BEHDİNAN, SOUTHERN KURDISTAN
Commander of the People’s Defense Center Headquarters Dr. Bahoz Erdal answered the questions of journalist Arjîn Ferat on a special program on the Dengê Welat (Voice of the motherland) Radio.
The Turkish army carried out some operations against guerrillas with different operation-names in autumn. They make these operations seem to be very successful every day in the pit media. What are the consequences of these operations?
Before answering your question, I would like to commemorate our esteemed commanders who reached martyrdom in December.
December 4 is the martyrdom day of many dear comrades and heroic commanders. Especially the 4th of December is the day comrades Mıhyeddin, Adıl, Gülbahar and Rüstem Zeydan fell martyr.
On December 4, 1989, a group of friends took action to reach Botan to transport a command made by the leadership, to intervene in the liquidationist practice of an element named Hogir, to ensure the line of the Party (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and revolution remain dominant.
But in order to prevent the leadership from interfering with the purgatory practice taken in Botan, the enemy had taken intensive measures on the borderline, Ava Mezin. Because it was the practical liquidationism of the element Hogir which directly served the enemy.
Here, a group of friends who were trying to cross Ava Mezin in order to get the leadership’s instructions to the country was ambushed and there was a very intense conflict. In this conflict Mhyaddin, Ehmed, Zinar, and Zozan fell martyr. The next day after the conflict, nine more friends reached martyrdom near Cudi. The rest of the friends managed to get to Cudi. By overcoming all these obstacles and sacrificing themselves, they were able to deliver the leadership’s instructions to the country. In other words, 13 martyrs were given to bring the leadership instructions to the country.
This heroic resistance developed under the leadership of comrade Mıhyeddin has had a huge impact on the local people. Mıhyeddin was from the city of Derik in Rojava and was one of the foremost young people in that region. He recognized the leadership, understood the truth of the PKK, joined the ranks of the revolution after getting to know the resistance in the Amed dungeons. He was a well-read, enlightened, conscious and a hard-working comrade, with a highly disciplined military spirit. We were in the works at that time. Mıhyeddin was one of our friends. His stance impressed us. And the epic resistance that really developed on the shores of Ava Mezin became a symbol in this region.
Mıhyeddin and the other friends next to the border tried to allow others to pass the enemy by shooting, attracting attention to themselves and with their individual weapons and clashed until the morning. He was martyred with comrades Ehmed, Zinar and Zozan, and developed an epic resistance. Because of their epic heroism, these comrades became a symbol for the thousands of young people of Rojava. And for us. In the person of our comrades Mhyaddin, Ehmed, Zinar and Zozan, we commemorate all our martyrs of the revolution and reiterate our commitment to their memories.
Similarly, in 2007, comrade Adıl Bilikî and Gülbahar reached martyrdom in Gabar with a group of friends.
Adıl was from Cudi’s Bilika village and joined the guerrilla ranks at a young age. Indeed, he grew up in the most difficult conditions of the guerrilla. He recognized life under the most difficult conditions and matured like this. As he grew up in impossibilities and war at a young age, he developed a strong, determined and willed personality. The most distinctive feature of the comrade was his ambition and anger against the enemy alongside his will of steel. Comrade Adıl, the hope of our people in Botan, suffered years of suffering and hatred and anger from the enemy and had gathered it all in his heart. This anger was directed towards the enemy with ambition and revenge. He was always an exemplary guerilla from the day he participated, till he was martyred.
During 1990-1999, he took a prominent place in the tough battle in Botan. In particular, he played a leading role in large and influential actions that shook the enemy on a large-scale. In this sense, he was the commander of action and attack. There are still traces of the coup he hit in the enemy in Zagros.
In fact, Adil is known best by the enemy, because the enemy knew the blows Adil gave. He had really grown up on the philosophy of Leadership and built his life on accountability against the enemy. The way he hit the enemy was very strong and sharp.
In other words, Adıl friend was a pioneering commander who carried the spirit of a relentless attack as well as effectively hitting the enemy. Wherever he saw the enemy or was in an attack position, he would become a lion who saw his prey. He was so patient to attack the enemy. In the event of an encounter with the enemy, he would not think about how to protect or retreat, but about how to attack and destroy the enemy.
And he would immediately take precautions and plan the attack. We commemorate comrade Adıl, who has established himself on Comrade Mahsum Korkmaz’s style with labor, courage and great sacrifice.
Comrade Gülbahar, who reached martyrdom with comrade Adıl, was one of our pioneer women commanders. She was a very valuable and powerful Kurdish woman. She joined the guerrilla ranks at a young age and, despite her young age, remained in the most difficult conditions and areas where war was intense.
Gülbahar became a pioneer commander who grew up in the war and matured, she carved herself with her fingernails. She was an exemplary friend for all of us, both in the relationship of lifestyle and companionship and in guerrillaism and commandership.
