The “Call for Democratic Society and Peace” made by Abdullah Öcalan on February 27 sparked great hope among the people. After fifty years of armed conflict and countless sufferings, it is the people who have embraced peace the most. The strongest support for the peace process comes from the families who lost their children to war.

One such family is that of Makbule Güner, who lives in the Sur district of Amed (Diyarbakır). Mother Makbule lost her son Yılmaz Güner during the conflict. Her home was raided numerous times by the police, and one of her other sons was imprisoned. Despite all the repression, she never gave up on her demand and struggle for peace.

Her son, Yılmaz Güner, known by his nom de guerre Herekol Canşêr, joined the ranks of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) in 2010. When ISIS launched attacks on the regions controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, he moved to Kobanê. During the continued attacks, he was severely wounded in a clash and lost his life on March 3, 2015. He was laid to rest in Rojava.

My son loved his people deeply

Makbule Güner said that her son deeply loved children and his own people: “My son loved to read. He went to Malatya to study at university. He worked while studying. In Malatya, he and his friends established an association to help children from poor families access education.

He truly loved children and fought for their right to study. A few years later, the police raided the association and arrested all of his friends. My son said he would not go to prison and joined the PKK. Like every Kurdish youth, he loved the party very much. My son was loved by everyone, because he truly loved his people.”

We support the path to peace opened by Öcalan

Makbule Güner emphasized that the peace process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan is a very important and historic development. She said: “This path opened by Öcalan made us all very happy. We support it. We want this war to end. We want this process to result in peace. We have already lost our children, and now we do not want to lose our grandchildren. This world is big enough for all of us.

We no longer want our children to die or mothers to cry. Not just the mothers of guerrillas; we don’t want the mothers of soldiers to cry either. I appeal to the officials of the Turkish state: take action now and resolve this issue. Let no one else die. They have not experienced the pain we have. How long will this bloodshed continue? Enough is enough! This land is ours. Our children fought for their land, their culture, and their language. My son fought for his own people.”

We will keep saying peace until our last word

Makbule Güner stressed that the state must take concrete steps towards a solution as soon as possible and added: “All they do is meet with Abdullah Öcalan. Beyond that, they must take steps in the name of peace. They talk about peace, but every day they send warplanes into the sky. They have no sincerity. If they are truly sincere, they should stop deploying warplanes. We continue to hold on to hope for peace. First and foremost, they should release Öcalan and all political prisoners. Peace cannot be one-sided. We will keep saying peace until our last breath.”