In 1981, there was a break in our resistance in Diyarbakır Military Prison. Kemal Pir stood up, “We have compromised our revolutionism,” he said. There was no surrender, but some of the rules imposed by the prison administration were to be followed for the “right to political defence in the courts. The prison administration would not prevent us from defending freely.
It was a very difficult process! While waiting in the courtroom, I saw that comrade Hayri was very sad and thoughtful. My short quartet above tells me about those days.
July 14 is very difficult to explain. However, it is necessary to state a point: living with the martyrs is actually keeping them alive. Perhaps this is the only way to be worthy of these values. I think it doesn’t have much to do with whatever else is said for the martyrs.
Although the friends who we started with the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle, mostly reached martyrdom, this left a deep wound on us, it is our honour to live by them.
The dungeon resistance in the 1980s was the struggle of courageous and faithful people. Ali Çiçek said “Our way is the way of the oppressed. the way of the Mazlums, the Hayris, the Kemal Pirs.” Ali Cicek, the youngest insurer of the July 14 death fast, represented a belief.
He was too young, a child some might even say, but he had a big heart. That’s what he left with, his big heart.
The great death fast act of 1981 became the name of great resistance to the enemy’s great atrocities.
2019 historical great resistance
It was called an indefinite-irreversible hunger strike. But it was a resistance to death. It was some kind of “death fast” actually. Initially there were some emotional approaches to resistance. According to some, the timing was not appropriate; According to some, the action was thought to get no results. When the action is a little longer, some are conscious-unconscious. “Why doesn’t KCK intervene? Why doesn’t the action end? Will the deaths be tolerated?”
It is possible to understand the emotional approaches in society. But other approaches were incomprehensible. There couldn’t be anything more terrible than the action failing to reach its aims. But the resistance experience of our party’s history did not allow this. The action was successful.
The “2019 Hunger Strike Resistance” did not emerge spontaneously or was not ordered to act on the orders of someone. The captivity of our leadership had entered its 20th year. He was also subjected to severe isolation and had not been heard from for a long time. This severe isolation had to be broken. All KCK units had a level of discussion and decision on this issue. At that time, as far as I know, Europe was preparing for a great hunger strike. There was a little delay.
In the meantime, Leyla Guven launched the action with her own decision in prison. It was the power of decision and will of a historical process. This also reflected the resistance line of the Women’s Freedom Movement and the free future of women.
The most challenging aspect of this process was the inhuman practices of the police and gang forces. Otherwise, the activists were already determined to continue their actions. The activists demonstrated superior determination and voluntary power. No one was worried about this.
The silence of the states against the situation would be understood. But the silence in society was not very understandable. In fact, this silence also meant a deep cry. people in Turkey, the pit of fascism was deep and dark. This has not changed, but those who have a little conscience suffered a bit of pain in the face of the action.
Many calls for “conscience” were made. But since the revolution of conscience was neglected many years ago, these calls would not have been very much effective. Conscience was necessary, but conscience was not enough. Those who walked with pure conscience could make a great unscrupulous day by day. As a matter of fact, the last hunger strike action revealed this. Conscience is not formed consciously.
Fight for life
For many years, we always have had to resist. The fight for humanity is mostly walking with us. This fight is also given to others, we are not alone, but it is usually loaded on our shoulders. There has never been a resistance we lost. Even though there are withdrawals in self-government resistance in Efrîn, Sur, Cizre, this does not mean that they are defeated. There was great resistance in those places.
From the beginning, we weren’t the ones who started the war. War has always been imposed on us. There is a mandatory battle of life.
Basic philosophy: Living and keeping alive
Hunger strikes are not a method of struggle unless the fasting of death is very necessary. But when it is necessary: when we cannot escape. You have to ask; “How is it that thousands of people go to death at once?” We need to understand that. In fact, it is not understandable.
To sum up, these people now want to live free. “If there is no freedom, let there be death” they say. “We’re not people who love death. No living thing wants its own death. But if a life worse than death is imposed, it should be known that it will die right there.” The martyrs of the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle have demonstrated and proved that this is the case. The other remaining members of this case live with this consciousness.
Although living and keeping alive is our basic philosophy, the existing powers do not allow it. Each time, they place a Kurdish genocide in front of us.
As a result, the 2019 historical hunger strike resistance largely broke the isolation. Even a few-sentence perspective of the leadership was enough for us for years. But the main problem for today is the freedom of our people. Obviously, this is not enough.
Similarities between the two resistance
Just as the July 14 death fast resistance paved the way for our armed struggle and brought us to this day. The mass hunger strike resistance of 2019 has also paved the way for a free life in the future.
There are some similarities between the July 14, 1981 resistance and the last hunger strike resistance. There was great silence outside in the July 14th resistance. There was no light, no sound. These environments are exactly what fascism loves. The military dictatorship did not want any reaction and opposition. He wanted to finish everything quietly in Diyarbakir dungeons. The people were preparing for this.
In a speech they gave in Diyarbakır, the dictator of the period, Kenan Evren was talking about us when he asked sarcastically, “should we feed the people inside, rather than hanging them?” Us.
There was a similar silence in the 2019 hunger strike resistance. But the press, the social media presence did not exist in the 80s, because of these reactions developed. The activities of the left and civil organizations in Europe, diplomacy studies and the continuous activism of the relatives of the detainees and some of the people in the country were very important. In the process, the guerrilla also increased its activities.
We will surely win
The second similarity was; The level of determination, belief and commitment in the 1980 resistance were similar in the 2019 resistance. Every activist shared with the public that he would resist until the end. The motto “We will surely win ”did not allow the action to end in any other way.
The achievement of the action by achieving its goal and purpose in this way, is related to the fact that the insurgents do not compromise their determined positions.
All subsequent political developments will develop through this historical resistance. And, of course, this struggle will continue until it reaches freedom. Let me express this in a quatrain.
İdris GÜZEL