In the framework of the June 1, 2004, move against the AKP government’s concept of liquidating the guerrilla, Gülbahar was a friend who first proposed herself to the North and insisted very seriously on moving to the North. She pioneered this move in every way. And had already led the resistance in Gabar in 2007. And in this move, Gülbahar led the resistance movement together with comrade Adıl. In the person of comrade Gülbahar, we respectfully commemorate all YJA-STAR martyrs.
Again on December 4, Rustem Zeydan fell as a martyr with a group of comrades in Kandil. Rustem was a child of a family of village guards who were influenced by enemy politics. Rustem rebelled against this system. He opposed the situation of his family, who was in collaboration with the enemy. Although his family was wealthy, Rüstem joined the guerrilla ranks, rejecting betrayal.
This stance is a symbol of allegiance to the land of the patriotic spirit. And Rustem always walked through this path with his soul. He lived like a true proletarian with his labor, comradeship relations, and posture in life. With his participation in the war, he was an example and a commander who won the love of all his comrades.
He practiced mainly in the Zagros and Botan fields. After the international conspiracy against our leadership, he was in great resistance against the concept of the liquidation of our party and as a result of his resistance he reached martyrdom with a group of comrades.
Through the person of comrade Rüstem Zeydan, we commemorate all the martyrs of the revolution, reiterate our promise of revenge on behalf of the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla, and promise that we will walk more decisively and stronger than ever before.
Operations
In response to your question, the enemy is performing some operations both in Northern Kurdistan and in the areas of Media Defense. It performs both operations as a point operation and as a general operation. And with it, the enemy conducts propaganda and psychological warfare in such a way, as if it has conquered anywhere.
The Turkish state is very famous for its skill in making hollow propaganda. They give false figures after these operations. For example, they talked about the testimony of 15 friends in Serhat within 2 days, while there was no such thing and the complex was a lie. There, two of our friends fought heroically and reached martyrdom. Again, they gave high figures for Botan and lied in the same way. There was no such thing. In Cudi, Comrades Andok and Adil heroically clashed and were not martyred until their last round – but there were also losses of the enemy. The enemy never talked about it.
Other than that, the operations this fall failed. In order to close this gap, they try to influence the morale of the guerrilla by limiting the movement and also by affecting the psychological war with the psychological warfare media.
All of a sudden you see the camps which were used by our friends 5-6 years ago in the winter on the enemy’s channels. And make so much propaganda, you would wonder what they found. The only thing left in the camp is the garbage left by the friends. They burn the garbage and make propaganda through it. For this, every day you hear them shout, “we found so much here, so we found so much material on the ground, we destroyed so many camps.” Most of the camps they talk about are old camps used by our friends. They think of themselves as successful over the garbage left behind by friends a few years ago. In other words, they count their success based on how many years of guerrilla dumps they find.
In reality, they need to lie so much because they have not achieved the goal they set in front of the people during the year. And for this, they need to make their ‘operation landfill’ a huge success. In short, their success in autumn is just garbage, which clearly demonstrates the situation in which the Turkish army has fallen against the new style of the guerrilla.
The guerrilla proved this fall that they have practiced some changes in their style of action. Now the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla is professionalizing in losing their tracks. For this reason, the Turkish army and intelligence are in great difficulty and feel the need to carry out these operations. Because they can’t find any trace of the guerilla anymore.
The fact that the Turkish occupying army cannot control the guerrilla’s loss of traces puts him in a huge gap in the face of the guerrilla, which means the success of the guerrilla is the greatest defeat to the Turkish army.
As usual, Erdogan said earlier this year that he ’we will liquidate [the guerrilla] in Cudi, Gabar and Tendurek’. But this year is almost over, and the guerrilla’s activism continues in these places and in general. How can you evaluate the results of this year in general?
At the beginning of the year, the AKP government’s plan was: they wanted to win local elections and consolidate their power. In other words, all his plans were based on fighting against the Kurdish people. He thinks that the more results he can get in this war, the longer his power can last. He was ‘wandering from town to town in Kurdistan and Turkey during local elections, repeating “We will bury them in Cudi, Gabar and Tendurek.” In this way, they made it the election slogan.
In the spring, the enemy carried out operations in the whole of Northern Kurdistan, especially Cudi, Gabar and Tendurek, in order to fulfill Erdogan’s promise. These operations were both inconclusive and the guerrilla hit the Turkish army with great blows. We had almost no losses in our spring operations until May. The enemy also suffered serious blows from the guerrilla in each operation.
In other words, those operations during the spring were entirely under the initiative and control of the guerrilla. In this way, the concepts of purging the guerrilla in the North, in particular, have failed.
