In the second part of this interview, Besê Hozat, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council, spoke about the vital self-defense of women worldwide, the role of youth in the struggle for democracy and freedom, and the escalation in the Middle East.

The first part of the interview can be read here

As is known, the Turkish state has been intensively conducting diplomatic meetings with other states, looking for support and approval of Turkish war policies. Erdoğan is also expected to visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region soon to seek approval of his policies. What are your evaluations in relation to these visits?

For some time now, the AKP-MHP fascist government has been seeking to secure support internally and externally for an all-out genocidal war against the Kurds. Under the name of politics, the fascist government has been intensely conducting military diplomacy, seeking the support of both international powers and regional states. The KDP and the forces in Southern Kurdistan are also wanted to be actively involved in this war. The fascist Erdoğan regime is working intensively in order to achieve this. The talks in Iraq – there will be a meeting in Washington afterwards – are also aimed at providing support for this war of genocide. Erdoğan also says that he will go to Hewlêr [Erbil]; he is working to involve the KDP more actively in this war.

I would like to emphasize the following. The ‘Development Road’ project is a trap for Iraq. Turkey hides its neo-Ottomanist, occupying and expansionist policies under the name of that project. If Iraq plays Turkey’s game, it will lose. It would be putting its own land to the service of Turkey’s expansionist and occupationist dreams. Turkey definitely has expansionist ambitions in every project it develops in the region. Each and every one of these projects are a product of racist, chauvinist ideology. It is a product of neo-Ottoman policies; this is exactly what they aim for. They have no contribution or benefit to neither the peoples, nor the states of that region. Our comrades have warned Iraq on this issue, not to fall for this game. Turkey’s sole aim is to establish hegemony over Iraq. It is already trying to lay the groundwork for this in Kirkuk. It is mobilizing Turkmens in Kirkuk, Til Afer and Mosul. It has entered Iraq militarily, politically and economically. It is building companies everywhere to gain leverage. It also uses the Euphrates and Tigris water as blackmail. It is trying to achieve its expansionist, Neo-Ottomanist policies by taking advantage of Iraq’s weakness. Iraq should not fall for this game. Iraq is aware about the history. In fact, there is a Turkish idiom to describe how cunning and deceptive the Ottomans are. “The Ottomans have many tricks”, is what is being said. The AKP considers itself as the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, so it too has many tricks, conspiracies and traps. Iraq must not fall for those.

Whatever path Iraq decides to take, the Kurdish guerrilla and the people will resist. They will never accept these genocidal, colonialist occupation policies. These policies have not been accepted till now, they will not be accepted hereafter. The guerrilla are re-writing history with their resistance and skill. They put up a very splendid resistance and put the Turkish army in a quagmire. This will only gain strength moving forward. They will resist in the strongest, most determined, most assertive and strong-willed manner. The guerrilla selflessly defends the honor and freedom of the peoples. Until now, it has waged a selfless struggle and developed resistance. It will do so from now on too.

The guerrilla will resist, but our people, especially those in South Kurdistan, must also react very strongly against these attacks. While propagandizing about the importance of the status of southern Kurdistan, the KDP has opened an important part of the South to Turkish occupation. What status has the Turkish state left in South Kurdistan? The people there ought to rise up against this. There are very honorable people in the South. The KDP, in partnership with the Turkish state, is massacring these people who resist honorably and take a stance against Turkish occupation. One example is our esteemed friend Server, who was murdered in the Bradost area the other day. Many patriots were massacred like this in Behdinan before. These attacks are being conducted everywhere; villages are being bombarded. Another patriot, a young man, was killed in Asos only recently. In order that villages are emptied, the Turkish state and KDP are constantly targeting villages and houses, killing patriots.

Our people ought to rebel against this, they must rise up everywhere. Had the South reacted to Turkish bombardments and occupation, the Turkish state would not be able to commit civilian massacres so easily. It wouldn’t dare to do such a thing. The KDP is actively taking part in this war of genocide; the parties in the South must react to this. If hundreds of thousands rebelled everywhere, the Turkish state could not massacre these valuable patriots and honorable people. It would be impossible.

In this regard, I call on our people to take a stand against these genocidal, massacring policies. Turkey is developing a second Anfal against the people of the South. I call on our people to take a stand against this, to rise up.

