Kalkan: Let's increase the campaign for Öcalan's freedom and the solution of the Kurdish question
Kalkan said that "success and victory will be for those who resist the conspiracy and the Imrali system for freedom."
Kalkan said that "success and victory will be for those who resist the conspiracy and the Imrali system for freedom."
In the second part of his extensive analysis, Duran Kalkan, a member of the KCK Executive Council, called on everyone to develop the campaign aiming for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] and the solution to the Kurdish question in a much stronger, effective, and result-oriented way.
The first part of the analysis can be read here
What are the characteristics of the historical resistance developed by Rêber Apo against the 25-year system of torture, isolation and genocide in Imrali? We would like to dwell on them. How was the resistance against the torture, isolation and genocide in Imrali?
Twenty-five years is a quarter of a century, how easily it rolls off the tongue! And during the most active years of a human’s lifespan, how did Rêber Apo resist alone in the headquarters of the enemy for 25 years? He judged and historically condemned those who put him there and those who wanted to put him on trial. What was such resistance based on? Where did he get his strength from? Which characteristics enabled him to both resist for 25 years and also create historical developments? We know very well that Rêber Apo did not only resist against the system of torture, isolation, and genocide on Imrali; he actually turned himself into a center of intellectual production. He turned Imrali into a center of thought production, an academy. He turned it into a school. He realized the biggest revolution of thought and conscience in history. He carried out an intellectual revolution. Rêber Apo created a new paradigm that shows the way to the liberation of all the oppressed, especially women and Kurds, and solves their problems. In such an environment, where enemy pressure was constantly felt at every moment and every second, where physical and psychological pressure was at the highest level, where everything was restricted, and where he was threatened at every moment, he realized the greatest intellectual revolution as well as the greatest resistance in history.
But on what basis did he do all this? How should we understand this resistance? What should our stance be in the face of this resistance? How should we renew and improve ourselves? How should we achieve the power to represent such resistance and the right participation in it? These are blazing questions.
All revolutionaries and patriots need to answer these questions correctly. All of us, especially the militants of the PKK and the PAJK, those who want to be comrades of Rêber Apo, need to give the most correct and adequate answer. We need to feel the reality of this resistance down to our bones. We need to understand it deeply; it must be brought to consciousness. Moreover, on the basis of the characteristics of such resistance, one needs to renew oneself, recreate oneself, and attain a revolution of personality by having a revolution of mentality and conscience. And of course, this revolution must be lived and kept alive. It needs to be practiced in every field.
The conspiracy of February 15th had a preceding history. The conspiracy started on October 9, 1998, when Rêber Apo was forced to leave Syria. What followed was the fiercest and most brutal pursuit in history. The conspiratorial forces - the pioneers of the global capitalist modernity system - were a partnership of the USA, Britain, and Israel. We know this very well. These forces put all their means to use and wanted to immobilize Rêber Apo. They used as many ruling and statist powers in this attack as they needed. They wanted to destroy Rêber Apo through this international attack. Thus, they aimed to bring the Kurdish genocide to a conclusion by liquidating the PKK.
For this, they attacked Rêber Apo like it was a hunting expedition. They narrowed the target, and wherever he went, they put him under the heaviest surveillance. They did it in Russia, they did it in Rome, they did it in Greece, and they did it in Kenya. They wanted to destroy Rêber Apo with tens of attacks. Rêber Apo alone made all these attacks ineffective and unsuccessful. First of all, on October 9th, Rêber Apo thwarted the attack that aimed to neutralize him by going to Russia and not returning, and after that, he thwarted all the attacks with his careful actions and foresight. He defeated every plan of attack and also exposed the conspiracy. For example, on October 15 and October 25, when he was in Russia, he exposed the attack of the international conspiracy by making comprehensive evaluations. In Rome, he called on society to be sensitive against the conspiracy. Tens of thousands of Kurds, democrats, and socialists filled the streets of Rome. They kept vigil for weeks. A great sacrificial resistance developed in every field, especially in prisons, based on the ‘You cannot darken our sun’ campaign. Embracement for Rêber Apo developed. From the guerrillas to the patriotic people - women, youth, children, the elderly, people of all genders and all ages - people from everywhere carried out self-sacrifice actions in defense of Rêber Apo. They formed a ring of fire around Rêber Apo. They marched with great courage against the attack of the international conspiracy and put a stop to it. They warned the conspiratorial forces. As a matter of fact, the then-Secretary-of-State in the US, who organized and directed the international conspiracy, had to admit the magnitude of the reaction of the Kurdish people and their international friends against the conspiracy, saying, “We expected a reaction, but we did not expect this much.” He thereby expressed their fear and fright.
