People's Defense Forces (HPG) commander Dilxwaz Gabar answered the questions of journalist Pirdoğan Kemal in a special program on Stêrk TV. 

We publish a shorter version of the interview HPG Commander Dilxwaz Gabar gave to Stêrk TV.

As it is well known, the AKP / MHP regime has been implementing out a special war policy against the people of Kurdistan, especially in recent years. The media constantly claim that the liberation movement has been shattered. In the Kurdish mountains and in the cities, on the other hand, there are constant actions. As a guerrilla commander, how do you rate recent developments?

The AKP and MHP have formed a coalition. Since the AKP came to power in 2002, Abdullah Öcalan has made several offers and called for an end to the ongoing war. The answer was trying to implement various conspiracies. The violence was increased and collaborators, agents, and contras were used. The coalition between the AKP and MHP was created for this purpose. In return for the ceasefires, it spurred war to stay in power. It is a group of gangsters who stay on their feet thanks to war and blood. That is why they once again embarked on a Kurdish genocide. Abdullah Öcalan has always given them opportunities because he wants to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey in a peaceful way. The government wants to use this as a weak point.

A few days ago, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that there are only 200 guerrillas left. Sometimes he says 300, sometimes 500 and sometimes he speaks of 15,000 guerrillas. This is to deceive the Turkish society. However, the Turkish society has understood that they are being lied to. The faces behind the curtains are slowly becoming visible. That is why the regime relies on violence. Trustees are deployed in town halls, and armed gang structures are built under the generic term of "guards". It is always said that the PKK is reaching the end. In the ‘80s it was said that there were only five, six or ten people left. People in Turkey now know that it's a lie. The Kurdish question has reached a level at which it cannot be solved with state power. The Kurds cannot be destroyed. There is a lot of lying and there is always work with collaborators and traitors being carried out. There have always been collaborators in the history of Kurdistan.

The state has sometimes benefited from this. Even so, our freedom movement could not be wiped out. The AKP / MHP government is experiencing its weakest time in economic, political, military and diplomatic terms. It is on the brink of collapse and is trying to remain alive with a very unethical war. Even wars are subject to ethics and certain rules. But the Turkish state ignores them and attacks our people and the guerrillas with brutal methods.

It trusts his technological means. Since the beginning of spring, however, it has received heavy blows that have shocked it. It has become very clear that all this technology is of no use if the guerrillas fight according to the new style and tactics. Then it can't do anything. All the war propaganda is a lie. However, only so much psychological warfare can be used, sooner or later the facts come to light. The guerrilla strikes the enemy hard in Serhad, Botan, the Medya Defense Areas. Even in Istanbul. That will go on and it will show our fighting strength. With our new style and tactics, we foiled the special war and the technology of the enemy. Right, that had a price, we also have experienced losses. But what is claimed in the context of psychological warfare is a lie. 

You spoke of collaborators and agents. This policy has been going on from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish state, particularly in the past two centuries. What influence does this policy have on Kurdish society and above all on youth?

This policy is primarily aimed at young people. Prostitution, drugs, spy recruiting and similar unethical methods are used to alienate young people from the reality. This is nothing new. A look at history shows that this policy comes from the Ottomans, the Ottoman dream. The Kurdish youth should be made harmless with these methods.

Politics are directed against the entire Kurdish people, but above all the region of Botan is in focus, since the state knows that Botan is one of the centers of our struggle. In the region, attempts are currently being made to strengthen the village guard system. A dirty policy is being pursued against young people. All the dirt of capitalist modernity is supposed to take place in Botan. At the same time, the village guard system in Turkey is being further developed. Armed gang structures are being built with which society can destroy itself. We have to pay attention to this dirty policy.

The Kurdish youth must recognize this and act accordingly. They must be able to make their own decisions. In this regard, they can revive the spirit of urban resistance in 2015 now, in 2020. We have decided as a movement to smash fascism. The Kurdish youth must be persistent at this point. However, there are still many weaknesses. There are even some who accept these weaknesses and accept the system. Nobody should fall for these machinations. The Kurdish youth must recognize the reality of Erdogan and the AKP / MHP. They do not respect the will of the Kurdish people. They occupy the town halls with State-appointed administrators, the trustees. They said that before the election, but they couldn't break the people's will. If there were elections today, the Kurdish people would show their will again. That is why the Kurdish youth must be determined and brave. Young people can come to the mountains and offer resistance here, but they can also make decisions and fight at home and in the cities. There are many examples of this today. This practice is implemented in many places.

As Kurdish people and as Kurdish youth, we must be aware of this special war policy. We have to recognize the policy of recruiting agents. The Kurds are incited against each other with the village protection system. Young people are brought down with methods such as drugs and prostitution. Our will should be broken because the enemy is afraid of that. They fear our ideology and philosophy. It is claimed that the Kurds are recognized, but only dead Kurds are in fact recognized.

You mentioned Botan. Botan has emerged as the source of the struggle against this system, the region is a stronghold of resistance. Which special war methods are used here?

In Botan, in particular, attempts are made to use the tribes and the families of the martyrs in these dirty conspiracies. This was also tried in the elections last year. The people of Botan have always resisted in the history of our struggle. It is a heroic population that has never taken a step back in spite of all oppression and cruelty. The enemy is now claiming to have taken Şirnex [Şırnak]. They have used all their means for this. They won in Şirnex because they brought soldiers, police officers and collaborators there. They received no votes from the actual population. We know that because we know the people there. I am from Botan myself and I know what a strong will people have. Nobody believes in state propaganda. However, the tribes of the Mala Beyrê, the Jîrkî and partly the Sêgirkî are trying to expand the village protection system, to involve the youth in dirty matters and thus to create a distance between the population and the liberation movement. Money or violence is used to try to persuade patriotic families to act as agents. This is a trap that must be avoided.