KCK Executive Council co-chair Besê Hozat answered questions about the 40th anniversary of the 15 August breakthrough and the new threats against the Yazidi people in a special program she attended on Medya Haber television.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the breakthrough that was achieved on 15 August. The place of this historical move in your struggle is known. Looking at the current situation, how do you elaborate on the historical breakthrough?

First of all, I salute the 15 August breakthrough and our peoples and commemorate comrade Mahsum Korkmaz with great respect, love and gratitude. I commemorate all the martyrs of freedom and revolution with great respect, love and gratitude and reiterate the promise that we will definitely bring their dreams and aspirations to success and victory.

Again in this month of August, there were very valuable comrades that martyred. Comrade Atakan Mahir, Zeki Shengali, Engin Sincer, Sari Ibrahim, and comrade Azime. Many valuable friends martyred in the recent period. In northern Kurdistan, comrade Herakol Ekin fell and the comrades Firat, Bahoz, Sema, Ronahi and Dilgesh fell recently in the Medya Defense Zones. In August, many comrades martyred both in northern Kurdistan and in the Medya Defense Zones, especially in the region of Zap and Metina, whose names I have mentioned and many more I cannot mention.

The August 15 breakthrough has great meaning and significance for the Kurdish people, for the peoples of the Middle East, and particularly for women. To consider the 15th of August breakthrough, the guerrilla struggle, and the armed struggle only as a narrow military struggle of a people, the Kurdish people, as a war of legitimate defense would be an insufficient way of understanding and defining it. From our point of view, the August 15th breakthrough is a move toward enlightenment in Kurdistan and the Middle East. With the August 15th breakthrough, a great revolution of mentality took place in Kurdistan, a great people’s revolution took place, and a women’s revolution took place. The disbelief, frustration, pessimism, and hopelessness created by the enemy in Kurdistan society were destroyed. Kurdish society woke up again and became aware of itself. This affected Middle Eastern society, and today, it is leading the democratic revolution.

In other words, the August 15th breakthrough created a very strong ground for change, renaissance, and enlightenment in the Middle East in every aspect and in every dimension. It revealed the revolutionary reality and the militant reality of the movement. This developed within the people’s army. Later on, it was comrade Beritan who formed the identity of the women’s army. Just as comrade Agit formed the identity and personality of the people’s army, comrades Beritan and Zilan
formed the identity and line of resistance of the women’s guerrillas, the women’s army. This is not a classical army. The guerrilla army in Kurdistan, with its men and women, the people’s army and the women’s army, is a highly ideological, philosophical, organized, strong-willed, and conscious structure with a revolutionary, libertarian identity. Their struggle has become the vanguard struggle of the people. Within this struggle, true democratic politics was born. It formed the basis for the achievements in Rojava, the values created in northern Kurdistan, and a strong consciousness in southern and eastern Kurdistan. It created the reality of an organized people. All these gains emerged through this struggle. The society that has become conscious, strong-willed, organized, and liberated has created a very strong legacy of freedom.

Undoubtedly, the military dimension of this, the legitimate self-defense dimension, is of key importance. Through this, an intertwined level of development has emerged. And today, our people, the peoples of the Middle East, and humanity are in dire need of this. In a place like the Middle East, at a time when the 3rd World War is taking place, when the blood of peoples is flowing everywhere, when terrible suffering is being experienced, and when society needs great defense, organized power, and self-defense, the guerrilla struggle is even more vital. In terms of Turkey in particular, in terms of geography, in a country where so many genocidal attacks are being carried out on the Kurds, legitimate defense and self-defense are indispensable. This is an essential need.

In this sense, following the footsteps of comrade Mahsum Korkmaz and comrade Beritan, our people’s army and women’s army restructured themselves, and according to the character and reality of this age, according to the understanding of democratic modernity, it has revealed a very important level of struggle and legitimate self-defense. Both in tactics and technique, the guerrillas, the people’s army, and the women’s army are giving the second-largest army of NATO, one of the most numerous armies in the world, a real challenge today.

For five years without interruption, the Turkish army has been conducting an all-out attack with all kinds of techniques. It uses all kinds of power and all kinds of dirty methods. From chemical weapons to all kinds of other banned weapons, but still they cannot get results. It is in shambles. Now the guerrilla has modernized itself according to the reality of this age and continues to even further develop. The effects of this will be seen more and more strongly in northern Kurdistan in the coming months and years. I believe that with the restructured understanding of democratic modernity and the restructured guerrilla warfare, understanding, and tactics, this legitimate struggle will be continued in the strongest way.

Recently, Iraq has closed down three political parties. Among these parties was the party of the Êzidis [Yazidi] in Shengal [Sinjar]. And this coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Shengal genocide. After this, Iraq’s attitude and approach are actually becoming clear. How do you evaluate these developments?

We strongly and angeredly condemn this approach by Iraq. What damage has the Freedom and Democracy Party of the Êzidis (PADÊ) caused to Iraq? They must explain this, and they must explain it to the Êzidis. Iraq is shutting down a party that has been engaged in politics and diplomacy to defend the existence and freedom of Êzidis after the 74th ferman, in order to make the voice of Êzidis heard in the world. It defends the rights and freedoms of Êzidis and explains the 74th ferman to the world. It struggles for the freedom and rights of the Êzidis. What is the harm of such a party to Iraq? Why did Iraq shut it down? Êzidis, their representatives, and the co-chairs of the democratic administration of Shengal made some statements in this regard. They said that this is a continuation of the ferman. They said that what Iraq is doing now makes them a partner in this ferman. This is a very heavy assessment. But it also pointed to some realities.

