Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council Co-Presidency said the meeting held by the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) with widespread participation was received well by the Kurdish people and its political forces: “We commend the KNK for this effort, and promise again that we will fulfill our responsibility in meeting KNK’s calls. We celebrate Eid for all Muslims and wish that the holiday will be a conduit for peace in the Middle East and the world as well as the unity of our peoples.”

“The 20th century Middle Eastern political balance and status tore Kurdistan in two. In North Kurdistan and in other parts, the Kurdish people were subjected to genocidal colonial policies,” said the statement and continued. “The Kurdish people have resisted this genocidal colonialism, and every objection was met with massacres, executions, burned villages and millions of exiled Kurds. The 20th century for Kurds was massacres, tyranny, exiles, and political, economic, social and cultural genocides. Kurdish people have resisted these genocidal policies throughout the century and fought to exist.”

AKP-MHP FASCIST ALLIANCE TARGETS KURDS’ GAINS

“The Kurds have fought for democracy and freedom with a great price paid, and have entered the 21st century ideologically, politically, societally, culturally and militarily stronger. Kurds entering this period, when 20th century balances and the status of the Middle East are changing and struggles for new political balances and statuses are underway, strong in the military, organization and politics arenas has created opportunities for great gains. Anti-Kurdish regressive forces saw that Kurds would emerge stronger out of the ongoing World War III in the Middle East have increased their attacks against the freedom struggle by the Kurdish people. The leader in hostility against Kurds, the Turkish state, has been targeting the gains Kurds have made everywhere with the power of the AKP-MHP fascist alliance. They have been burning down cities in North Kurdistan, attacking Kurdish political forces, patriots and democratic forces every day, arresting and torturing them in a complete genocidal policy. They completely ignore the political will of the people of South Kurdistan, and enact oppression and attacks. With their army, intelligence and spy organizations, they want to expand their occupation every day. They attack Maxmur, where the free Kurd displays a stance against genocidal Turkish state policies, and Shengal, where Yazidi Kurds fight to build a free and democratic life, with airstrikes and kill our people.

The AKP-MHP fascist government has displayed its hostility against Kurds the clearest in the occupation of Afrin, and in their aggression against Rojava and Northern-Eastern Syria. Their policies are geared towards targeting and crushing any gains the Kurds have achieved, anywhere. They have exposed this goal countless times. They claim that Kobane and Kirkuk are not Kurdish cities, or that the Lausanne Treaty has failed to infer that South Kurdistan and Rojava are expansion sites for Turkish nation building. They said they would take over all the mountains and continue up to the plains, openly announcing their desire to invade South Kurdistan as a whole. The Turkish state has entered alliances with all enemies of Kurds in the region. They supported ISIS and pit them against Kurds in a bid to remove Kurdish gains in South Kurdistan and Rojava. The anti-Kurdish stance of the Turkish state in the aftermath of the independence referendum in South Kurdistan and the Kirkuk crisis is still in place with the AKP government’s policies and discourse to that end.

KURDISH UNITY AND ACTING TOGETHER ARE IMPERATIVE

The Turkish state and forces that want to eliminate Kurds’ gains are taking advantage of Kurdish political parties and movements being unable to unite. They want to pit Kurdish political movements against each other and make them fight. But today, there are as many risks as there are opportunities, and under these conditions the unity of Kurds is of vital importance. If Kurds act together, under current conditions they will become the nation to win big in every area, including democracy and freedoms. If the current fragmentation continues, not only will the great opportunities we face be missed, but we will also lose the gains we have achieved. All these realities make it imperative for Kurds to achieve unity and act together. All political parties and movements, intellectuals, artists and democratic organizations have a great responsibility on their shoulders. Our people in all four parts of Kurdistan expect such a stance from us. Patriotic political parties and movements, democratic bodies, patriotic democrats have the responsibility to respond to our people’s expectations.

As the KCK we state that we will respond to the KNK’s call and our people’s longings and promise that we are prepared to fulfill the requirements of this call. We will be showing this with all our attitudes and practices. As such, we commend all parties who attended the KNK meeting, all politicians and patriotic democratic persons for their efforts towards the unity of Kurdish people. We wish great success in the efforts to create national unity and a joint struggle.”