In the second part of the interview, KCK Executive Council member Duran Kalkan, spoke about the current efforts by Turkish president Erdoğan to try and maintain his reign by frightening everyone with psychological warfare. Kalkan also spoke about the reaction to the usurpation of people's will in Hakkari (Colemerg).

The first part of this interview can be read here

In recent days, Erdoğan has been conducting meetings with other political parties in Turkey. This came after the AKP-MHP coalition suffered a serious defeat in the recent municipal elections. What can be understood from these meetings and the general situation of the AKP?

What is the situation of the fascist AKP-MHP? It is ambiguous, though the narratives propagated by these circles are not truthful.

The AKP-MHP tried to frighten everyone through psychological warfare, but it seems that they did not achieve the results that they were hoping for with their very exaggerated psychological warfare. Fascism is collapsing; AKP-MHP fascism is dissolving. All their efforts and their propaganda right now are designed to hide this fact. They are trying to deflect this reality. They try to twist the facts so that the truth is unrecognizable and only the image they want to show is seen, so that their collapse and dissolution cannot be seen. They are especially afraid of the Turkish and, particularly, the foreign public. The AKP solely survives with the support it receives from abroad and is afraid to lose this too. They have brainwashed a lot of people with money and with nationalist, sexist, and religious delusions. They have deceived and turned people into enemies of the Kurds, claiming that this would be the road to victory. Now, the AKP is afraid that the people will see the truth and turn away from them. The AKP is in a constant state of fear that the truth is revealed, that they are unable to continue their lie and that their support is cut off. We have always told them that fear is useless. No matter what it does, the fascist AKP-MHP will not be saved from total collapse, and this will happen very soon.

In relation to the current government in Turkey, Rêber Apo said that the mechanisms of the coup d’état are still active. Some other political circles are also drawing attention to this. Every major political decision taken by the state, or more generally, everything fascism does, is actually a coup in itself. Especially in the current environment of resistance, where the mask of fascism has fallen and continues to become exposed by the day, fascism cannot protect and sustain its existence without organizing fascist coups. The attack on the municipality of Colemerg (tr. Hakkari) is also a coup, it is a usurpation of will. After losing the election, the AKP-MHP is trying to seize back control of these municipalities by appointing trustees to them – they had used all kinds of tricks to regain control of these municipalities even during the elections. Despite this, they couldn’t regain those municipalities. Now, after only a few weeks since the elections, they are seizing these municipalities through various guises. What the fascist AKP-MHP wants to do is obvious. This is a battle of the wills. The government is trying to break the will of the people. For eight/ten years, they had constantly appointed trustees. Trustees are appointed after every election. Despite all the pressure and deceptions, the Kurdish people banished the fascist, colonialist, and genocidal AKP-MHP from all their cities again. To make its presence felt again, the government tries to usurp the people’s will. Saying, “Even if you win the election, I will still be the one who rules.” The elections are not respected; instead, colonial law is implemented.

There is, de facto, a different law being applied in Kurdistan. This was also said in parliament. It was said on the rostrums of the parliament, "Kurdistan is a colony. Colonialism is being practiced on Kurds". Rêber Apo said this 50 years ago. "Colonialism is a crime, the worst thing. It must be fought against," he said. He called on the people to struggle. For this, he has been kept under the Imrali torture and genocide system for 26 years. What Rêber Apo said back then, is being chanted by the people in the streets today; it is being said on the rostrums of the parliament. I do not know if those remarks are recorded in the official archives of the state, seeing as the state destroys all evidence of its wrong doings. I don’t believe there will be any archives or documents left of such remarks.

They want to destroy all documentation as to the existence of the Kurds. I am sure that they will continue with this mentality and policy and will further act consciously and organizationally in order to achieve this.

As you mentioned and has been widely covered in the media, the AKP regime is attempting to usurp the municipalities it had lost during the elections by appointing its own trustees. The attacks on Colemerg have particularly been on the agenda, where the state is attempting to criminalize yet another co-mayor. There have been strong reactions towards this. How do you evaluate the situation?

Several different democratic circles, especially those surrounding the DEM Party, stood up for the co-mayor. The democratic parties of the region, the democratic forces, and the people stood up for him. They reacted immediately. And this reaction spread all over Kurdistan, all over Turkey, to Europe, and abroad. People are standing up and fighting against this fascist attack, against the political coup, against the blatant usurpation of will, and against the appointment of trustees. This is important, and I want to salute every one of them. Their stance is valuable and needs to be further strengthened. We need to make this struggle more effective, and it needs to continue until it yields results. It is absolutely necessary not to tolerate this usurpation and to prevent it. Actions must be continued at this level. Many democratic political circles and civil society organizations are making press releases in this regard and are carrying out actions accordingly. The people will not allow Colemerg to be governed by a trustee. Colemerg will not accept such an administration.

