The guerrilla commander, who was also known as Viyan Caf and whose civil name was Leyla Wali Hussein, was born in Sulaymaniyah in southern Kurdistan in 1981. She joined the Kurdish movement there at the age of 15. Despite her young age, Viyan Soran relatively quickly assumed responsibility in the highest leadership bodies of the liberation movement. In addition to the women's guerrilla force YJA-Star, she was also a member of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) and served in the party council of the PAJK as well as the reconstruction committee of the PKK.

The letters that Martyr Viyan Soran left to her family and Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan before she carried out the act of self-sacrifice are as follows:

To my dear family,

First of all, I send my greetings and respects to my mother, father, sisters, brothers, all relatives and friends. I wish them to be healthy and kiss their eyes one by one.

My dear family, I haven't sent you a letter for about ten years because of the possibilities and conditions of the struggle, partly because I was angry with you. The fact that we did not understand each other about my participation in the Kurdish freedom movement and the women's liberation movement led by President Apo and the PKK caused difficulties. But I hope that after 10 years, you will understand the path I have chosen and the struggle preferred by thousands of young women and men from the 4 parts of Kurdistan. Whether you like it or not, you are a family of this revolution. It is not for you to close your door and your heart to friends and to those ideas and goals that millions of people and your daughter are in love with. You have a respectable and valuable place in society and you are Kurds, whose patriotism has been witnessed by Halabja, Anfal, victims and exiles in your history.

Therefore, you should not treat the participation and voluntary presence of a woman participating in the solution of the national question as a matter of shame and honor. You should no longer pursue the backward and traditional aspects of society and admit to yourself that women are social beings. Because the acceptance of women as human beings is the affirmation of the will of society and the people. Otherwise, life will be incomplete. Now is your time to decide. You should protect the history, resistance and heroism of the people and humanity, and you should be able to say that, like every honourable Kurd, we exist and we will serve as much as we can.

I was 15 when I left you. Now I am 24. I beg of you think a little objectively and ask yourself “what is this girl doing, for what and how is she fighting? Couldn't she just go back and live for herself like Awaz, Xalıt and some others?

I never regretted my choice

From now on, friends will come to your house and visit you. Read my letters and ask about me and my friends' lives. Watch ROJ Tv constantly and listen to the Voice of Mesopotamia. Read President Apo's books. Then you will understand why your daughter went on such a path and you will understand my staying in this life. I'm not saying do it one way or another, but put your hand on your conscience and decide for yourself.

In this respect, I will only say one thing about myself. For almost 9 years, I have never felt any regret. I understood a lot in the PKK and I am very honoured for that. One of the most basic truths I understood was to love my mother, father, sisters and brothers and all humanity. I was very angry with you for a while and I was saying, "Why do they misunderstand me and see themselves as outside the PKK?" Over time, I realized that you were not the only one to blame, because your attitude was rooted in centuries of political and mentality problems and backwardness.

Since I did not create an opportunity to discuss with you, I also had my share of fault. In this respect, I would like to apologize to you, and I would like to state that you have taken a place in my heart and mind, both as a family and as every other Kurdish person. I am ready to sacrifice my life for the creation of a happy life. My answer to the effort you put into me is not to betray the blood of the martyrs, but to protect them and sacrifice yourself.

I have a debt with the suffering people and women

This action of mine is a response to the denial policy of the Kurdish people and the isolation imposed upon President Apo. If I had anything more valuable to give besides my life against the oppression on the way to freedom of the Kurdish people and women, I would give it as well. But at a time like this, where the Kurdish people are standing up every day and moving towards success, I find it insufficient for a woman like me to sacrifice herself. Like many friends, I consider myself indebted to the people and the suffering woman.

I would like to write a lot for all of you and say something to each and everyone of you, but I only have a few hours to take action. Due to time constraints, I cannot write to you more than this. Because I have brothers and sisters and people to make promises to, as much and more than I have to make promises to you. Finally, I want to say something. If you have the right love for each other, I ask you to understand my purpose and method correctly and do not misjudge. Because I lived for this and determined my martyrdom plan with my own hands. I beseech Awaz to rejoin the guerrilla ranks, raise my weapon and return to the embrace of the free mountains of Kurdistan. Because I love him so much. Because he deserves to be among his comrades. Likewise, do not prevent other boys and girls from getting to know themselves and their future and gaining willpower.

Finally, I offer my greetings, love and respect to you, and I hope you will be happy and honored.

