The KCK Executive Council Co-Presidency issued a statement condemning the government of Armenia for collaborating with the Turkish state by handing over two HPG guerrilla fighters.

The statement reads as follows: 

"Our friends Leheng (Atilla Çiçek) and Alişer (Hüseyin Yıldırım), who were allegedly captured by the Turkish state in an operation, have recently been handed over to Turkey by the Armenian state. It is not true that our friends were captured by the Turkish state in an operation. In reality, our friends Leheng and Alişer, who had been held captive by the Armenian government since November 2021, were handed over to the Turkish state as a result of a betrayal. With this fake news, an attempt was made to cover up the betrayal of the Armenian government.

It is very revealing that the Armenian government handed over two Kurdish revolutionaries – who fought for the freedom of the Kurdish people and who traveled to Armenia on a revolutionary mission – to the Turkish state at a time when Armenia’s territory is being occupied due to the provocations and support of the Turkish state. This has clearly revealed that the Pashinyan government cooperates with the genocidal colonialist Turkish state and the fascist AKP-MHP government. As the Kurdish Freedom Movement, we strongly condemn the Pashinyan government, which has handed over our two friends to the Turkish state, for its attitude of collaboration.

This attitude of the Pashinyan government has also confirmed the criticisms and accusations made against it regarding the occupation of Armenian lands. This is evident in the fact that in a period when Armenian land is being occupied, instead of supporting those who struggled against the genocidal colonialist Turkish state, they were handed over to this state. This situation also constitutes a betrayal of the Armenian people’s struggle against the genocide. The handing over of these two friends to the Turkish state has revealed the collaborative and treasonous stance of the Pashinyan government, which had been taken covertly until today.

We are making this statement primarily for the Armenian people to better understand the truth of the Pashinyan government and for the democratic public of our people to receive accurate information regarding the issue at hand. The handing over of these two friends of ours to the Turkish state reveals that the Pashinyan government betrays the cause of the peoples, especially the cause of the Armenian people. This also shows that it collaborates with the genocidal colonialist Turkish state, which has committed genocide against the Armenian people in the past and makes others occupy the remaining Armenian land today, and that this government therefore supports the policy of occupation and genocide. We call on all peoples and friends, especially the Armenian people, to take a stand against this collaborators government. We believe that the Armenian people will take the necessary attitude towards this government and will hold it to account for its collaboration and betrayal.

The Kurdistan Freedom Struggle does not only fight for the freedom of the Kurdish people, but also for the freedom and liberation of all the peoples of the region, especially the Armenian people. The Kurdish people see the Armenian people as their fellow people and the country they live in as a Common Homeland. They approach the Armenian people based on these feelings and support their cause. Both the Armenian people and the Kurdish people know this very well. Accordingly, both peoples have positive feelings towards each other. The actions of the collaborators will not undermine the brotherhood of the Kurdish and Armenian peoples and their partnership in the struggle. On the contrary, these approaches will enable the Kurdish and Armenian peoples to engage in an even stronger common struggle. The attitude of the Pashinyan government causes great harm to the cause of the Armenian people and their struggle for existence. One can only be honorable and live in the right way by resisting and struggling, not by collaborating. As the Kurdish Freedom Movement, we call on the Pashinyan government to immediately renounce its collaborative relations with the genocidal colonialist Turkish state and apologize to the Armenian and Kurdish people for this incident."