The Headquarters Command of the People's Defense Center (HSM) issued a statement on the birthday of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. In the statement published on Sunday, HSM warned that Abdullah Öcalan is in grave danger and therefore the resistance shall be expanded. In the statement, the HSM commemorates the fallen of these days and gives a perspective on the upcoming struggle of the guerrillas.

The abbreviated statement by HSM Headquarters Command reads as follows:

"April 4 is the birthday of freedom"

"We congratulate all comrades on April 4, the birthday of Abdullah Öcalan. We reaffirm our promise to live in a free Kurdistan with free leader and our vow to extend the struggle for the revolution. The birth of Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) is not only the birth of a person. This first birth has been followed by a second and third. The first birth was April 4, the physical birth of freedom. The second birth took place with the formation of the party for freedom and the beginning of its struggle. The third birth is the development of the new paradigm and the resulting new dimension of the struggle for freedom and democracy. Thus, the birth of Leader Apo has become the birth of the freedom struggle of Kurdistan and the peoples. On this basis, we once again congratulate all our friends and our people on their birthday.

"The real war is taking place on Imrali"

The war between us and the fascist colonial policy continues today on a comprehensive scale everywhere. But the real war is taking place on Imrali. It is true, maybe there is no war with weapons there, but there is a permanent psychological war against Leader Apo and our companions there. The center of this war is undoubtedly Imrali. On March 14, a week before Newroz, the psychological war of Imrali was meant to be extended to the whole people by spreading some allegations about the life of Abdullah Öcalan in the social media. Our people have drawn great strength from the victory of Gare and the struggle of the free women, March 8. Such allegations have been spread in order for our people to be demoralized before Newroz. This is part of the psychological warfare against our people and our movement.

"The attitude of Leader Apo is like a message to us"

Of course, our people reacted very seriously. Public opinion was formed at home and abroad. The Turkish state came under massive pressure because of this publicity. To escape this pressure, it wanted to let Leader Apo and the friends who were also imprisoned on Imrali speak to their families on the phone. Öcalan and Hamili Yıldırım answered the phone to speak to their families. The conversations lasted only four to five minutes. Öcalan said to his brother Mehmet Öcalan, 'You are making a mistake. You should not have accepted this. The state is playing wrong. This is a very dangerous action. Legal action must be taken. There can be no visit like this. The lawyers must come.' This is how Öcalan took a stand. The other two friends on Imrali also showed their stance and did not answer the phone at all. The attitude of Leader Apo and the friends has the quality of a message to us.

Our leader is also resisting the enemy on Imrali. This enemy is attacking Leader Apo, our movement and our people in every way. Leader Apo is showing a very serious attitude of resistance. This must be taken seriously. It is a message to all of us. We all have to resist. We will develop the resistance and thus reach the goal. There is no other way. Leader Apo said about the phone call, 'This method is very dangerous.' It is completely obvious that he is in danger. If we do not stand up for our duty as necessary in this historic period, the danger to our leader will become even greater. And that is another reason why we must fulfill our duties. Of course, the attitude of the guerrillas is important here. 

Telephone calls are technique of special warfare

Without the victory of Gare, without the massive protests of our people, the enemy would not have opened the possibility of such a phone call either. We would have remained completely without news of Leader Apo. But the public protests and the determined attitude have built a serious pressure. The attitude of the guerrillas gives morale to the people, our people go to action and the enemy is forced to retreat. The enemy resorts to deception to break this massive protest. This is a special war tactic. To take the wind out of the protest's sails, the state says, 'He's healthy, he's talking on the phone, what more do you want?' But on the other hand, the state doesn't even implement its own law, it doesn't even allow normal visitation. In this way, it wants to continue the isolation and the special war on Imrali. This is undoubtedly dangerous.

Time for Öcalan's freedom

The danger for Öcalan remains. The same danger applies to all the achievements of our people. The attitude taken in this regard is directly related to the attitude of our movement. It is related to the attitude of our movement on every front and especially the guerrilla. As the freedom guerrilla of Kurdistan, we are fulfilling our responsibility in this historic period and are determined to reduce and stop the threat against our leader and revolutionary values and pave the way to freedom. What is needed is not only the lifting of isolation, but the freedom of Leader Apo. We are not the only ones who say this. Many people in the world, many intellectuals, institutions and trade unions around the world are demanding freedom for Öcalan. The world public knows from the bottom of its heart that Leader Apo can play a very important role for the Kurdish people, the peoples of the Middle East and the whole humanity and should not be in prison. He should not be imprisoned under the torture system of Imrali. Many intellectuals, artists and trade unions representing large sections of society reject this situation and are raising their voices.

Period of historic guerrilla warfare

If we give the right meaning to the message of Leader Apo and act in the Apoist spirit, then we must make this process a period of historic resistance and victory. If every comrade and every one of our guerrilla units behave on this basis, then the 'Time for Freedom' campaign can lay the foundation for the freedom of Öcalan and Kurdistan. We fully trust in the experience, attitude and sacrifice of our comrades. The willingness to sacrifice shown by our comrades in the Gare resistance proves this once again. On this basis, our units in all areas are in the process of intensification and we are convinced that they will be successful. They will make this time the time of historic victory. In this belief and hope, we salute all comrades and wish them success."