In the fifth part of this interview with ANF, Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about the crisis of the system of capitalist modernity and the fact that "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi has become the slogan of the struggle against this system."

The first part of this interview can be read here, the second here, the third here, and the fourth here.

One of the consequences of the system crisis is the rise of authoritarian, violent, and pro-war tendencies around the world. The crisis of capitalist modernity affects the societies it shapes. How are women in particular affected by this crisis? What is the connection between the increase in violence against women and the systemic crisis? What does it mean that the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ has spread all over the world and has become part of women’s resistance against capitalist modernity?

There may be a relationship between the intensifying of the crisis and the intensifying of violence in general and violence against women in particular. The system of capitalist modernity is a system that causes problems, oppression, exploitation, and violence. And again, there is a crisis in the general structure of the system. But it should not be assessed and analyzed in such a way that the system is just in a current state of crisis. The system of capitalist modernity is the system in which the male-dominated mentality deepens the most. It is the system that is most opposed to women. It is quite understandable and meaningful that the group that struggles the most against such a system is women.

Of course, one should criticize and condemn the system regarding violence against women, but one should also be aware that this violence exists through men. All violence against women is perpetrated by men. Therefore, it is the men who must first question and correct themselves. The cause of women’s liberation is not only a woman’s issue. It is also the cause of man’s transformation, since it is ultimately the man, it is the male-dominated mentality and culture who creates this problem. Therefore, it is important that men address the cause of freedom and approach it correctly. If we are to be liberated, if we are to be human, if we are to be good, we need to question and correct ourselves on the basis of the line that is being drawn by women’s liberation. Unless we do this, it makes no sense to question, criticize and point to the system as the source of the problem. We need to question how the system is creating itself through us. To the extent that we do this and overcome it, we will be liberated and succeed in living up to the women’s struggle in the right way.

Women’s increasing struggle is crucial. The solution to the problems of freedom comes with the liberation of women. With the struggle for women’s liberation, not only are women liberated, but the whole society is liberated. In this respect, we all need to be in solidarity with the women’s liberation struggle, to support it and participate in it.

It is very meaningful and very important that the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ has become the slogan of the struggle against capitalist modernity. Rêber Apo attached great value to women and women’s freedom. He made a great effort for the liberation of women, as he recognized the deep connection between women and life and elaborated that life should be formed accordingly. He defined freedom as participating in such life and developing it. On this basis, he considered women’s liberation as the beginning and condition of everything. He broke all kinds of molds stemming from the male-dominated mentality, and instead of these dominant dogmatic patterns and lifestyles, he developed the principles of freedom and the understanding of free life with women. As a foundation of his love for women and his commitment to them and life, he focused on free life on the basis of women’s liberation. He gave his research and analyses in this regard a theoretical framework, and it gave great strength to the women’s liberation struggle. In response to this, we see that women strongly embraced and appreciated Rêber Apo.

In the specific case of Kurdistan, women are facing both the special war policies implemented by the Turkish state and the collaborator-reactionary sectors. Kurdish women are subjected to systemic attacks due to being both Kurdish and women. In reaction to this, there is a strong organization of self-defense and resistance that women have developed. What kind of year has 2024 been for the women of Kurdistan? How should women fight against these attacks while playing a strategic leadership role in the revolution?

These are questions where it would only be appropriate that they are answered by female comrades. What I can underline is that women have a lot of power. The fact that both the system of capitalist modernity and genocidal colonialism target women so much is due to their constitutive, mobilizing, and liberating characteristics. The fear of this increases the anger and attacks against women.

States, and especially the Turkish state, are more than ever targeting the youth of Kurdistan with special warfare methods on a physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, and psychological dimension. What is the situation of the youths in the four parts of Kurdistan and abroad? What kind of attacks and threats have they been subjected to, especially in 2024?

The attacks on youths are similar to the attacks on women. This is due to the fact that the youth, like women, are the basic dynamic of society. Throughout history, sovereign powers have been engaged in intense activity to contain and control the youth. Knowing that they cannot control the youth only through oppression and violence, they have resorted to various ways and methods. The main method used by the rulers has been to play with the mentality of the youth and bind them to themselves. In this way, it is aimed both to prevent them from forming a danger to them and to benefit from their power and energy. Utilizing the energy and power of the youth has been one of the most important issues for the ruling systems. Without exploiting the energy and power of the youth, it is impossible for the ruling systems to survive and the wheels of exploitation to turn.

