, the HPG pointed out that the Turkish army launched a comprehensive military operation in the Garzan region in North Kurdistan in July. The area has been bombed continuously, and the fighters of the Free Women Associations (YJA Star) and HPG have responded with self-sacrificing resistance. "Our comrade Bêrîtan Sîser fought to the last breath and fell on 11 August," said the HPG.

Bêrîtan Sîser was the senior commander of the YJA Star. The HPG expressed their condolences to the relatives and people of Kurdistan.

 

  Codename: Bêrîtan Sîser

  First and last name: Gurbet Kaymaz

  Place of birth: Sêrt

  Names of mother and father: Qumrî - Haşem

  Date and place of death: August 11, 2023 / Garzan

 

The HPG wrote: “Bêrîtan Sîser was born in Siirt (Sêrt) and belonged to the Didêrî tribe. Her family lived a nomadic life and moved to the high pastures in the spring. This way of life kept Bêrîtan largely unaffected by the capitalist system and she grew up in a nice environment in the mountains. This is how she got to know guerrillas for the first time. They made a great impression on her and in 2013 she joined them. Because she knew life in the mountains well, it wasn't difficult for her to get used to it. Taking the battle name of the legendary guerrilla commander Bêrîtan (Gülnaz Karataş), she quickly reached a good level.

 

Because she never went to school, she only learned to read and write with the guerrillas. Within a short time, she was able to write reports herself. She was inquisitive and self-educated in many different fields. She immediately put what she had learned into practice and gained a great deal of experience as a result.”

The HPG showed Bêrîtan as an example of the militancy emerging within the PKK to reinvent itself and surpass itself every day. The writings of Abdullah Öcalan were an inseparable part of her life, she always carried them with her. She experienced her first guerrilla practice in Garzan in North Kurdistan. This quickly made her a capable fighter. When difficulties arose, she did not give up and looked for solutions.

From Garzan Bêrîtan Sîser moved to Metîna in the Medya Defense Areas. When the Turkish state broke off negotiations on a political solution to the Kurdish question in 2015 and launched a thorough military campaign, Bêrîtan went to the Zap region to fight. After training at the Şehîd (Martyr) Bêrîtan Academy, where she studied about women's liberation ideology, she returned to practice.

In April 2018, she became part of the special unit Hêzên Taybet. A strong, professional, determined and courageous woman, Bêrîtan became a leading commander of the YJA Star. She loved the free life, even when the circumstances were difficult. She showed unlimited commitment and took responsibility for it.

In 2021, at her own request, Bêrîtan returned to Garzan, the region where she grew up, and took the first steps in her guerrilla life. She fought to the end as a militant of the YJA Star.