On this basis, the conspiratorial forces, who could not destroy Rêber Apo, staged the February 15, 1999, conspiracy as a second step of attack. What was this? To kidnap him from Kenya, deliver him to Turkey, and execute him. On February 15, they did this and put him in the Imrali system. Those who carried this out are the forces that divided Kurdistan into four parts and have been orchestrating a genocidal attack on Kurdish society for the past 100 years. They targeted Rêber Apo because he is the will of Kurdish existence and freedom. By destroying that will, they aimed to liquidate his organizational structure, the PKK, and, based on these, to achieve the Kurdish genocide. They prepared the Imrali system. It was their system. They organized the February 15th conspiracy. Rêber Apo said, “Turkey’s role here is no more than that of a prison guard.” The Turkish state could only act as a prison guard in such a conspiracy.
We know the attitude of the Rêber Apo towards the February 15 attack. He wrote in his prison writings that he first reacted by deciding not to say anything. But within an hour or two, he reevaluated the situation, foreseeing that the conspirators wanted to keep everything in the dark, and concluded that it was necessary to block this aim by fighting against the conspiracy. He changed his attitude and stated that he envisioned fighting it in order to defeat it. His first message was as follows: “I am questioning everything, from the strands of my hair to the nails of my feet. All comrades should do the same. We will go through a great deal of questioning. We will experience change and transformation. Because the attack is this heavy. In order to understand it correctly and fight against it successfully, we need to renew ourselves in every aspect. In mentality, conscience, style, personality, organization, system, and purpose, we must experience a radical change and transformation in all respects. All comrades approach the process in this way.” He said this and started his struggle on this basis. In his prison writing titled “Declaration for a Democratic Solution to the Kurdish Question,” he exposed the conspiracy and its aims and mostly emphasized the dimensions of the conspiracy targeting Turkey. He tried to enlighten the environment in Turkey by analyzing the impacts of the conspiracy towards Turkey.
On the other hand, he put forward a new stance in court. He did not exhibit any of the behaviors predicted and expected by the conspiratorial forces. On the contrary, he adopted an attitude and stance that would frustrate and defeat the conspiracy. He used the court as a ground to give a message to the Turkish public and to the people. He called for a solution. He called for peace in order to end the historical conflict that emerged in the Kurdish question and for the problems that put Turkey into crises.
No one expected this. Everyone thought that Rêber Apo would wage a blind battle. Because that is how they perceive Rêber Apo. They called him a “terrorist,” and they called him “savage.” They perceived him as “knowing nothing but war.” There were those who wrote and said that he could not even defend himself. Therefore, they thought that he would get into a blind fight and pave the way for execution. However, they encountered Rêber Apo’s personality, which includes deep thought, patience, and the right attitude and behavior with a political approach, both during the interrogation and in court. Just like the Turkish rulers who conducted the interrogation and the conspiratorial forces, the whole public was confronted with the reality of Rêber Apo in the court setting. Thus, he took an important step in defeating the aims of the conspiratorial forces.
Then he called for an indefinite ceasefire on August 2 for the struggle against the conspiracy. He called for the guerrillas to withdraw. Then, in early October, he called for peace groups from the mountains and Europe. With all these, he fought to stop and nullify the execution aimed at by the conspirators. Our movement and our people also joined and supported this struggle of Rêber Apo. They gave Rêber Apo all the support he asked for. Most importantly, they supported Rêber Apo’s struggle against execution by not contracting, by keeping themselves united, and by uniting around him as a movement and as a people. After all, the Turkish state was afraid of execution. Considering the execution as an event that would cause severe damage to itself and create a Kurdish uprising and resistance, the Turkish state did not regard the execution in its own interest and found it more correct and suitable to destroy Rêber Apo with a delayed, eventual execution spread over time within the Imrali torture, isolation, and genocide environment, with a policy of decay. As a matter of fact, the Ecevit government announced on January 11, 2000, that the execution would not be implemented. Thus began a new process in the struggle against the international conspiracy. The Imrali struggle set in. Those who designed the Imrali system of torture, isolation, and genocide said, “You are dying 10 times a day here.” They publicly declared that the Imrali system was a system of extermination, saying, “Death kills once; the Imrali system of torture, isolation, and genocide kills 10 times every day.” These can be found in the publications of the press.
