October 9 marks the anniversary of the forced departure of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1998, which led to his abduction and imprisonment on Imrali. This event is known as an "international plot" due to the leadership of the United States and European countries. The Executive Committee of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has issued a statement on the anniversary of the plot calling for a rethink by the powers involved in the plot against the Kurdish liberation movement.

23 years of resistance against the plot

The PKK statement published on Thursday reads as follows:

"We are entering the 24th year of struggle against the international plot against Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the free will of Kurds of October 9, 1998. The forces behind the plot have used every possible method to destroy Rêber Apo [Leader Abdullah Öcalan] and the existence of free Kurds over the past 23 years. We as a movement and as a people have been resisting this plot for 23 years under the leadership of Rêber Apo. We have experienced great difficulties and suffering in this resistance, but we have also fought for achievements of historical significance. In the past 23 years of resistance, we have given tens of thousands of brave martyrs to the struggle for freedom.

"We will strengthen the resistance in the new year"

On the occasion of the anniversary, we salute the historic Imrali resistance and the people who formed a ring of fire around Rêber Apo under the slogan 'You cannot darken our sun'. In the person of comrades Halit Oral and Aynur Artan, we remember all the heroic martyrs of the resistance against the plot with love and gratitude. As a movement and as a people, we say that in the 24th year of the plot, we will resist even more strongly and achieve much more significant victories.

"The resistance made the plot fail"

As is known, the international plot of October 9 represented a dastardly attack. The destruction of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the liquidation of the PKK were intended to prevent a free democratic solution to the Kurdish question and to complete the genocide of the Kurdish people. This plot represented a hostile act against the existence of the Kurdish people, a democratic solution to the Kurdish question and a free and democratic life. By destroying the Kurds, the Middle East was to remain under the rule of the fascist and reactionary forces of the world. Undoubtedly, the consequences of these attacks were very serious for all the peoples of the Middle East, especially for the Kurdish people. However, the 23 years of great resistance could prevent the goal of the forces behind the plot from being achieved.

"The USA is directing the plot"

As is known, the international plot was planned and implemented by the USA government. For its success, the USA used NATO countries, reactionary forces in the region and worldwide, and Kurdish collaborators and traitors. The USA intervention in the Middle East was an important part of World War III. But none of the powers involved were able to achieve the goal they expected from their participation in the plot. The Kurdish resistance, led by Rêber Apo, has put a spanner in their works.

For 23 years, the forces of the plot have resorted to all conceivable methods and tactics to destroy Rêber Apo and the Kurdish freedom movement. They try it with extermination attacks, execution plans, isolation on Imrali, false 'solution processes' and massive destruction. However, the Kurdish people and the democratic forces, led by Rêber Apo, managed to overcome all these attacks and make the plot fail with proper and effective resistance. Through this 23-year resistance, the plans of the forces of the plot, which were carried out by AKP in the past 19 years, were overturned. At each stage, new attacks were repelled and the hope for freedom was further fanned. All the forces involved in the plot failed and disappeared from the scene one by one.

"The USA is surprised by developments in the Middle East"

Now that we are entering the 24th year of the international plot and resistance, the results of 23 years of struggle are evident. As the director of the plot and the leading power in its implementation, the USA is completely surprised by the developments in Kurdistan and the Middle East. They are making investigations to find out at what point they miscalculated. We want to make it clear once again that the USA has committed the biggest mistake and the biggest injustice with its international plot against Rêber Apo and the Kurdish freedom movement. In this way, they have betrayed even their own principles, the 'Wilson Program'. Therefore, they have to correct their historical mistake and are obliged to apologize to the Kurds.

"Whoever opposes the reality of humanity will fail"

The fact that the government of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and PASOK in Greece were active collaborators in the plot is well known. The end of all these collaborations up to Boris Yeltsin's government is also evident. It has become clear that in the end, those who oppose the historical reality of humanity because of their own banal interests will fail. It is equally clear that the current governments of all the countries involved in the plot also owe the Kurds an apology and must correct the mistakes they have made.

The state of the Turkish state and the AKP government, which was appointed as the guardian of the plot, is also obvious. The end of Bulent Ecevit, who was the first of two people to appear in Turkey and announce the success of the plot, is also known. He did not understand the plot or the consequences of its failure. Ecevit was erased from the stage of history and paid a high price for his failure. The state of Tayyip Erdoğan's personality, which had set out to achieve results in this sense, can be observed by everyone. Although he tried to ensure his survival on the basis of super-Gladio agents such as Devlet Bahçeli, Hakan Fidan, Süleyman Soylu and Hulusi Akar, it is clear that his regime is in the process of disintegration in the face of the Kurdish freedom struggle. Tayyip Erdoğan, however, has driven not only himself but all of Turkey to the brink of the abyss. The certain defeat of the plot will be accompanied by the end of the Turkish fascist mentality and politics.

"Kurdish collaborators are the lowest force of the plot"

Undoubtedly, the lowest forces of the international plot are the Kurdish collaborators and traitors. The KDP shows how low one can fall. It is clear what it means to join forces with sworn enemies of Kurds and fascist murderers to attack and murder the Kurdish freedom forces. Once again it has become clear that the struggle against the fascist forces and their policies cannot be separated from the struggle against collaborators and betrayals. In this sense, we respectfully remember the martyrs of Xelîfan, Heftanîn, Metîna, Avaşîn, Zap, Zagros and Xakûrkê. We call upon our people to unite even more in the footsteps of the martyrs.

"Rêber Apo is representative of all the oppressed"

In 23 years of resistance to the international plot, it has become clear how Rêber Apo has created tremendous historical developments. He has realized his third birth in resistance and has become the universal representative of all the oppressed of the world. The theory of democratic modernity reflects this reality. The practical consequences of this historical development in Kurdistan, the Middle East and the whole world will become clearer and more comprehensive in the coming phase.

"The women's revolution is leading the struggle"

It is clear that our people have strengthened their consciousness and passion for a free life in 23 years of resistance to the plot. Our guerrillas, the heroic vanguard of our people, have proven countless times that they are invincible and marching on the road to victory. The women's liberation revolution, which leads our freedom struggle and is its guarantee of victory, has undergone a great and meaningful development in the past 23 years. The Kurdish youth has been the engine of the 23-year struggle against the plot from the very beginning. The struggle against the plot has also produced one of the most significant and important developments in history, the Rojava Freedom Revolution.

"Smashing the isolation and torture system on Imralı"

As Rêber Apo has often said it, what we have done in 23 years is a mirror of what we will do in the 24th year. It is clear that the biggest and most meaningful struggle against the October 9, 1998 plot will be waged in the 24th year against the 2019 and 2020 versions in Girê Spî, Serêkaniyê and Shengal. The campaign 'Time for Freedom' aiming at the physical freedom of Rêber Apo will be developed in all fields and will lead to the destruction of the isolation and torture system on Imrali and the decisive defeat of the plot.

On this basis, we call once again on all the powers involved in the plot to revise their anti- Kurdish policies. We call on all comrades from our party, our patriotic people and our democratic friends to make the struggle for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo even more effective in the 24th year, to defeat the plot and to win freedom!"