Greetings and best regards

Your daughter

Letter to Abdullah Öcalan

My dear President;

Since the day I heard your name and met you, I have felt life, I know who I am and how I should live. So your ideas introduced me to myself and taught me to live meaningfully. You taught me the alphabet of freedom. Even though I had difficulties at your school, I never experienced ambivalence and I did not regret it. Because I discovered the power of meaning, thought and human being in your school. Little did I realize that nothing is impossible. But on condition that one is serious in one's purpose, believes in it and achieves it. As a woman and a Kurd, freedom was my goal and I believed in this goal wholeheartedly. For this reason, I would like to see you closely, even for a moment, to hug you, to breathe on your shoulder, and then to discuss with you what I have in my heart about freedom, women and my people.

However, the dirty international conspiracy developed internally and externally in 1998 created a separation between you and me, and this conspiracy became the hope of thousands of my friends who wanted to see you, like me. After you were taken prisoner, a stronger shock developed in me, and the power of decision and freedom grew stronger in my heart. I have never lost my longing and hope to see you. I have always tried to feel you close. That's why I always had dialogues with you inside me. I felt it fill me like energy and a voice. And I was inspired by that.

You have been the guest of my dreams many times and I am very happy about it. But the truth is that I cannot express all my feelings and thoughts towards you. However, after 1999, one truth always echoed in my mind. And that's because I couldn't accept that a great person like you was taken prisoner and I was saying that such a person doesn't deserve it. Of course, I do not see only the states involved in the conspiracy as responsible for this captivity, the isolation of a people's Leader and the guidance of humanity. I see the weak and inadequate comradeship of both myself and my other friends as problematic in this conspiracy, as well as the betrayal of dishonest, hypocritical, treacherous states. That's why women who put their hopes of public and freedom on you have always been ashamed of themselves.

I want to strengthen the resistance of my people

On 15 February 2006, we will be entering the 8th year of Reber Apo's captivity. However, the international conspiracy has started a new and dangerous process in Imrali and the Kurdish people. They want to frustrate the peace and democracy efforts of Reber Apo and the Kurdish people. They are calling for a very open surrender and abandonment of President Apo. They want to tame us, to accustom us to a life without President Apo, without ideology, without willpower. For this reason, the Kurdish people are shouting their reactions all over the world against the policy of annihilation and denial directed against President Apo.

As a student of yours, I want to renew my loyalty to you in the face of illegitimate attacks on 15 February of this year, and I want to strengthen my people's resistance actions. Like many other people, I want to be a witness before the justice of history, to send a message to the frozen hearts and minds of class society civilization with the fire of my body, to expose the falsehood and dishonesty of the Western Court of Human Rights.

I want to respond to the international conspiracy

President, the reason for my action is to not accept the conspiracy against you and the Kurdish people and to stand up against the injustice inflicted on you and the Kurdish people by the sovereign states. It is also a self-criticism of my inadequate comradeship, to get rid of the feeling of shame before the people and history. I am assertive and confident that your ideological line and philosophy will succeed even if we are only one person. Many people think and say that they will destroy the ideological line in your person. However, I don't take it very seriously and see it as an empty claim. Because now you have a place in the hearts, brains and all cells of millions of people, especially women.

You have weight in history and society. You have always shown us how to be dedicated and honest to women. Today, despite all my shortcomings and weaknesses, I want to give my self-criticism and show my determination towards democratic and scientific socialism and the new paradigm. I would like to give a message, albeit a small one, to the internal reaction and the external attacks. Often, I wished that there was something more precious than my life and that I could sacrifice it for the path of President Apo, my people and the oppressed women.

My heart cannot find peace without you

I had in mind the decision to carry out such an action after your captivity in 1999. However, since the time and conditions were not suitable and because I thought that you would not accept such an action, I struggled to express my honesty and commitment to you in life. Today, I know that you will not accept my action and criticize it. But what should I do, President? Some fall in love and run away, holding hands. This is how I fell in love. My heart cannot find peace without you, without smiles on the faces of my country's children. I apologize to you for delaying my decision in such a process and time, 8 years apart and away from you.

I also want to say that I am very faithful and hopeful. I felt that you gave me the greatest honour and gift in the world, especially when you mentioned my name and asked for me to be elected to the PKK's Reconstruction Committee. I consider this a great honour. Continuing to call the Southern revolution the women's revolution in your perspective has developed my belief in the struggle. Now, I want to be a small response to your efforts and values ​​that you have created as a Southern woman against this dead silence that exists in the South. I am very happy that I will achieve a successful result.

Finally, I offer my longing to meet, my love and greetings to you, such a unique human being. President, never forget this. We miss you very much, we miss you very much.

Greetings, with respect and longing..."