They thought and believed that the Ecevit government would supposedly solve the Kurdish question and liquidate the Kurdish resistance with his ‘individual rights’ project. And so the Turkish state found it in their interest to have a policy of decay and killing spread over time. They kept Rêber Apo in an environment where he could not think or produce thoughts because of the pressure and restrictions. If Rêber Apo cannot produce thought, the PKK cannot renew itself and will disintegrate. If the PKK disintegrates, the people disintegrate. They thought that Rêber Apo, without organization and without the support of the people, would be defeated and have nothing to do. This was their math. On this basis, they applied all kinds of oppression and cruelty, and they did not spare a single opportunity. They didn’t give him pens, paper, or books. They kept him under all kinds of pressure for 24 hours a day. They predicted that under such conditions, no one could do research, think, produce new thoughts, or put their thoughts in writing in preparation for the very limited trials that existed. They assumed that no one could deliver these thoughts to the public, the movement, and the people. No one believed that there would be a struggle there. Everyone was saying, “It’s over now.” In other words, “the weapons are buried; they will never come out again.” The Turkish writers were saying, “Apo is left powerless in the Imrali coffin.”
The Turkish state believed and publicly declared that Rêber Apo could not do anything. This effect reached patriotic circles. Everyone was saying that it was impossible that the struggle continued, and therefore the PKK had to choose a new way of struggling. There were those who said this openly, there were those who said it with threats, and there were those who wanted to seize our means. This even happened internally. So much so that there were those who said, “The international conspiracy attack was carried out to solve the Kurdish problem.” There were those who said, “The conspiracy should not be opposed.” There were those among us who knelt before the conspiracy. “The conspiracy cannot be fought against,” they said. Even among us, there were those who defined the struggle against the conspiracy as a provocation. But in such an environment, Rêber Apo believed and trusted in himself. He said, “I will fight; give me a chance; give me support.” And our leadership and our people gave the support that Rêber Apo asked for. They believed in, trusted, and rallied around Rêber Apo.
The result is known; he developed his prison writing titled ‘From Sumerian Priest State to Democratic Civilization’. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, in 2001–2002, Rêber Apo destroyed the Ecevit government’s individual rights program. The Ecevit program was defeated when Rêber Apo theoretically analyzed the solution to the Kurdish question with the concept of a free Kurdistan and a democratic Middle East and put it forward as a program. Ecevit could not even understand how he was defeated in the Imrali struggle. Then, at the end of 2002, they brought down the coalition led by Ecevit through early elections.
This time, they appointed the religious Tayyip Erdoğan administration, the AKP, to lead the conspiracy to success. He, too, with his Islamic ummah approach, was to take advantage of the Kurdish people’s belief in Islam to supposedly distance them from the PKK and Rêber Apo. They were going to divide and disintegrate the PKK from within by developing provocative liquidationist methods and imposing impositions. The way Tayyip Erdoğan and his colleagues fought against Necmettin Erbakan was used as an example by provocateurs within the PKK to fight against Rêber Apo. This is how the liquidationism of 2002–2004 emerged. A fierce attack was carried out from inside and outside against the movement and therefore against Rêber Apo.
Rêber Apo responded to this attack with a paradigm shift. He went through a deep questioning of the imperialist and statist paradigm and moved away from it. He developed the concept of a democratic solution for the Kurdish question, hence the definition of democratic socialism, by eliminating state sovereignty from democracy and socialism. Rêber Apo revealed the paradigm of ‘Democratic Modernity’ and the democratic society solution to the Kurdish question based on ecology and women’s freedom. He created the solution of ‘Democratic Confederalism’ based on ‘Democratic Autonomy’. With the greatest intellectual revolution in history, Rêber Apo responded to the AKP’s oppression and attacks, including the conspiracy attack carried out by the AKP.