The main task of the system of capitalist modernity is to stop young people from searching for their own direction to strive for and get them under control. Especially in the stage of the consumer society, the excessive development of individualism, the dissolution of spirituality and moral organization in the face of individualism, the exclusion of the search for meaning, and the presentation of materialism as the only value have destructive consequences on youth. Just by looking at it, one can understand how wrong, degrading, and corrupting the system and life of capitalist modernity are.

The genocidal colonialist Turkish state, taking advantage of the effects of capitalist modernist life on society and youth, is trying to detach Kurdish youth from struggle, patriotism, society, and life by deepening this with special war methods. Thus, the protection of society against all kinds of genocidal attacks is weakened. The future of society is being played with. Because the future of a society is its youth. A society whose youth is detached from it cannot have a future.

On the one hand, the enemy is trying to weaken Kurdish young people through special warfare methods, to tear them away from the struggle and the people, and on the other hand, they force the youth to leave Kurdistan. In order for this to happen, they increase the pressure and make them economically desperate so that they leave Kurdistan and go abroad. This is a method of special warfare and is part of the Kurdish genocide. There are activities of the Turkish state for this to happen in other parts as well. The young people who go abroad face the corrupting, degrading, and destroying attacks of capitalist modernist life. Against this policy of capitalist modernity and the genocidal colonialist enemy, it is crucial for the youth of Kurdistan to become politically conscious, to organize, and to focus on their country and the struggle. By doing so, they frustrate the enemy’s plans.

The PKK was born as a youth movement. Peoples leader Abdullah Ocalan once put it as, “We started young, we will succeed young”. Does the youth of Kurdistan live up to its strategic leadership role for the Kurdish freedom struggle? What is the level of organization they have achieved in society? What kind of responsibilities do they have in the context of self-defense in the face of developing attacks? What should be the perspective of the struggle for the new year?

As you put it, our movement was born as a youth movement, and by preserving this spirit and developing the struggle with this spirit, it created all these developments and has come to this day. Still today we are struggling and creating development accordingly. Rêber Apo’s expression highlights the ideological line of our movement. It is not a political or narrow organizational discourse but an ideological approach. When we say that youth is our soul, we are not only emphasizing the dynamism of the youth; we emphasize the youth’s essence and freedom stance that is not contaminated with the dirt, rust, and property relations of the system. If our movement has constantly developed and still always preserved its revolutionary essence, if it has constantly deepened the struggle for freedom, it is the result of the spirit of youth it possesses. In every stage of the Kurdish freedom struggle and in all the developments created, the youth of Kurdistan has played a pioneering role. In fact, the guerrilla was brought to life by the youth movement, and this continues to be the case.

Rêber Apo identified the youth and women as the pioneers of the paradigm. The responsibility of the youth of Kurdistan has since increased even more, particularly in the current period, which is a period of organizational structuring. It is to build democratic communal life within the organization of democratic confederalism. It is the education and organization of society on this basis. It is also the development of society’s self-defense. Since such construction cannot take place without self-defense, the youth has a great role in both frustrating the enemy’s attack and defending the organized society. Considering the hostile attacks on Kurdistan, self-defense has gained vital importance for the Kurdish people; it is the most urgent task.

Again, the attacks and plans of the genocidal colonialist Turkish state targeting Rojava are obvious. Against this, the youth calls for mobilization. This surely is the proper attitude. The youth of Kurdistan must mobilize to defend the revolution of Rojava on the basis of the strategy of the revolutionary people’s war. It must participate in the war to defend the revolution as the most organized force. They should work for the participation of the people in the self-defense war, educate and organize the people on this issue. Educating and organizing the people and developing self-defense are the three main tasks of the period. The youth of Kurdistan must play a leading role in the fulfillment of these three fundamental tasks.

Against the enemy’s special war, the youth organizations must educate and organize themselves. They must be able to reach the masses of youth with rich ways and methods and educate and raise awareness of the masses of youth against the special war. It must also develop the reaction in society against the enemy’s special psychological attacks and mobilize society. The enemy attacks society 24/7 with dirty war methods and without following any law or morality and humiliates the values of society. Against this, the youth must mobilize society and make it react against the special war attacks. The youth must develop a stronger and clearer attitude against the appointment of trustees. They should not stop until they make the state take a step back. If the enemy usurps the will of the people without recognizing any law, any reaction and action against this is legitimate and necessary. Again, the youth must have an attitude and orientation against the enemy’s drug, prostitution, and spy networks.