The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK, Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan) Central Committee has issued a statement celebrating the 36th anniversary of the founding of the party. The statement emphasised that the revolution in Kurdistan was a Middle Eastern revolution and that the PKK had become the hope of the oppressed peoples and communities.

"The PKK, founded on 27 November 1978 by a nucleus led by Leader Apo, has for 36 years carried on an epic uninterrupted struggle", the statement noted, adding that the PKK has become an inspiration for all oppressed people in the struggle against the capitalist-imperialist system and capitalist modernity.

The statement stressed the success of the PKK in resisting the fascist Turkish state, which claimed it had buried Kurdishness and Kurdistan, and opposing colonialism and assimilation.

"The PKK is completely the work of Leader Apo, whose peerless life and struggle are the determining factor in realising the historical and social reality of our people and reconstituting the democratic nation", the statement said.

‘The PKK is the party of martyrs'

The Central Committee of the PKK emphasised the importance for the party of all those who have laid down their lives in the struggle, beginning with internationalist Haki Karer, who fell on 18 May 1977, adding that the sacrifices made by the Kurdish struggle had made the party part of the people and the people part of the party.

The statement also stressed the importance of the revolutionary march of Kurdish women and the self-sacrificing spirit of Kurdish youth, noting how they have made the PKK a party of women and youth which is resisting attacks on our people in Kobanê, Sinjar, Makhmur, Serêkani and Rabia.

The revolution in Kurdistan is a Middle Eastern revolution

The statement said: "The revolution in Kurdistan is a Middle Eastern revolution", adding that the Kurdish people's construction of a democratic nation and democratic socialism had developed a join resistance with other peoples and communities in the region. "The people of Kurdistan have become a source of hope for the oppressed peoples and communities of the Middle East", the statement continued, adding that the party is more ready than ever to frustrate fascist attacks and develop the revolution in Kurdistan.

The PKK Central Committee said the party was determined to ensure their Leader would be released and to transform the Kurdistan revolution into a Middle Eastern one.

The statement concluded by calling on all democratic and socialist forces to join the march to freedom, develop socialism and create a free and honourable life.