Xebat Andok, a member of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about the ongoing international conspiracy of 9 October 1998 against Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish People and the Kurdish Freedom Movement.

The analysis focused mostly on the situation of the Kurdish youth, how they  are also confronted by the reality of the international conspiracy and what responsibility they have to carry.

Andok called on young international people to see the struggle for the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan as a struggle of humanity.

First of all, I would like to stress out that Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] is putting up a great resistance. A relentless and sacrificial resistance was and is being put up for the conspiracy to fail and for the Kurdish people to continue their survival. On this occasion, I would like to once again respectfully commemorate our martyrs who sacrificed themselves against the international conspiracy and would like to show my gratitude. I promise that we will continue our resistance until we reach freedom, until we realize the goals of our martyrs. We will continue our struggle and resistance until victory.

Undoubtedly, it was especially the women and the young people who resisted the conspiracy the most during these 25 years, who shielded the Leadership, who fought the most for the success of the resistance. Because the relationship of the Leadership with young people and women is different. These two parts of society have been enslaved by both the occupying forces, capitalist forces and the existing male-dominated society. There is a need for freedom and self-confidence in society. They see the opportunity of freedom within Rêber Apo and within his struggle. Both women and young people see that the Leadership is working for them, breathing for them, fighting for them. And on this basis, they support him with great devotion, fight sacrificially and continue their struggle to this day. Since the party’s inception, the Leadership has a very strong bond with the youth. Because the Kurdish Freedom Movement emerged as a youth movement.

If we look at the year 1973, Rêber Apo was 24 years old at that time. He and all his comrades were very young when they founded the party. So it can clearly be stated, that the PKK was already founded as a youth movement. When we look at the history of the party, in a short period of time from its foundation to today, our movement has spread and organized among the youth and has become the will and representative of Kurdish youth. This shows what the Leadership and the PKK mean to young people. Kurdish youth did not have a future, because Kurds and Kurdistan were already ignored, denied and facing genocide. Kurds were only asked to be slaves. The occupiers did not see Kurdish young people as human beings, they said ‘You are a Turk’.

They were making Kurdish young people do jobs that did not even know whether they could feed themselves or not. Kurdish youth look at their society, look at their elders and see that they are not offered an honorable life. They had no identity, no culture, no free use of their language. If anything, their elders were oriented towards the occupying state. They offered young people only Turkification, becoming a civil servant or a worker. Of course, this was not accepted by the Kurdish young people. The Leadership and his comrades did not accept this dishonorable life imposed on the youth, and on this basis they realized an exit by founding the party.

I want to underline that whatever the PKK and Rêber Apo have done since the founding of the party, has been done for the Kurdish people, especially for the youth and women. Because the Leadership wanted to change the future of the Kurds, this fate. And he wanted to do this through youths. Of course, both the Leadership and the Freedom Movement have grown in a physical sense. But the character of the Freedom Movement has always remained young in the person of the Leadership. The Leadership never refrained from research, never refrained from learning, never stopped renewal. Rêber Apo developed all of these changes and transformations on this basis. He always took a courageous stance. He says what is the truth and lives what is the truth.

You will follow the truth, represent the truth, see the truth and live the truth. Whoever stands against this, whoever attacks you over this, no matter how strong they are, you will not submit to them, you will be strong-willed, you will not surrender, you will resist. This has been the stance of the Leadership from childhood until today. In other words, even though the Leadership grew up biologically, his spirit remained young, he displays a youthful stance, dynamism is always present. The Leadership has maintained this stance until today. In today’s reality, Rêber Apo is no longer only the leader of the Kurdish people, many people see Rêber Apo as their Leader. Again, many women and youth movements around the world see Rêber Apo as their leader.

Everyone wants to benefit from the ideas of the Leadership. All forces that want to fight for freedom, for equality, for the overthrow of capitalist modernity, in short, every force struggling against the system, consider Rêber Apo as a global Leader and, on this basis, they see the paradigm of him as a guide. At the moment, the occupiers are attacking the Kurdish people with all their means, but they are not getting any results. Again, in order to exterminate the liberating Kurds, they are also making the collaborator-traitor Kurds a partner in these attacks, but the liberating Kurds continue to exist, and they continue to exist with a sacrificial spirit. On the other hand, capitalist modernity maintains the Imrali system, and continues the isolation of Rêber Apo, which has reached the level of torture.

