Free Women’s Troops (YJA Star) Commander Silan Goyi (Taybet Bilen), who fell martyr in a Turkish airstrike on October 8, was commemorated in the Maxmur Refugee Camp in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). The memorial at Maxmur Martyrs’ Families Council office was participated by hundreds of residents including students and teachers.

The ceremony began with a minute’s silence in memory of the martyrs of the Kurdish freedom struggle, after which a message by the Central Headquarters Command of YJA Star addressing Şilan Goyi and her family was read.

Nuran Sezgin, a member of Ishtar Council Coordination, made a speech on behalf of the people at the commemoration ceremony. She paid tribute to the martyrs of Kurdistan in the person of Gülnaz Karataş and Silan Goyi and expressed that the PKK has enhanced its struggle in every period. Thousands of Kurdish youth, men and women have sacrificed their lives and become a shield of fire against the attacks on Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan in every period, Sezgin stressed.  

“On 15 February 1999, hundreds of youths in the resilient Maxmur Camp decided to join the guerrilla ranks. Şîlan Goyî was one of these brave people. She set an example to the Maxmur people with her struggle and resistance in the guerrilla ranks. The people of Maxmur still continue their determined struggle and resistance” said Nuran Sezgin, and extended her condolences to Şîlan Goyî’s family and the people of Maxmur.

Speaking on behalf of Goyî’s family, Pakistan Bilen, co-chair of the Democratic People’s Council, pointed to the attacks against the Kurdish people, saying, “The enemies of the Kurdish people know no bounds in their attacks as they perpetrate a genocide. They target the Kurds wherever they live. We pay heavy prices every day. They target Kurdish pioneers in an attempt to annihilate the Kurds as a whole. We base on the struggle of the martyrs, which is what will lead us all to freedom.”

Bilen extended her condolences to Şîlan Goyî’s family, the residents of Maxmur and all the Kurdish patriots. Following Bilen’s speech, the ceremony ended with slogans such as “Martyrs are immortal” (Şehîd Namirin), “Long live Öcalan” (Bijî Serok Apo) and “No life without the Leader” (Bê Serok Jiyan Nabe).