The Co-Presidency of the KCK Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the occasion of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s 75th birthday on 4 April.

KCK pointed out that the birth of Öcalan marks a new era, a new opportunity for Kurdistan. “It gave the Kurdish people the chance to rediscover and embrace their own identity and connect with their historical roots. The eyes of the Kurds were reopened to an existence as honorable as their historical identity. The Kurdish people regained their rightful place among humanity as a dignified people."

The KCK statement released on Thursday includes the following:

“For many years, our people have celebrated April 4th with great joy and enthusiasm. The Kurdish people, especially women, add strong spiritual meaning to April 4th, the birthday of Rêber Apo (Leader Abdullah Öcalan). After gloomy winter months, the Kurdish people recapture apricity on this day as it resembles the moment drylands meet with torrential streams. It is a time of rejoice for the Kurdish people. It is the miracle of existence and freedom, found on the edges of unforgiving cliffs.

Kurds embrace April 4th as the day of their rebirth. They consider it to be their own birthday. Before 4 April, the future was a picture of bleakness for Kurds living under the policy of denial and annihilation by the colonialist genocidal system. All that was left to face, was a full-scale campaign of genocide. This atrocity had reduced the entire Kurdish identity to a biological dissimilarity. It represented neither living nor death, just a doomed Kurdish society experiencing whatever is worse than mortality. The circumstances of the Kurds were no different to being buried alive. Thus, the birth of Rêber Apo on April 4 was the harbinger and omen of the resurrection of a people who had been buried alive under a system of denial and annihilation.

The birth of Rêber Apo marks a new era, a new opportunity for Kurdistan. It gave the Kurdish people the chance to rediscover and embrace their own identity and connect with their historical roots. The eyes of the Kurds were reopened to an existence as honorable as their historical identity. The Kurdish people regained their rightful place among humanity as a dignified people. Despite our people being subjected to unimaginable agony and horrifying acts of genocide, they continue to strive for their goals, whatever the cost may be. Because our people understand and believe that the only road to salvation passes through Rêber Apo’s thoughts and philosophy. For Rêber Apo consistently turns agony and anguish into a source of beauty and puts it in the service of the freedom struggle.

The spirit which Rêber Apo encouraged within the Kurdish people flourished into a spirit of independence and democracy as it led to solidarity and fraternity at an international level. With the awareness and struggle developed by Rêber Apo, the already rich and multicultural land of Kurdistan and that of the Middle East were reconnected to their honorable essence. Despite all the subjugation and repression campaigns of the nation-state system, the unity between the peoples and cultures of the Middle East was secured again. It is an important development for humanity that the identities and cultures of Kurdistan and the Middle East are starting to coexist once again on the basis of fraternity. This development can be attributed to Rêber Apo’s democratic and communal paradigm, which opposes nationalism, racism, and misogyny. Put otherwise, Apoist philosophy is one devoid of any form of racism, nationalism, or sexism.

The Women’s Freedom thesis by Rêber Apo shines new light on the path of the freedom struggle of Kurdish women. There are very significant advances in Kurdistan and the Middle East as a result of the freedom struggle waged by Kurdish women. The strong will demonstrated by Kurdish women in the social, political, and military arenas is contributing to a significant awakening and awareness across Kurdistan as well as the neighbouring communities. This is now taking the form of an inevitable development. This conscious, intelligent, and inquiring resolve for women’s freedom cannot be silenced by any state authority. The most striking example of this is the resilient, unwavering, and strong position taken by Kurdish women against the misogynistic practices of the fascist, colonialist, homicidal AKP-MHP rule in Turkey. Once more, we witness it in Rojava through the women’s fight against ISIS gangs, who are the enemy of humanity. Again, the slogan “Jin Jiyan Azadî” echoing throughout Rojhilat (the part of Kurdistan under Iran’s control) is the voice of women rising up. As a result, the Kurdish women’s resistance – made possible by Rêber Apo’s awareness and influence – is the most remarkable condemnation of the violent, rapist capitalist system.

Rêber Apo’s ideas about democracy, ecology, and women’s freedom went beyond the borders of Kurdistan and took on universal dimensions. As his words and ideas spread throughout the world, he gets more and more support from emancipatory people. Because there is no trace of nationalism, racism, fascism, sexism, injustice, or immorality in Rêber Apo’s philosophy. Today, to stand up for Rêber Apo means to oppose capitalism; it means to stand up against racism, nationalism, male dominance, and anti-ecology ideologies destroying our environment. To stand with Rêber Apo means to be in favor of democratic socialism, to be anti-capitalist, to be in favor of women’s freedom, of democracy, and of ecology.

This year’s Newroz was regarded by our people as the Newroz for the physical freedom of the Leader. Our people made their demand for Rêber Apo’s freedom clear with an unwavering stance on the matter. They made it very evident that the Kurdish people’s top priority is to secure Rêber Apo’s freedom and that this is an urgent demand that could not be delayed. The resolute and determined attitude our people demonstrated at Newroz turned into a strong political will in the recent municipal elections. Our people stunned the fascist, genocidal, colonialist AKP-MHP administration. We are proud of our people for their democratic perspective which they demonstrated during Newroz and expressed during the local elections. We reaffirm our conviction that, in the face of the thieving, usurping, and trustee-appointing fascist regime, our people will keep acting with the same steadfast determination and defend their will to the very end. They will refuse to give up their municipalities.

The political attitude of our people, their enthusiasm, determination, and strong will, as reflected in the Newroz celebrations and local elections, will become more structured and active during 2024.

As the Freedom Movement, we will continue to put the fight against the isolation and solitary confinement of Rêber Apo at the center of all our struggle. We will guarantee his physical freedom. Based on this, we urge all of our patriotic people and their friends, particularly women and young people, to intensify the fight for Rêber Apo’s physical freedom and the lifting of his total isolation, to become more organized, and to make their acts more potent.”