The People's Defence Centre (HSM) Headquarters Command released a statement announcing details of the action carried out in the Turkish capital Ankara two days ago.

The HSM statement on Friday includes the following:

“The sacrificial action against the TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace Industries Corporation) facility in Ankara at around 15:30 on Wednesday, 23 October, was carried out by an autonomous team of the Battalion of the Immortals. Comrades Asya Alî (Mine Sevjin Alçiçek) and Rojger Hêlîn (Ali Örek) are the heroes of this historic action carried out with high determination, creative talent and Apoist sacrificial spirit.

This action, which was planned a long time ago and successfully implemented, has nothing to do with the political agenda discussed in Turkey in the last month. In principle, the Battalion of the Immortals does not carry out actions frequently. However, from time to time, it carries out sacrificial actions with warning and message content against the genocidal practices, massacres and isolation practices of the Turkish state power, rather than current agendas towards important and strategic goals. This action was also carried out in this framework against the practices in Kurdistan.

It is known that the weapons produced by TUSAŞ have massacred thousands of civilians, including children and women, in Kurdistan. There is no more legitimate right than for every patriotic organisation, institution and person from Kurdistan to take action against the centres where these weapons of massacre are produced. Our Movement and its affiliated forces, which set out with the aim of appealing not only to the people of Kurdistan but also to all the peoples of Turkey and winning them over, never targets civilians. Although there have been some practices in the past in this regard, whether involuntarily, out of necessity or in other ways, our Movement has explained and self-criticised this to our peoples. However, as the last TUSAŞ was a military target, no targeting of civilians was carried out in this action, except for the death of one person out of necessity. We believe that if real patriotic, democratic, leftist and socialist circles in Turkey look at this incident with empathy, they will see the rightful truth.

Following this military action, air strikes were carried out against some points of our guerrilla forces on the orders of the Turkish Ministry of Defence, supposedly to avenge this action, but our forces did not suffer any injuries or casualties in these air strikes. However, the attacks against civilian targets in Rojavayê (Western) Kurdistan and Shengal, although they have no organic relation with us and the action, have no value in terms of war and can only be defined as Kurdish enmity. Targeting the living spaces of the people in another part of Kurdistan, water reservoirs, bread bakeries, electricity and energy stations and hospitals, but the areas of military forces fighting against them, is a war crime and a violation of international laws. As a matter of fact, according to the information we received from the press, around 15 civilians, including children, lost their lives as a result of these attacks. This is a massacre and genocide. An honourable military army cannot rain artillery and missiles on civilian people and civilian infrastructure in such a despicable manner and then boast that ‘we took revenge’. This is only and only a sign of cowardice and weakness.

This action, which strikingly shows in practice that those who attribute the tactical approach carried out by our guerrilla forces for a certain period of time to weakness are wrong, is also an answer to those who have an erroneous approach in this regard. It must be known that a force capable of such professional and sophisticated actions cannot have a goal that it cannot achieve and an action that it cannot develop. All the concentration of our forces is deepening on this axis and has gradually reached a level to find its reflection in practice. However, the reflection of a warm message from Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) to the public for the first time in more than four years is a pleasing situation for all guerrilla forces and should be taken into consideration. This is also a matter to be evaluated according to the developments.

We commemorate with respect and gratitude the great heroes of the Battalion of the Immortals, comrades Asya and Rojger, who carried out this action on the path of Comrade Martyr Bêrîtan Gülnaz Karataş, whom we commemorate with respect on the 32nd anniversary of her martyrdom, with a high sacrificial spirit and a professional performance, and we bow with respect to the great human spirit, stance and action with commitment to values and meaning. We promise that we will keep their memories alive by successfully crowning the march of ‘Free Leader and Free Kurdistan’."

The identity information of our immortals who carried out the sacrificial action is as follows: