The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the triple murder of three Kurdish women revolutionaries in the heart of Paris.

The KCK statement released on Sunday includes the following:

“On the 10th anniversary of the massacre on January 9, 2013, which is known as the Paris Massacre in the history of the Kurdish people, we would like to once more commemorate all the January martyrs in the person of our comrades Sakine Cansız (Sara), Rojbin and Ronahi and all the martyrs of revolution and democracy with respect, love and gratitude. We reiterate our promise of success and victory to all our martyrs in the person of the Paris Martyrs.

With their glorious resistance since January 9, 2013, our people living in Europe have been holding the murderers to account. Since the second Paris massacre, they have put forward a very strong and honorable resistance and struggle. On January 7, this resistance was carried to the highest level. We salute and celebrate this honorable and noble stance of our people with respect and love. Our people will continue their resistance and multidimensional struggle in the strongest way possible and will definitely ensure that the truth is revealed.

The Paris Massacre can never be considered as an ordinary attack. Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] evaluated this massacre as the continuation and repetition of the Dersim Massacre in the person of friend Sara. Throughout its history, the genocidal Turkish state has carried out a continuous policy of denial against the Kurdish people and has taken this to the level of physical genocide. Against this genocidal policy, the international powers have either remained silent or supported it. This approach towards the genocidal Turkish state has facilitated the Kurdish genocide. As a result of this encouragement by the world states, especially the European states, the genocidal colonialist Turkish state has continuously expanded the area and scope of its massacres and has spread them to the centers of Europe. For a very long time, the genocidal Turkish state has continued to use its NATO membership as a fundamental basis for the continuous Kurdish genocide.

In the last 20 years, the official discourse and practices of the genocidal colonialist Turkish state, embodied in the AKP-MHP fascist regime, and its Kurdish genocide policy is best expressed by the statement ´we will do whatever is necessary, whether it is women or children´. As a result, thousands of Kurdish women and children have been massacred in the last few years alone, and this policy of massacre continues to expand. The genocidal colonialist Turkish state, which understands our party PKK as a Women’s Party, has especially targeted Kurdish women and their pioneers. Because when Leader Apo developed the PKK as part of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, he approached the development of liberation on the basis of women’s freedom. This dialectic has led to great excitement and support not only among Kurdish women but also among women from all over the world. This is the main reason why the genocidal Turkish state especially targets women pioneers.

The January 9, 2013 Paris massacre is one of the clearest examples of this policy of genocide. The genocidal colonialist Turkish state has tied its existence to the annihilation of the Kurdish people. It has put all its internal and external means and relations at the service of this genocidal fascist policy. Since the biggest obstacle to this genocidal fascist policy is the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, it uses all kinds of banned chemical weapons in the mountains. The fascist Turkish government, with the courage it receives from those who remain silent about these crimes of war and crimes against humanity – especially in case of the European states and global powers – has now carried its genocidal attacks to European centers. It resorts to dirty political massacres in order to hide its incapability to crush the freedom resistance in the mountains, plains and cities of Kurdistan. The second Paris massacre, which took place as a result of these policies, was undoubtedly carried out by the Turkish MIT [intelligence service], which has turned into a murder and crime network. Some intelligence units of European states either support the massacres of this criminal network or choose to remain silent.

The approach of the French state is far away from the stance of an independent and sovereign state. By covering up the first Paris massacre and not disclosing the related facts to the public, it has prepared the ground for the Turkish MIT to carry out the second Paris massacre. This massacre would not have happened if the French state had publicized the available information and held accountable Erdoğan, the MIT and their collaborators, i.e. the perpetrators of the January 9, 2013 massacre. To remain silent or cover up the attacks against a people who has given more than 10.000 martyrs and more than 20.000 wounded against the Islamic State [IS] – the enemy of humanity and scourge of the whole world – means being a partner of the mentality and politics of the genocidal AKP-MHP fascist government and a friend and collaborator of IS. Everyone knows very well that AKP-MHP fascism is trying to avenge IS by targeting the Kurdish women and people, who are the face of humanity and symbolize the struggle against IS.

If the French state does not want to become complicit with the AKP-MHP-IS attacks, it needs to immediately shed light on the two massacres that took place within its borders, share the facts with the public and put those responsible on trial. If this is not done, France will be considered guilty in the eyes of humanity, especially the Kurdish people, and will also provide the ground for new massacres to take place. For this reason, we call on France to protect the common democratic values of humanity and Europe and not to sacrifice them to political interests. We also call on our people and international friends in Europe to lead all the forces of freedom and democracy and continue their democratic activism until these massacres are clarified.

Comrade Sara spat in the face of fascism in the prisons of the genocidal colonialist state and became a symbol of resistance and freedom for the struggle of all free Kurdish women, the people and humanity. Today, all women and peoples struggling for freedom in the world draw strength from comrade Sara’s struggle in prison, in the mountains and in the political and social arena. All those who struggle for freedom along the lines of the paradigm that has been refined in the slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” are today walking in the footsteps of comrade Sara.

Comrade Rojbin made great contributions to the debates and activities of our peoples in Europe. Comrade Ronahi, with her youthful energy, gave especially young women and men the determination to resist. Therefore, the memories of these three valuable comrades shed light on our struggle.

On the 10th anniversary of their martyrdom, we would therefore like to commemorate our comrades Sara, Rojbin and Ronahi once again with respect, love and gratitude and reiterate our promise to lead their struggle to victory.”