But when we look at the result, the truth is that there are free Kurds, they struggle, they do not surrender, they do whatever it takes for an equal and free life. This is the result of the stance shown by youths and women. The importance given by the Leadership to women and young people has led to these results. Throughout the 50-year history of struggle, Rêber Apo has always worked together with young people and women. He gave the leading role to women and young people. He wants to bring about every change-transformation with them. The emergence of the free Kurd is a product of the struggle of young people and women.

I would like to emphasized that women and young people have very important roles and duties today and want to conclude with the following. This international conspiracy has been at work for 25 years to destroy our Leadership, the Kurdish people and our movement. A genocide policy has been carried out against the Kurdish people for more than 100 years. They want to eliminate the hope of freedom of all women, young people and people in the person of Rêber Apo, our movement and free Kurds. We are putting up great resistance against this because our enemy does not give up this liquidationist approach. Therefore, the duties and responsibilities of the period are very high. Since women and young people are also pioneers, the most important duties and responsibilities fall on them.

If we are committed to our cause, if we want a free and equal life, if we want an end to the occupation and genocide, if we want to live honorably in our lands, then the way to success is through the stance taken by Rêber Apo. Therefore, young people who want to achieve success should take the stance of Rêber Apo as a basis. For this, Kurdish young people have to do research every day and night. Research on the meaning and the reality of the Leadership. Because Rêber Apo was also young, he came out of the Kurds, he created a new world and now all the forces of capitalist modernity are his enemies. How did this come about, how did this person recreate himself, what kind of style and pace does he have? They need to research on this questions.

Rêber Apo always talks about patience. Young people are a bit impatient, they want to reach the result as soon as possible. There is no such world. Therefore, one of the most important responsibilities of young people is to educate themselves. They should undoubtedly be activists, but for strong action there must also be a strong idea. The more young people educate themselves, the more they equip themselves, the more strong ideas they have, the more they free themselves from the dirty system of capitalist modernity, the stronger activists they will be. For example, comrades Rojhat and Erdal showed this once again in Ankara. They protested right in the heart of the enemy, who boasts day and night that they dominate everything everywhere. These young people, created by Rêber Apo, shot the invaders in their capital, in their so-called safest places. They struck fear into the hearts and minds of the enemy. This action was done by the youth for the youth. This action was taken so that young people could live with honor and dignity, so that Kurdish youth could live with honor and dignity.

Kurdish youths have to analyze life in the most correct way possible. Kurdish young people will struggle against the dishonorable life imposed on them. Young people should not look to their elders for what they can give them. One of the roles and missions of the youth is to protect society, and to form a new society. This is why the fate of the Kurds is in the hands of young people. The stance of the youth will be decisive in the future of the Kurds. Therefore, young people should not blame their role and mission on others. They have to read this historical period correctly. Because the spirit of each period is different. This period is a time when the AKP-MHP government mobilizes all its means for war to eradicate the Kurds. That is to say, when we fully analyze the terms and conditions of the period, we see that it is a period of war from beginning to end. The enemy is already talking about political, cultural, economic and physical genocide attacks day and night.

All of these genocidal attacks are being carried out within this framework. Some people think as if there is no war, as if these events are outside the war, as if the war is only against certain people, this is a wrong understanding, far from the truth. The occupying Turkish state, backed by the power of capitalist modernity and the traitor-collaborator Kurds, is using all its means to eradicate the Kurds. Everything is within the framework of genocidal warfare. Therefore, we have to comprehend the spirit of the period well and see that the spirit of this period is war. On this basis, wherever we are, we have to act with a sacrificial spirit and we have to transform all areas into areas of resistance and, therefore, we have to do a great mobilization. On this basis, we need to be the true comrades of Rêber Apo, we have to fulfill our leading role and mission in the campaign for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. On the 26th anniversary, we need to completely defeat the international conspiracy. Once again, we send our greetings to all young people, women and patriotic people and wish them success in their struggle.