The 12th Congress of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was successfully held between May 5 and 7 in the Medya Defense Zones, and the congress decisions were shared with the public on May 12.

At the congress convened following President Öcalan’s February 27 Call for Peace and a Democratic Society, Cemil Bayık, Co-Chair of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), stated: “President Öcalan now seeks to resolve humanity’s crisis of freedom and democracy through a new paradigm and a new manifesto.”

Cemil Bayık continued his remarks as follows: “First and foremost, I express my respect and loyalty to President Öcalan. In the name of Comrade Fuat and Riza, I commemorate all PKK martyrs and all martyrs of freedom and democracy with deep respect and reverence.”

If Öcalan’s line is accepted globally, it is the result of that first manifesto

Our fundamental task today is, without a doubt, to understand. With this congress, President Öcalan has placed a new manifesto before us. Despite all the shortcomings and mistakes, we carried out that manifesto. And through it, we achieved many outcomes. This is the truth. No one can deny it. Only someone who has lost their conscience would deny it. Everyone with a conscience knows the results of the struggle led by President Öcalan. This struggle was not only for the Kurdish people or Kurdish women, but for all of humanity, for all women. The outcomes are monumental. Under those conditions, with that manifesto, the PKK was founded, and the struggle was launched. It was the right path. It gave identity to both the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. If today the Kurdish people, Kurdish women, President Öcalan, and his political line are accepted around the world, if they are seen as an example and a source of hope, it is the result of that manifesto. This is also stated in the PKK Central Committee report.

This movement was founded on a correct basis and carried out a genuine struggle. I can say with pride that I was part of this. Of course, in saying this, I am not ignoring or hiding the shortcomings and mistakes. Nor do I wish to. That would be something entirely different. But we have an honorable history. And this history, with all its flaws and errors, has created a miracle and a profound value not only for the Kurdish people but for humanity as a whole. This is the truth.

President Öcalan developed the core of the struggle within the PKK

President Öcalan’s entire struggle aimed to create a people who, under any conditions, would embrace and fight for their own freedom. He achieved this through enormous sacrifice and pain, and above all, despite the deep lack of understanding within the PKK itself. He wanted to bring the Kurdish question and the reality of the Kurdish people to the forefront and sought to resolve it through democratic and political means. He took many steps toward this. But there were countless interventions, both inside and outside the PKK, aimed at preventing those steps from succeeding. I can say this clearly: President Öcalan stood most firmly against the mistakes, deficiencies, and wrongs within the PKK. While he also opposed those on the outside, the core of his struggle was developed inside the PKK. This is because he deeply understood what the capitalist system and NATO had done to Kurdish society and to the Kurdish individual. A struggle for freedom and democracy could not be waged in Kurdistan with a people shaped by that system. It simply wasn’t possible. President Öcalan made this assessment from the very beginning. Based on that, he developed a theory, an ideology, and a philosophy. He shaped the leadership, the organization, the militants, and the society around this foundation.

 The struggle for freedom and democracy in Kurdistan could only advance on this basis. That is why the transformation of Kurdish society and the individual was necessary. Without a change in the mindset of the people and individuals, a genuine freedom and democracy struggle could never have emerged. This movement would not have become a source of hope for the Kurdish people or for humanity. That is why, from the very beginning, it was built on self-sacrificing militancy and willpower. The struggle was developed on this foundation. From Ankara to Imralı, President Öcalan has continued this struggle on the same basis. He even said from Imralı: “I only ask that a single condition be changed. Beyond that, I have the theoretical and practical capacity and power to bring this issue onto political and legal grounds.

This movement is one of will and self-sacrificing militancy. It has devoted everything to the service of President Öcalan. This is the basis of our participation. Because this is how we joined the movement. Since our participation is based on this foundation, we must stand with President Öcalan in every sense. We are self-sacrificing militants to the end. We carry with us courage and the spirit of sacrifice. President Öcalan himself said this long ago. And now, this is the task before us. How can we bring President Öcalan’s thought to the world? How can we advance his understanding of socialism on a global scale? Because the level President Öcalan has reached is no longer limited to the first manifesto. The second manifesto has made it universal. We must understand this deeply. We must understand it as President Öcalan does, act accordingly, and implement it in practice.

President Öcalan has always seen the problems within the movement and society as his own and has based his actions on how to solve them. The love and loyalty that exist within the movement and among the people toward President Öcalan were built on this foundation. No matter how much the enemy tries to defame President Öcalan, they have failed. The reason this love for President Öcalan has spread across the world is exactly this. What I am focused on is how we can carry out the process laid out by President Öcalan in the right way. If we do not want this movement to fall once again into shortcomings and mistakes, and I say this especially for myself and all comrades who took part in this congress, then we are the founders of this new phase. That is why we must understand our duties and responsibilities in the way President Öcalan has placed before us and put them into practice. The tasks ahead are therefore extremely important and weighty. These are not like the responsibilities of the founders of the first congress. They are even greater and heavier.

We must also recognize the dangers

There are dangers as well. We must not only see our duties but also recognize the threats we face. And the only way to eliminate those threats is by fulfilling our duties and responsibilities. If we fail to do so, the enemy’s goal is to erase everything the PKK has done for the Kurdish people and for Kurdistan. This movement was brought to the Kurdish people by President Öcalan. If the Kurdish people are respected on the international stage today, it is the result of the struggle that President Öcalan developed and the historic intervention he made. And today, he is building an even deeper and more historical intervention on top of that foundation. From the beginning, with the original paradigm and manifesto, he sought to expose the Kurdish question, help everyone understand it, and develop a solution based on that understanding. I can say that despite all the mistakes and shortcomings, this goal was achieved. Now, with a new paradigm and manifesto, President Öcalan seeks to solve the problems of freedom and democracy for all of humanity. This means our duties and responsibilities have increased even more. We must rise to meet this. President Öcalan’s call is based on this foundation. On this basis, I wish success to all of us.’’