Important vigils have been initiated in other municipalities too. But this struggle must go beyond; it must also become a struggle for organization. Municipalities should actually be a place where the people govern themselves as a form of local government. They should be the place where the people organize. The people’s organization must be built around the municipality. The current vigils cannot be just ordinary vigils. The struggle against the appointment of trustees is absolutely necessary. It is necessary to smash the usurpation of will. But this struggle must be transformed into a struggle for education and organization. The people must be able to govern themselves. The Kurdish people have expressed their refusal of such policies. The people and democratic society will not accept anyone who does not accept them. As the state accepts society, society will accept them.

The struggle has developed and will further deepen, and the people will become more conscious and organized. Fascism suffered a heavy blow in Kurdistan in the March 31 elections. Kurdistan did not let fascism pass; it never will. With this resistance against the trustees, fascism will not only be defeated; it will be destroyed. The fact that the state is attacking so brutally, is not due to its strength; it is due to its weakness. The peoples of Turkey and the Kurdish community should know this very well. The AKP-MHP fascism is collapsing. It is trying to survive through these attacks. It is trying to prolong its life in this way. So, if we make the struggle more organized, if it spreads and develops, it will throw the AKP-MHP fascism into the trash bag of history. The colonialist, genocidal mentality, and its politics will be destroyed. Turkey will be democratized and Kurds will be liberated, and a democratic Turkey will emerge on the basis of Kurdish freedom.

There is a fascist dictatorship that does not recognize elections. Elections are actually a concrete indicator of democracy. People elect those who they want to be governed by. If the governments elected by the Kurds, by those who want freedom, are not going to represent the Kurds, then the elections are meaningless.

There were some important press releases in this regard that we are closely observing. Particular circles are pointing out that if the government appoint trustees anyway, what is the point of holding elections? As a matter of fact, all the elections held under the AKP-MHP rule are rigged. There are no real elections. The May 14 and 28, 2023, elections were also rigged. Tayyip Erdoğan is not a president who won an election; he is an illegitimate ruler who usurped power and took it by force. In the May 31st elections, we saw this again. In Sirnak, in Colemerg, and in all the cities of Kurdistan, they openly cheated. They transported so many of their own voter base to Kurdish cities, made them cast votes, and still they were unable to win. They could not gain control of Kurdish municipalities through fraud, pressure, or force. As another measure, they are appointing trustees. This makes the elections meaningless. If the AKP-MHP insists on this, people will be encouraged to fight more radically. No one should think that society will just submit to these fascist policies so easily. The resistance against fascism will grow, diversify, and become more violent and radicalized. We have always said that fascism is a total attack; it means war. Total resistance against fascism is necessary and antifascist war must be the center of this.

Now that the government has rendered the elections meaningless, the Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey, particularly the youth and the women rise up. If the government continues like this, the people will turn to overthrow this regime. There will be a greater tendency toward revolutionary war. This is important and meaningful, and an appropriate approach is needed.

I want to make a call especially to Turkey’s youth, women, and laborers. Regardless of whether you name what is happening right now fascism or not, whether you name the AKP-MHP dictatorship fascist or not, whether you name it institutionalized or not, I call on you to open your eyes and look at the ongoing aggression, persecution, and fascist war and to join, develop, and radicalize the resistance against it. Participate in the antifascist war and support it. Only through war can this AKP-MHP fascism be destroyed.

I am not saying that it can only be destroyed by war. Don’t misunderstand me. But war will play an important role. The struggle against fascism will only be strengthened through war. As the ‘United Revolutionary Movement of Peoples’ (HBDH), we are leading the antifascist struggle. So, we need to develop this war more and more by struggling. Let’s destroy this fascism and all its games and tricks together so that it cannot further damage Turkey, exploit its riches or harm its society. The important conclusion to be drawn from this is to unite more, to struggle more, and to spread the struggle everywhere. I am speaking especially to the youth. The young people of Turkey need to develop the antifascist war. They must not forget Dev-Genç. They must not forget how the revolutionaries, Mahir, Deniz, and Ibrahim resisted against fascist coups. We must not forget their principles. It is necessary to follow them and to walk in their footsteps. I strongly believe that the organization and action in this way will develop further in the coming period.