Protests against AKP damaging 267 graves in the Garzan Martyrs Cemetery in Bitlis continue. PKK Executive Committee issued a written statement today and called for a fight against these practices of the Turkish state.

The PKK statement said: “The colonialist genocidal Turkish state has once more shown its anti-human face and attacked the guerrilla cemeteries and removed bodies from graves. Nowhere in the world has a state attacked cemeteries and bodies at this level. This shows that the Turkish state has not only anti-Kurdish but also anti-human mindset and character. No religion, no faith, no political view has ever condoned attacking graves. This mindset that doesn’t respect any of the human values that have emerged throughout history poses a threat to all of humanity.”

“CAN’T EVEN TOLERATE THE KURDS’ DEAD”

PKK stated that the Turkish state can’t even tolerate the dead bodies of people who demand a free and democratic life for Kurds and fight for it: “They are the enemy of not just the Kurd who demands freedom but their dead bodies too.”

PKK Executive Committee’s statement continues as follows:

“Although it has been close to a century since, the location of graves of Sheikh Said, Seyit Riza and their companions are not made public. That is a clear indication of this character. Fighting such a state that knows no values has become a duty for not just Kurds, but for all humanity.

The Kurdish people, the peoples of Turkey, the peoples of the Middle East and all humanity should know that these attacks on the cemeteries are extermination attacks. They are a clear expression of policies to rob the Kurds of all memory and values and to inflict genocide on them. They want to eradicate any and all reminders of the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom and Kurdishness and eliminate all memory. Tayyip Erdoğan openly states this goal of his every day. He has openly declared that his most fundamental goal is to eliminate Kurds and different identities by stating that creating one nation and one fatherland is their national security strategy.

“WHERE HUMANITY ENDS”

Attacking cemeteries and dead bodies is where humanity ends. It is not possible to stay human or to gain a free and democratic life without fighting such an aggressive power. In this sense, this tyranny and inhumanity should be objected to. Our Kurdish Freedom Movement will make these forces that attack the graves of our martyrs, who are the highest value of our people, answer for what they did. Those who did this will pay the price. Our people should not remain silent in the face of this attack and insult. This animosity against Kurds and this vile behavior must be responded to. Our people in all parts of Kurdistan, not just the people of Bakurê (Northern) Kurdistan, should speak up against this inhuman force.

“THERE MUST BE REACTION AGAINST THIS AGGRESSION”

Turkey’s democratic forces and public should also speak up against this aggression. Staying silent in the face of aggression that knows no bounds will stain those who stay silent as well. Such aggression in the name of Turkey’s administration is an insult against the people of Turkey as well. In this sense, intellectuals and artists who are the conscience of Turkey’s peoples, and all forces of democracy should stand against this aggression.

All the peoples of the world and forces of democracy should see that if there is such aggression against the dead of the Kurds, there is no guessing what they would do to the living, and speak up against these inhuman attackers. These inhuman practices are not just against the Kurds, they are against all of humanity and humanity’s values. Staying silent in the face of such levels of aggression will mean complicity with such inhuman practices. Silence in the face of this fascist government only increases their aggression. As such, they are attacking and insulting anybody who objects to their fascist practices, both inside and outside of Turkey.

Fighting against such an inhuman force is the most sacred, greatest struggle in history. It is a struggle to protect the values of humanity. On this basis, we are calling on all our people, all allies and forces of democracy to increase the struggle against AKP-MHP fascism, to democratize Turkey and liberate Kurdistan.”