ISIS did not attack Shengal alone. On August 3, 2014, ISIS was an allied force of the AKP. There is still huge support from Erdoğan and the AKP for ISIS. In fact, ISIS attacked Shengal with the encouragement of the AKP and Erdoğan. Erdoğan also played a role in the genocide in Shengal; he is guilty. And now, as a result of the impositions and pressures of the fascist regime in Turkey, ruled by Erdoğan, Bahceli, the AKP-MHP, and Ergenekon, and the impositions and pressures of the KDP, Iraq has decided to shut down PADÊ. Of course, no Êzidi can accept this.

Likewise, Tevgera Azadi is a movement struggling for democracy in southern Kurdistan and Iraq. It is influenced by the paradigm and thoughts of Rêber Apo and takes him as its basis. It does not have any organizational ties with our organization. Neither it nor the Democratic Front. They are based on Rêber Apo’s paradigm, and they are waging a struggle for democracy in southern Kurdistan and Iraq. They work for the development of democracy. Now what harm can or did they do to southern Kurdistan and Iraq? Of course, we have been aware of the activities of Turkey and the KDP for years. It is exerting very intense pressure on Iraq to close down these structures. Most recently, on July 3, Massoud Barzani went to Baghdad. He met with many embassies and also met with many government and non-government circles in Iraq. Massoud Barzani had the closure of these organizations in his file. We know that very well. They have been working on this for years. After this closure decision, Hoshyar Zebari and similar KDP officials have already announced how happy they are. They got results from their work.

Turkish state officials shared the same feeling. Now, of course, there is this side of the issue. Iraq took such a step to please the Turkish state, to please the KDP, and to fulfill their demands and impositions. But in doing so, it adopted an extremely impersonal and characterless attitude. There may be impositions and demands of the Turkish state, but the Turkish state is waging a war of genocide against the Kurds and Êzidis. It is waging a war of genocide against the peoples of the Middle East. It is waging a war of extermination and massacre, and the KDP is a partner in this policy. Such impositions by the Turkish state, the AKP-MHP regime, and the KDP are understandable. But does Iraq have to accept them? Iraq claims to be an independent state. Doesn’t that state have its own will? Doesn’t that state have its own stance and character? Doesn’t it have a principle? It is clear that this government has no own stance and no character. A very simple approach has been taken for dirty, simple interests. We consider this behavior of the current government to be a great insult to the history of Iraq, a great insult to the Iraqi people, and a great insult and a great insult to Iraqi society. The thing to do against this is to struggle against it.

The ferman on the Êzidis continues in the Êzidi camps in the south. Yesterday, some imams made a statement and the Êzidis in South Kurdistan were threatened. This resulted in a great outrage in the Êzidi camps. As far as we were able to follow the developments, basically all the Êzidis in the camps want to return to Shengal. They are piling up at the Semalka Gate, where they do not let them pass through. Some of them found other ways and returned directly to Shengal. No one wants to live in those camps. They see this as part of the ferman. The fear of the ferman has entered their hearts. The Êzidis in the camps are in great fear and panic. Sure, there really is this danger. Right now, both the KDP and the AKP-MHP are waging a war against the peoples hand in hand with ISIS. They have brought hundreds of ISIS fighters to Behdinan, and they intend to bring even more. It is they who are burning and destroying villages.

They want to settle these mercenaries and gangs there. Who do those mercenaries and gangs see as their main enemy? The Êzidis. Not only there, but generally in southern Kurdistan and Iraq, such groups are organized. ISIS is not finished. ISIS maintains a significant amount of its power in Iraq, Syria, and many parts of the region. Therefore, of course, Êzidis are in great danger. They should not stay in those camps. They could experience a great ferman like August 3rd. Just as the KDP left the Êzidis defenseless in 2014, it left them alone facing the ISIS genocide supported by the Turkish state. The same thing can happen in those camps. Therefore, of course, it is a great danger to live and wait in those camps. For years, the KDP has taken those camps hostage and has been conducting a blackmail policy on those camps. Against the world, against everyone.

It has also turned them into a vote depot. By force, by force of arms, and by material means, they are able to get their votes in the elections. On the other hand, they have them do all kinds of dirty work. The KDP tries to create mercenaries and gangs by themselves. From prostitution to drugs, they do all kinds of filth and dirty work on Êzidis in those camps and make Êzidis live under a different kind of ferman there. Since 2014, the ferman has actually continued in those camps; just the form has changed. There is a cultural ferman there, a cultural genocide. They make Êzidi girls, women, and children do all kinds of dirty, ugly work there. Such a situation has arisen. This situation reveals the reality of the KDP much more clearly in the eyes of the Êzidis.

As I pointed out before, we need to fight strongly against all these attacks. Êzidis are no longer the old Êzidis. They are an organized society. They have political and social power. They have developed self-confidence and willpower. They have become an organized society, and an organized society is the greatest power. No matter who it is, It can be women, youth, a people, or an oppressed group. When you are organized, you become stronger. Then you have willpower and courage. Today, there is serious consciousness, enlightenment, organization, and willpower among Êzidis.