In his prison writings against the conspirators’ attempts to judge, condemn, and defeat him within the Imrali system, Rêber Apo broadly defined the paradigm of ‘Democratic Modernity’. He analyzed, judged, and historically condemned the 5,000-year-old male-dominated power and state system and the 500-year-old capitalist modernity system in all its dimensions. He did this in his work titled ‘The Athens Defense’. He did this in his prison writing titled ‘Defending a People’, he did it in his 5-volume prison writing titled ‘Manifesto for a Democratic Society’. He defined democratic modernity as opposed to capitalist modernity. He developed Jineolojî against a male-dominated mentality and politics. He defined the women’s liberation revolution. He put forward solutions for all social problems created by the power and state systems and capitalist modernity, especially the Kurdish question and the women’s question. Thus, he globalized the reality of the Leadership. The Kurdish people’s leader became the leader of the peoples, the leader of all the oppressed, and the leader of humanity.
In other words, he did not only show resistance in Imrali to frustrate the attacks. Rêber Apo did not only judge and convict those who wanted to judge him. At the same time, he revealed a new mentality, a new ideological political line, a new program, and a new style and tempo that showed the way of salvation to all the oppressed, especially the Kurdish people and women. Rêber Apo created a new leadership; he liberated the PKK from the imperialist and statist paradigm and brought it to a democratic, ecological, and women’s liberationist paradigm. This paradigm is important. We know very well that this paradigm is ecological; it involves the harmony of society and nature.
This paradigm is women’s libertarian. It has developed Jineolojî; it has analyzed, judged, and condemned all kinds of male-dominated mentality, politics, patriarchal understanding, and behavior. It redefined the woman. It developed the consciousness and organization of women’s freedom. It turned these into a science; it created Jineolojî.
This paradigm defined the democratic nation against the nation-state. It defined democratic confederalism based on democratic autonomy against the nation-state. In this paradigm, the oppressed people see themselves, see their own interests, and find their own liberation. Those who are disturbed by the male-dominated mentality and politics embrace Jineolojî. Those who are tired of the oppression of the nation-state are taking democratic confederalism as a foundation. Those who are oppressed by the world of private property and individualism cling to the democratic society. They prefer the life of the free individual and the democratic society. For all the oppressed, for everyone, there is a path to salvation here; see your own path to salvation. We need to understand this reality correctly.
In the following periods, it is known that Rêber Apo stood against all kinds of deceitful behavior by the AKP and, again, against the oppression produced by it. Rêber Apo exposed the November 2009 coup and stood against it. He defined the ‘political genocide operations’ process. He stated that under those circumstances, it would be impossible to practice democratic politics, so in May 2010, he declared that he had withdrawn himself from political struggle. He developed a road map against the AKP’s frauds, such as the Kurdish expansion, and rather put forward the project of ‘A democratic solution to the Kurdish question’. Even today, this project stands as a project that enlightens everyone everywhere, that is realistic for the Kurdish question, and that will provide a solution for the benefit of all oppressed peoples.
In other words, Rêber Apo turned the Imrali conditions into a great field of resistance for democratic modernity against the 5,000-year-old male-dominated mentality and politics, the state and power structure, and the 500-year-old capitalist modernity attack. He opened a school of resistance, an academy. He developed the science of ‘Democratic Civilization’ here. He defined the line of democratic modernity. He called on everyone to make a revolution of thought and conscience on this basis and to renew themselves.
On the other hand, Rêber Apo opposed all kinds of oppression and persecution. Against the AKP administration’s April 2015 attack, which was named the ‘çöktürme planı’, it sought to liquidate the people and the movement, crush the guerrilla, and supposedly bring Rêber Apo to his knees. He initiated the resistance by banging his fist on the table. Since then, he has been breathlessly resisting. He follows an absolute line of resistance without showing the slightest tendency. When he found the slightest opportunity, he made an attempt to end the death fasts in 2019 and put forward a solution project. AKP fascism has again started the practice of absolute miscommunication and isolation. And still, Rêber Apo continues to resist. For nine years, he has been in such breathless resistance. Let us pay attention; there is not the slightest weakness on the Leader’s behalf despite being at the headquarters of the enemy. No one can prove otherwise. Everyone can look at Imrali and see how Rêber Apo stands against AKP-MHP fascism, against the fascist, colonialist, genocidal mentality, politics, and attacks. Therefore, to see how to be anti-fascist, how to be anti-colonialist, how to be anti-genocidal, and how to struggle for freedom and democracy, one can look to Rêber Apo.