Later, they gave different names to the operations and attacked Xakurkê. Here too, they have developed false propaganda as they have always done. In this way, the operation process for Xakurkê began. But the bill for this operation was heavy for them. Again in the autumn, they developed a partial operation against Heftanin. Of course, these operations towards Media Defense Areas were not easy for them either. Yes, the decision to come there may belong to them, but it was not easy for them to stay there. After that, they realized it wouldn’t be so easy.
If you ask the TAF commanders and his troops currently in Xakurkê and Heftanin, not a single person would want to stay there. If it was up to them, they’d all run away. Because they are under the pressure of the guerilla and they are getting hit from the guerilla every day. But by a political decision, they came and settled there. Erdogan can sacrifice several Turkish soldiers every day to prolong the life of his power. This is not such an important thing for Erdogan.
Unreachable
They developed intense pshycological warfare especially for the operations carried out against the Media Defense Areas and you would assume the region was doomed, but their practical results were very different. There was no serious blow to the guerrilla or limitation to the guerrilla’s range of action. Yes, there was a war. We gave martyrs in this war. But the enemy did not achieve its goal.
Enemy operations developed in the summer, but there was also serious guerrilla action against it. The concept of the total elimination of the guerilla in the North and the disabling of our organizational system in the Media Defense Areas, which the enemy set as a target during the year, turned out to be fruitless in autumn.
If it is paid attention to, they tried to make more propaganda with the operation they named ‘Kıran’ in the North in autumn. They also focused on airstrikes in the Media Defense Areas. In other words, they resorted to this method in autumn to compensate for their failures in spring and summer. But the operations in autumn were left without results.
The enemy claims we lost so much every day. To support these claims, the Gendarmerie General Commander also participated in these operations. And this commander came behind Colemêrg the other day, and spoke to the cameras saying “we will go to clean the area.” But, there was no conflict in the area. The friends made an action once in the region. So, what were they going to clean in the area?
It is understood from here that what they say is a total lie and purely for advertising purposes. The enemy wanted to put on a show like this in other places. They wanted to come to the foot of Cudi and carry out an operation. The general commander of the Gendarmerie also wanted to come to Girê Çolya and make a show there. At that time Martyr Adil and Martyr Serhat led the action against them during the daytime in Cudi. And friends entered their positions, raised arms, and struck the enemy with a great blow. The enemy was shocked there. That Gendarmerie Commander wanted to perform a show there, but he could barely save his own life.
Again in Bagok, the enemy launched an operation. And we know that the enemy suffered heavy losses there. So here aswell the enemy was inconclusive. If we evaluate the whole year; yes, the occupying Turkish state had operations in the North and Media Defense Areas, in particular, air attacks on Media Defense Areas continued uninterrupted.
However, against these attacks, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla responded with historical resistance. And many of our comrades reached martyrdom by creating heroic epics. Our esteemed commander Cicek Kurtulan fell martyr in Dersim. In the resistance developed by the guerrilla from Botan to Garzan, from Amed to Erzurum, from Serhat to Amanos, heroic epics were created.
Thanks to these heroic martyrs we gave in these resistances, the concept of Erdoğan and the Turkish occupying state was frustrated and left fruitless. For this reason, the guerrilla resistance developed under the leadership of Comrade Martyr Çiçek Kurtalan this year marked the year.
Invisible guerrilla
Yes, the enemy can develop operations, carry out attacks, we may have losses in this war, but it has been proved once again that the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla will not be defeated. Here again, the guerrilla gave this lesson to the enemy. Because the guerrilla is an invincible force in war. The defeat of the Turkish army is the greatest proof of this. Because as long as they continue to exist, the Turkish army is doomed to be defeated by Kurdistan guerrillas.
Based on the concept of the ‘occupation and genocide’ policy of the Turkish state, it has no chance of winning in any way in the face of the guerrillas. As long as there are guerrillas in the mountains of Kurdistan, the Turkish occupying army is doomed to defeat. The practice of 2019 proved this reality once again.
In addition to this relentless struggle of the guerrilla, our people’s stance against isolation in the spring process, their attitude in local elections, their resistance to the usurpation of the municipalities and their stance broke all the hopes of the enemy.
Pay attention, the enemy can no longer speak of ending the guerilla like it did 2-3 years ago. There is an element named Soysuz, which has completely lost its balance in the last periods.
The enemy can be heard shouting, “where are they, they are not speaking on the devices,” about the guerrilla. The enemy is also shocked, as the guerrilla has changed its style. The guerrilla has now outgrown its open movement and lost their tracks. Against this, the Turkish army is experiencing serious difficulties. Because the Turkish army is afraid of an invisible guerrilla and is in panic.
The enemy can no longer get information about the guerrilla because of the guerrilla’s secret way of action. In this sense, the Turkish army has been reduced to a big gap. Here we understand that if the friends genuinely carry out their tasks as professional guerrillas, there is nothing that the enemy can do.
