In the second part of this in-depth interview, KCK Executive Council co-chair Cemil Bayık spoke about the isolation imposed on Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan, as well as the Yazidi genocide.

The isolation and torture against the Kurdish people’s leader, Abdullah Öcalan, continues uninterruptedly. Undoubtedly, the Kurdish people and their international friends continue to struggle. Most recently, 69 Nobel laureates issued a statement demanding his physical freedom, and French Senator Pascal Savoldelli applied to the Turkish Ministry of Justice to meet with Abdullah Öcalan. How do you assess these developments?

Before I address your question, I would like to take this opportunity to draw attention to something else. We are still in the month of July, a month in which historically many massacres were committed against our people. Firstly, I would like to condemn those responsible for these massacres and remember the people who lost their lives in these atrocities. 24 July marked another anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, which initiated the founding of the anti-Kurd alliance. Since then, the occupying, genocidal Turkish state launched countless mass offensives against our movement and our people. The repression faced today is a continuation of this. The Kurdish people have been struggling against this alliance until today. Our people have taken many steps in their struggle, but this alliance against the Kurds has not completely been defeated. In fact, the enemies of the Kurdish people are working on renewing this alliance. Nevertheless, I am convinced that the Kurdish people will smash this fascist alliance because they are aware that this alliance means their total annihilation.

Also on 27 July, a huge massacre was committed against our people in Rojava, particularly in Aleppo and Qamishlo. In Qamishlo alone, 62 of our people were massacred, and many were injured. I strongly condemn those who committed this massacre. Again, in July 1930, a widespread massacre was committed against our people in Qelqeli. Our people have always stood in defense of those who gave their lives as a result of this massacre, and they will continue to do so. Then again, on 3 July, ten guerrilla fighters were massacred with chemical weapons in Hani. I respectfully commemorate all of our martyrs.

Now we are approaching 3 August. On this day ten years ago, a genocidal attack was initiated against our Êzidî people. The threat of a new ferman against our Êzidi people is still very much alive. Our Êzidi people should not forget the fermans that have taken place so far as well as the ongoing threat of new ones. They must take care of themselves and take their fate into their own hands. Other than this, no one can protect our Êzidi people. Before the eyes of the world, those who had claimed to be in power in Shengal [Sinjar] fled and surrendered the Êzidi people to ISIS during the last ferman. The fate of thousands of Êzidi women and children remains unknown. In order not to experience such a ferman again, our Êzidi people must organize, unite, have willpower, strengthen their institutions, and practice self-defense. Only in this way can they protect themselves against fermans and survive. On this occasion, I convey my greetings and express my respect to our Êzidi people.

Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] considers philosophy and science to be of great value, and he stands up for the achievements of humanity by intertwining everything in history that has served humanity. Rêber Apo has developed a paradigm on this basis and many intellectuals, writers, artists, politicians, and scientists accept this paradigm. Accordingly, we managed to develop an international campaign for Rêber Apo. In reality, this campaign was developed by friends of the Kurdish people, and we took part in it. This campaign has already brought about many important results. An agenda was created based on it. The international friends of our people, our movement, and our party, those who stand up for freedom and democracy, those who carried out the first step of the campaign, should also develop the next move. We are ready to take part in it with all our power.

The campaign is being developed day by day, and like I pointed out, many people who stand for humanity, democracy, and freedom are taking part in it and are releasing statements, making press conferences, and much more. They are stating that Rêber Apo represents the achievements of humanity and that he must be released from prison. They are saying, ‘One cannot keep such a person in prison’. The front to protect Rêber Apo is growing day by day. As you said, most recently, 69 Nobel laureates issued a joint statement and wrote letters. In their letters, they wrote extensively about how they support Rêber Apo and how they support the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom and democracy. That’s why they sent letters to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), the Council of Europe (CoE), and many international organizations and called on them. Also, as you said, the French Senator sent a letter to the Turkish Ministry of Justice asking to meet with Rêber Apo.

Ercan Kanar, one of Rêber Apo’s first lawyers, has emphasized that the laws used against Rêber Apo have no basis, which is why he must be released immediately. I would like to take this opportunity to send my greetings and respect to those who have shown a clear stance before, and also now to the 69 Nobel laureates, the French Senator and Ercan Kanar. They represent the conscience of humanity. That is why their work is very sacred. It is a work for humanity. All of them have worked for humanity; that’s why they received the Nobel Prize. Many of them say that Rêber Apo, with the paradigm he has developed, has produced a solution that is stronger than theirs in many respects. The reason why they embrace Rêber Apo and the struggle for freedom and democracy so strongly is that they see the truth in Rêber Apo’s paradigm. Because Rêber Apo is known to be a philosopher. He focuses on the problems of humanity and nature in order to develop solutions for them.

The form of isolation of Rêber Apo is not ordinary isolation. It has been taken to a whole new level by the Turkish state, which has been ready to trample on all existing laws at the national and international level and go against all moral values of humanity. This policy against Rêber Apo has never been carried out against any other person in the world. They are taking revenge on him, saying that he is responsible for the awakening of the Kurds, that he raised the consciousness of our people, organized them, and made them fight for their lives. The politics against Rêber Apo are the politics against the Kurdish people. To take responsibility for Rêber Apo, to demand his physical freedom, and to fight for this, is to struggle for a solution to the Kurdish question. The Turkish state is conducting such a policy against Rêber Apo because it wants to eliminate the Kurds. The Turkish state understands that Kurdish society and Rêber Apo are interdependent. Those who struggle for Rêber Apo’s physical freedom must also bring the Kurdish question to the agenda, because this question is the reason why Rêber Apo is being kept in a coffin cell in Imrali and why brutal policies are being implemented against him. As long as the Kurdish question is not solved, they will continue these policies. That is why it is necessary to fight for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. This will also solve the Kurdish question. Every work we do must be carried out based on this understanding.

You may have heard that the CPT recently gave an interview to ANF news agency. An interesting topic emerged. Among other things, the issue of double standards was raised, as the CPT intervened in incidents in Azerbaijan, for example, but remains silent on the situation of Rêber Apo. How can it be that the torture of one person is simply tolerated while another is intervened in?

The Turkish state is a member state of NATO, which developed the International Conspiracy. Some members spearheaded it on behalf of NATO, particularly from Europe and the CoE, to which the CPT is an institution. The European approach when the International Conspiracy was developed is commonly known. Maybe former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema took a different stance, but Europe worked for the success of the conspiracy. The CPT works under the CoE and plans its activities based on the decisions of the CoE. The CPT is defined as responsible for protecting people’s rights against certain states, but when we look at it, it completely supports the Turkish state. It does not defend human rights or peoples’ rights against the Turkish state. It is based on the politics of the Turkish state against Rêber Apo and the Kurdish people. Now, what does this mean?

The Turkish state is conducting a policy of genocide against the Kurdish people and Rêber Apo. The CPT should defend the rights of Rêber Apo and the Kurdish people, but it stands with the Turkish state. In other words, it is an instrument for the politics of genocide. Those who represent the conscience of humanity, those who serve humanity, and those who receive awards for this are calling and sending letters to everyone, but the CPT remains silent because it serves the states. Our people are also aware of this. That is why our people strengthen their struggle. The more they strengthen this struggle with their international friends, the more results will be yielded. The struggle has already exposed the reality of the CPT and the CoE. It revealed the reality of the Turkish state.