TKP/ML Middle East Party Committee announced that TKP/ML–TİKKO (Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist - Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey) Rojava Commander Nubar Ozanyan fell a martyr on 14 August.

The statement of the TKP/ML Middle East Party Committee is as follows:

"The heroic commander of Rojava, comrade Nubar Ozanyan, nom de guerre Orhan Bakırcıyan, strived to strengthen the march of revolution, enhance the people’s struggle and the fight for freedom in every historic step he took during 40 years of his life spent in revolutionary war. He led his life and became immortal as a member of our party TKP/ML and a valiant and heroic fighter and commander of TİKKO. He dedicated his entire life to inflict blows to the enemies of people and classes. On the one side, he managed the party's ideological, political and organisational tasks and on the other side he carried out his responsibilities for the battle in the command echelon of the guerrilla war.

In order to fulfil our party TKP/ML’s tasks of revolution and freedom, he trained and instructed many fighters and commanders of the TİKKO in the course of our party's history at different times; in 1988-90 in Palestine, in 1991-1992 in Karabağ, Hayastan (Armenia), in 2014 in Southern Kurdistan, and as of July 2015 in Rojava.

He also trained many Kurdish, Turkish, Armenian, Arab, Palestinian, Greek, Canadian, Sardinian, Belgian and French internationalist fighters. He took positions on the very front lines of the war in a self-giving manner in order to increase the war-related knowledge and practice of the fighters and revolutionary organisations from Turkey that are fighting in Rojava. For this reason, he became a trustworthy comrade for every freedom combatant fighting in Rojava.

With the staggering and effective blows he delivered to ISIS gangs in Rojava-Siluk resistance, he won the hearts and sympathy of all the fighters in the International Freedom Battalion. He undertook major revolutionary responsibilities and fulfilled heavy tasks in many countries and areas of the revolutionary war against imperialism, fascism and all kinds of reactionism. During his revolutionary activities in Paris, he served as one of the most fearless and trustworthy defenders of the revolutionary artist Yılmaz Güney.”

The committee stated that Ozanyan headed with immense altruism to the mountains of Dersim to solve the problems their party faced in recent time, and continued as follows: "He undertook great efforts to meet with his comrades in Dersim. He returned to Rojava shortly before his martyrdom. He returned to his post, tasks and duties in Rojava in order to steer the revolutionary energy that has emerged on that soil to the guerrilla struggle in the homeland and to strengthen the freedom struggle and the unity of the Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Syriac and Armenian peoples.

When commander Orhan fell a martyr while on duty on 14 August 2017, three of his comrades, an Iranian, a Canadian and a Sardinian got wounded. Throughout his entire life he remained faithful to the ideals and mentality of the struggle and the revolution discipline of the communist leader comrade Kaypakkaya. In order to put the strategy of the people's warfare into practice, he worked day and night.

Bearing the pain of the oppressed Armenian people, who were subject to genocide, he climbed the top of Mount Ararat and raised the tiers of the revolutionary struggle. Our contemporary commander was upholding the altruistic tradition of the Armenian people, whose name he carries."

He was a storm of revolution that reached out from the peak of the Mount Ararat to Palestine, Dersim, Armenia and Rojava."

TKP/ML Middle East Party Committee reiterated their promise to remain loyal to and realize the ideals of their comrade Orhan and follow in his footsteps like they will crown the ideals of every comrade martyred in Rojava with victory.