Recently, KJK published a much praised document in relation to women’s self-defense and violence against women. What are your evaluations on this topic?

Indeed, the coordination of the KJK did share an important statement recently in relation to women’s self-defense against violence. They called for women to organize and strengthen their self-defense.

All over the world there is a very serious threat of genocide against women; violence against women has increased everywhere in the world with Turkey at almost first-place. Both state and male violence against women in Turkey has increased by 1,400 to 1,500 percent. This male-dominated system, the system of capitalist modernity and the nation-state system, are already fascist systems. All these systems constantly feed, produce, deepen and provoke the dominant ego in men and return to women in the form of violence and massacres.

In a world where wars are developing, violence and fascism are increasing, it could only be expected that more women are becoming the victims of violence because misogyny and sexism is what feeds wars. The system of capitalist modernity is in chaos; in many countries across the world, the governing powers are fascists. Their fascist policies are being directly absorbed by society and by men. The dominant man feeds off this violence and fuels his masculine, sexist, male-dominant mentality, understanding and behavior. By inflicting violence on women, the dominant man psychologically recharges his foul mindset and turns the woman into an object – a commodity that satisfies his own motives.

These policies effect the woman ten-fold, constantly returning to the her in the form of more violence. Women are under constant attack and particularly psychological attack by sexist culture and backward ‘traditional value’ judgments. Psychological violence, the most severe violence, is extensively being inflicted on women. While physical violence may kill a woman once, psychological violence kills her thousands of times a day, keeping her under constant psychological pressure.

In this sense, women cannot put their security in the hands of this system. Women cannot surrender themselves to the intentions of the dominant man. Women are being murdered everywhere; whether this is within their own homes, on the street, or at work. They are being murdered by their husbands, friends, boyfriends, fathers, brothers. Women everywhere must raise awareness and organize themselves. An organized woman is the greatest power. An organized woman is a woman with self-defense. A woman’s self-defense comes from her organization. If a woman is not organized, she cannot defend herself. If she cannot defend herself, she will be constantly be killed, she will constantly die and die in every form. Both the fragmentation of will and the fragmentation of personality are death.

There are many horrific examples within society. The woman gets married with the claim of loving the man. The man she married murders her in a very graphic, brutal way after three months. It does not even last three months in some cases. Women are subjected to rape 24 hours a day. Rêber Apo used to say that the home is no different from a brothel anymore. A weak, powerless woman will constantly be under the threat of rape, the fact that it occurs in her home does not change this reality.

Can a woman really fall in love in a world where men are so dominant, so misogynistic, so sexist? For example, can you fall in love with a man who is hostile to you, a man who dominates you, who controls you, who sees you as a slave, who sees you as less? How can this be called love and affection? This has nothing to do with love or affection. If this is the definition of love, then life itself has been lost.

Rêber Apo was saying “where love has been lost, live should not be sought.” In a place where life has been lost, love has been lost. The excitement and the passion of life are linked closely to love; one cannot exist without the other. There can be no relationship, no love, or no affection when life itself has become so ugly. If you want to save love, then you will first save life. You will create a life you will fall in love with, you will create a man you will fall in love with. Only with a free man, a man who sees women as equal and free, who decides on a free, equal, democratic relationship with women, can love and life be shared. Only a life based on free women and free men, on a free moral and political society, can be loveable.

I really don’t understand why women get married. They marry their murderer and go to their own death. The other day I watched the footage of a mother whose daughter had just gotten married and was murdered shortly after. I was very effected. The mother placed her daughter’s wedding dress on the middle of a street, poured petrol on it and burnt it. In pain, she called out to young women. She said “don’t get married, if you get married it will be your end”. “Learn a lesson from my daughter,” she said. Women must first fight to save life. With the given circumstances, there is neither a life to live nor a man to live it with. All that is left to do is struggle for a better world.

In this respect, women need to raise their consciousness, make themselves strong-willed, organize themselves, and develop their defense. They must struggle and save life itself. They need to establish a free, equal, and democratic system so that they can live freely. Unless this happens, the woman is always going to be under attack.