In this respect, this is the 25th anniversary of the struggle of a single person to come to terms with the history of civilization. A quarter of a century has passed. What a great struggle, what a superhuman struggle, what a marathon! So let’s understand it well. How did Rêber Apo live 25 years in such an environment? What were the characteristics of this environment?
In order to wage a struggle for freedom in Kurdistan, in order to wage a struggle for democracy in Turkey and around the world, first of all, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the Imrali resistance correctly. Those who cannot understand this cannot be Kurdish freedom fighters, nor can they be fighters of democracy or fighters of the anti-fascist revolution in Turkey, the rest of the region, or the world. It is Rêber Apo’s quarter-century-long history of the great Imrali resistance that reveals the correct style for all of them and illuminates their path. There are all kinds of positive qualities in this resistance. In other words, everyone can learn from it how to fight for their own liberation. Those asking what thought, program, style, and tempo are to be followed can find answers in Rêber Apo.
Rêber Apo also questioned this; in almost every prison writing, he evaluated how he endured and struggled against the Imrali system of torture, genocide, and isolation. He made evaluations so that those who are curious and interested can look and learn. What did he say? He talked about recreating himself every day, every moment. “I resist with the power of meaning,” he said. He has already defined his own perspective on life as ‘meaningfulness’. He gave himself the power of life. What is the power of meaning? It means giving the right answer to the questions of why he is there, who keeps him there, for what purpose, what he should do, and how he should act. That’s what he said. “No one could do what I have,” he said. “I misled everyone with my behavior.” He wrote this clearly: “They expected different actions from me. On the contrary, I fought in my own unique way. The result was that my struggle was victorious.” How, in his own way? He said, “I fought and won by understanding and knowing what I was going through, where I was… In other words, I carried out this struggle with great consciousness, great faith, and great willpower.” These are the characteristics of the Imrali struggle. This is the main characteristic of Rêber Apo’s historical quarter-century-long Imrali resistance. It is based on a very deep consciousness, a very deep belief, a very strong will, a very historical responsibility, and a great assertion, determination, and strength created by these. In other words, this resistance gets its strength from here. These are its main pillars.
This is how he defined his style during the previous struggle. He said that the historic August 15th breakthrough was a breakthrough of great faith, will, assertion, and determination. The Imrali resistance is the same. It is also the greatest breakthrough resistance in history. Therefore, we need to understand the reality of this resistance well.
We can actually state the following: Even before February 15, Rêber Apo had achieved significant successes in the struggle against the conspiratorial attacks of the October 9 conspiracy. The trip to Rome was a heavy blow to the conspiratorial attack. We have seen this. If Rêber Apo had not been left alone, if we had acted in an organized manner, if we had (as an organization) embraced him like the ones struggling with the slogan of ‘You cannot darken our sun!’ embraced him, if the effect of these intelligence attacks had been overcome, February 15 could have been nullified, and the February 15 conspiracy could have been prevented. February 15 was not inevitable. Rêber Apo’s opening in Rome and the developments he created clearly showed this.
What do we conclude from this? Yes, the international conspiracy is the fiercest, most relentless, most brutal attack, the most suffocating attack, and the most inhuman attack in history. This is a fact. But it is not invincible, it is not undefeatable. The conspiracy of October 9th was planned to destroy Rêber Apo in one day, in one moment. 25 years have passed, and they still could not destroy him. After that, they perpetuated an attack that extended to every day to destroy him. They established the Imrali system as a system that can kill 10 times every day. For 25 years, he has been resisting the Imrali system. For 26 years, Rêber Apo has been resisting the attacks of the international conspiracy. He has frustrated and defeated them all. What does this show? The international conspiracy attack can be defeated. The Imrali system of torture, isolation, and genocide can be broken. Rêber Apo’s physical freedom can be achieved. We need to believe in this. It is necessary to see that this is possible by understanding the lessons of the past struggle correctly. But with what? With a great struggle. First and foremost, by understanding the struggle of Rêber Apo in Imrali correctly, drawing the lessons correctly, and carrying out that style and that method of struggle.