This year has been partially proven this. In connection with this, a major reason for the Turkish state’s attack on Rojava is that its plans for the North and the Media Defense Areas have not been successful. Erdogan wants to continue the war against the Kurds. Because he is trying to extend his life of power with this.
In this sense, 2019 has been a year of great resistance and heroism for guerrillas. In addition, because of the resistance shown in the dungeons and the honorable stance of our people, the struggle reached a certain level and continued to spread by increasing its diameter.
How does the guerrilla plan to meet the spring?
The true style of the guerilla will manifest itself in 2020. And 2020 will be the year of the guerrilla. In this year, the fascist Turkish state and the AKP government will take account. It will be hit with deadly blows. This is the guerrilla’s goal in the new year.
The young people tried in the Nusaybin case stood their ground during their political defense by shouting “Bijî Serok Apo and Bijî Kurdistan” in the court, saying that they do not regret defending the cause they believe in. What do you want to say for all political prisoners?
If the genocide-oriented concept of the Turkish state has not reached its goal today, the dungeons, which have a stronghold of resistance, have a major role in this. Leading the move against the isolation imposed on the leadership was made by friends in prison. In other words, the dungeons became a battleground for Mazlum, Hayri and Kemal, and now the dungeons have shown that they have the same spirit and culture. Comrades in the dungeon showed everyone how to react against the policies of the enemy with the resistance they developed. For this reason, the resistance in the dungeon played a big role in the move of ‘break isolation and destroy fascism.’
This resistance of the dungeon also had a huge impact on the guerrilla. For example, in the report of many guerrilla friends, there was self-criticism of insufficient resistance realized by the dungeon resistance, and a promise of revenge, to be worthy of this resistance. This is a very valuable thing. This is the Apoist culture. And this culture always leads us to the truth. This culture of resistance was a torch that enlightened the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle against the darkness the enemy wanted to create in the dungeons. In this way, the resistance gave soul and life to everyone.
This resistance did not develop under such easy circumstances. Despite the terror and oppression of the enemy in the dungeons, comrade Zülküf Gezen was a pioneer of this resistance. In the person of comrade Zülküf, I respectfully remember all our comrades who were martyred in the dungeons.
Nusaybin Syndrome
The fascist genocidal Turkish state has given heavy life sentences to the youth and patriots that were tried in the Nusaybin case. This shows how desperate the fascist Turkish state is against the growing and developing spirit of resistance. With this decision, the Turkish state shows how low and shrinking it is towards children and women.
Again, the Turkish state’s Nusaybin syndrome has not yet passed. No one can talk about it at the moment, but they know very well what kind of syndrome was create in Nusaybin.
The Vietnam syndrome used to be mentioned. Nusaybin syndrome is also a fact. It was a syndrome that left deep psychological traces on enemy soldiers and police. Most recently, our friends in Mardin punished that low-level special operations commander who perpetrated the massacre in Nusaybin and took revenge for the massacre.
In this respect, the enemy wants to ease the pain of this syndrome in Nusaybin by giving heavy punishments to these young people. Patriotic friends and militants on trial, in this case, represent the patriotic identity of Nusaybin. Because Nusaybin is the identity of uprising, of patriotism. The revolutionary young people under the command of Comrade Xebatkar, the assassin Binevş Gabar, Comrade Kawa, who is also the enemy’s most fearful nightmare, and the spirit of dozens other comrades who created heroic epics in the resistance: is being shown in the genocidal Turkish courts.
We believe that this spirit will bring the end of the colonial Turkish state. This is the spirit that is drowning the Turkish state more and more every day.
Yes, the invading genocidal Turkish state has weapons, has an army, can arrest or martyr our people, but in the face of an evolving spirit, the Turkish state is always doomed to remain desperate. The colonialist genocidal fascist Turkish state will not be able to defeat the spirit of heroism and the will of steel in the Nusaybin resistance with its prison, soldiers, police, and weapons. In this sense, the resistance developed in the dungeons once again proved the reality of the culture of dungeon resistance.
The resistance process in the dungeons can continue in many different ways. In the dungeons, the enemy wants to have a pacifying effect on the spirituality of the insurgents, the insurgent spirit and identity. But it has been proved by the resistance that the enemy cannot break the will of the insurgents with these dirty methods and cannot get any results with these special methods of war.
Comrades in the dungeon should know that there is a spiritual, emotional and ideological comrade bond and bridge between the guerrilla and the dungeon. The guerilla’s heart beats for his comrades in the dungeon, receiving great morale and excitement in the face of their resistance. In this sense, a very strong bridge has been formed between the resistance in the dungeon and the resistance in the mountains.
I salute the resistance developed in the dungeon, on the basis of these principles, on behalf of the Kurdistan freedom guerrilla.