The Shirnak incident is important in this regard. There have been many cases of harassment and rape by Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan for a long time. The society was silent about these special warfare tactics, these policemen and soldiers. Recently, a policeman, a soldier attempted to harass a woman, he sexually assaulted her. The people and youth of Shirnak stood up and lynched that scoundrel. I wish they had killed him. They taught him a good lesson. This should happen everywhere. Where ever a man is caught saying something to a woman, a girl, or even a child, where ever he is looking at them with bad intentions, he should be lynched. Such people should not be given the right to life and this stance must develop everywhere. Therefore, women need to organize everywhere and ensure their own self-defense.

This is the only way the ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ movement can be realized, and only in this way can it be put into practice. In other words, ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ can be achieved by organizing, developing self-defense, struggling, creating a free and democratic life and system.

The youth have been actively participating in the struggle, for the construction of a democratic system. Though, it is clear that the attacks against them are also intense. What are your evaluations in regards to this?

A very strong stance, struggle and resistance was developed by young people across Kurdistan and Turkey all through Newroz, the 31 March municipal elections, when the will of Wan was usurped, in Sirnak, in Colemerg, in Elih, and in Riha. I congratulate young people in this sense. They have put forward a very meaningful stance. The role of young people, particularly that of young women, was very important in achieving results in the Wan resistance. This same stance was demonstrated against the usurpation and occupation policies being imposed in Colemerg, Sirnak and throughout Botan. We were watching carefully, and it was very meaningful. A young army has been formed in North Kurdistan and the cities of Turkey.

Young people are really the most dynamic forces of society. They are excited, enthusiastic, lively, daring, searching, and passionate. All these are the characteristics of young people. We all went through that process. We lived those. These are very important. The youth are the dynamism of the struggle. In a way, they are the hope of freedom. They are the guarantee of a free future.

Young people everywhere must show a very strong participation in the struggle for freedom. Those who can come to the mountains should come to the mountains. Young women and men should join the struggle. They should be a part of this resistance against the colonialist, genocidal enemy by putting forward a will and stance akin to that of the young fighters in Zap and Metina. Whether they are in South Kurdistan, or the North, those who are unable to come can assume the duty of protecting their country in their own places. We have seen this in Wan, Shirnak, Colemerg and Elih. Young people can very well defend the country where they are. They can put forward a great will of resistance and struggle and defend their people, their future, and their values.

In this sense, young people must break every hand that reaches out against children, women, the elderly and our people as a whole. They must fight strongly against this colonialist, genocidal enemy. They must turn every place into areas of action, areas of rebellion. They must take the lead in mobilizing society. Who will do this if not the youth?

This colonialist-genocidal regime carries out genocide policies in thousands of ways; whether it is militarily, socially, culturally, economically, or ecologically. It also has a special policy against the youth. For example, drugs are a policy of genocide against the youth. There are drug dealers everywhere in Kurdistan, on every street. All police officers and soldiers are drug dealers. They even use some mullahs and civil servants in this way. They are all elements of special warfare. In Kurdistan, they lure Kurdish children, even the youngest ones, into drugs. They are trying to get young people addicted to drugs in order to break them away from the struggle, from their own values, culture and society. They break the will of these young people, break their personality, degenerate and corrupt them. With drugs, prostitution, rape, immigration… We need to stand against this.

It should be such that not a single policeman, not a single soldier, not a single special warfare officer, not a single drug dealer should dare to sell drugs on any street in Kurdistan. The youth must clean all the streets of Kurdistan from drug dealers and special warfare elements. All the streets, neighborhoods, towns, cities of Kurdistan must be cleared of rapists, special psychological warfare elements, drug barons, drug dealers. The youth must wage a very strong struggle against this. Young people must organize themselves. There is no need for someone to give instructions to the youth. There is no need for someone to manage the youth. Our youth are really the most political youth in the world. The youth of Kurdistan are the most political and conscious youth in the world.

They can organize very easily everywhere. They can establish committees, they can establish assemblies, they can form self-defense units, they can defend Kurdish society. They can defend Kurdish women against all kinds of attacks of the enemy. They can clean all the streets, cities and towns of Kurdistan from these special psychological warfare attacks. I believe that young people can achieve this and I call on them to do so.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Iran, continues and is constantly getting worse. What is the Turkish role in this, what interest is the Turkish state trying to assert through this crisis?

It is as clear that Turkey was the force which provoked Hamas to attack, leading to the emergence of the war between Israel and Hamas. Turkey orchestrated this plot to disrupt the energy corridor that stretches from India to Israel and then via Greece to Europe. Israel was gradually restoring its ties with the Arab world during that period. It had also made agreements. The Turkish Republic was uncomfortable with this situation as this meant Turkey’s exclusion from the trade route. Another factor which made Turkey uncomfortable is the fact that Iran was also gradually building strength, becoming a key player in the region. The plan of the hegemons was that the region was to be shaped through Israel. The energy route was also going to bring Israel a great economic income and add to its strength. This would have meant that Turkey’s geostrategic position would lose importance. The fascist, the colonialist, genocidal Turkish regime could not bear this, and set Hamas against Israel however many lives this cost.

Currently, Turkey is playing a provocative role for the war to spread. Listening to the Turkish press, it is really evident how much the Turkish state desires the war between Israel and Iran. They broadcast this topic 24 hours a day, every day of the week. All of these are attempts of provocation. They hope to benefit from the spread of this war to weaken Iran which they see as a rival because of their historical contradictions. While they want Iran to enter war so it would lose strength, they also want Israel to be defeated so their own geopolitical position is not jeopardized. The Turkish state assumes that by weakening these actors, it will open up a space for itself in the region. Since they are already a NATO country, they think that NATO and America will fill future regional voids through Turkey.

Erdoğan thinks that America will give more importance to the East Pacific and Far Asia and that he will fill the void created by America in the region and form a coalition. In addition to this, if such a war spreads, he will grasp the opportunity to easily conduct his genocidal attacks in South Kurdistan, Syria and Rojava. Erdoğan also plans to carry out the same policy in the Caucasus where Iran is trying to create an energy route with Armenia. Now Erdoğan wants to develop an energy route with the Russians, the Turkic republics and Azerbaijan. It is in search of alternative routes. This Baghdad Development Road Project is a part of this. That is why Turkey wants this war to spread and plays a very provocative role in achieving this.

There has been an exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel after Israel killed some of Iran’s leading commanders. What are the possibilities of a full-scale war erupting between the two forces?

Iran is not in a strong enough position to conduct this war. There have been multi-faceted embargoes on Iran for years. Be it economically, arms, or diplomatically. In this sense, it is experiencing a serious economic crisis. It is economically very instable. Also, the opposition has been rebelling against the Iranian state for years. The social opposition has become very strong because there is a lot of discomfort. The people want democratic administration. Iranian peoples and societies want democratic politics and reform. In recent years, the ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ demonstrations have also created a very serious demand for change, transformation and democratization. Therefore, there is also distrust and discomfort towards the current government. All of this social pressure is causing strain on the government. Therefore, when it all adds up, Iran does not want war under these conditions so it tries to be very careful. It is not in favor of the spread of war.

Israel, on the other hand, has indeed waged a war of genocide against the Palestinians, but it has also suffered great damage. Israel collapsed economically and militarily. At the moment, Israel is also very weak. Without the support of America and the West, Israel would not be able to survive. On its own, Israel could not have waged the war in Gaza. This is a fact. Therefore, Israel is trying to secure the support of America and the West by increasing tensions with Iran though it is not in a position to wage a comprehensive war with Iran in the current situation. Should America join this war, Israel would play an active role. But as far as we can see, America is also approaching cautiously. It is not rushing. America is trying to hide its intentions a little bit.

The currently situation between Israel and Iran is a low-intensity war, there is a situation of conflict. But neither side wants to turn this into an open, widespread, comprehensive war at this stage. There is a careful approach in this regard. Israel and America are pursuing a policy aimed at wearing down, weakening and capitulating Iran. This low-intensity war is a part of this policy. But Turkey really wants this war to spread. It hopes to benefit from this. It thinks that it has an interest in this. It plays such an ominous role.

As a movement, we are against war. Our struggle is a struggle for legitimate self-defense. In this sense, we see more bloodshed and the spread of war in the region neither in the interest of the Kurds nor the peoples of the region. The ones who lose in war are societies, and these lands seen enough blood. Therefore, we are against war. Our strategy everywhere is democracy, the solution of problems in accordance with the understanding of a democratic, confederal system. It is to solve the problems on a democratic basis, through democratic political negotiations. War has no benefit for anyone except for the imperialists and colonialists. We are a movement of the people and the people do not need more war.