So, while we are experiencing another 15 February, which Rêber Apo called “Kurdish genocide day,”, while we are experiencing the 25th anniversary of such a day, such a conspiratorial attack, a painful day, we must review ourselves as all revolutionaries and patriots, as women and men, as youth, as Kurdish people, and as democratic humanity. We must subject ourselves to critical, self-critical questioning. We must correctly understand the reality and characteristics of the Imrali resistance and subject ourselves to self-critical questioning on the basis of those characteristics. We must find and correct our understandings, feelings, behaviors, mistakes, and errors, and make ourselves capable of successfully waging a struggle for freedom and democracy against the fascist, colonialist, and genocidal mentality and politics along the lines of the Imrali resistance.
We must not say that this cannot be done. Let us not make mistakes in this regard. Why? Because Rêber Apo had already killed negativism with his struggle on the outside. He never accepted that an obstacle standing between him and his aim was impossible to overcome; he was always a revolutionary who made the impossible possible. With his 25-year struggle in Imrali, he has already destroyed ‘impossible’ a thousand times. He revealed the truth. He revealed that nothing is impossible. He showed that it is possible to make the impossible possible. Let us not mislead ourselves with pessimism.
Let us pay attention. In the headquarters of the enemy, under physical and psychological attack at any given moment of the 24 hours in a day, in an environment where there are no means, Rêber Apo developed such a struggle based only on his own reality, power of meaning, thought, consciousness, will, and faith. He raised himself to the level of global leadership—the leadership of all the oppressed. He has created so much development. Therefore, nowhere is as impossible as Imrali.
Nowhere is there as much pressure, persecution, and obstacles as in Imrali. If there is such resistance in Imrali, there can be more advanced and strong resistance elsewhere. If the reality, mentality, and style of the leadership is understood correctly, the greatest struggles can be waged everywhere. Let’s pay attention. Does Rêber Apo ever say ‘impossible’? Does he ever talk about difficulties? Does he ever talk about obstacles? Does he take refuge in justifications by saying he doesn’t have the right equipment? So let us not mislead ourselves. Let us free ourselves from all these excuses. Let us not take refuge in mistakes and shortcomings. On the contrary, let’s throw them away. Let’s overcome all our mistakes and shortcomings by enlightening ourselves in the reality of the Imrali resistance, by questioning and developing our consciousness and faith again and again. This is possible. To the extent that we overcome this, we will understand Rêber Apo correctly. By practicing the new paradigm correctly, we approach the truth of the Leadership. And on the basis of the physical freedom of Rêber Apo, we will carry out the struggle for the freedom of the Kurdish people and the democratization of Turkey, the Middle East, and the world much more effectively.
Now we are already waging such a struggle on a global level, on the basis of the physical liberation of Rêber Apo and the move for the solution of the Kurdish question. On this February 15th, our people are standing everywhere, our international friends are standing, and humanity is standing on their feets. The February 15 conspiracy is absolutely rejected. Our people are saying, “I will not live with the Imrali torture and isolation system. I will shatter this system; I will ensure the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. He has already exposed the conspiracy.”
Indeed, Rêber Apo has created a process in which the Imrali system will be shattered and Rêber Apo’s physical freedom will be ensured. This is the time for freedom, the time for the disintegration of the Imrali torture and isolation system. Let us pay attention; with so much struggle, the dark days have indeed come to light. The day of genocide will be turned into the day of freedom. On February 15th, the greatest struggle for freedom is being waged. This happened through the struggle of Rêber Apo. So let us welcome the 25th anniversary with more effective struggles in every field. Led by women and youth, let’s fight more effectively in all areas abroad, in the four parts of Kurdistan, all over the world, and let’s fight with the guerrilla’s style of striking. Let the Zap guerrillas’ heroic style of striking and achievements be the style of our struggle. Let us fight by absolutely rejecting the Imrali system and by taking a free life with a free leadership as a driving force. Those who do so will win.
On this basis, I believe that the 25th anniversary of February 15 will strike a fatal blow against conspiratorial mentality and politics, that a level of struggle will emerge on the basis of the physical freedom of Rêber Apo that will develop Kurdish freedom and the democratization of Turkey and the Middle East, and that it will reach a peak for global freedom.
There are protests in Europe on this basis. There are demonstrations in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. Our people are standing in Rojava. Four parts of Kurdistan are standing; women and youth are standing; everyone is in struggle. An important summit of these will be the February 17th Cologne rally. I salute all these actions to protest the 25th anniversary of the February 15 conspiracy. I call on everyone to develop the campaign aiming for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo and the solution of the Kurdish question in a much stronger, effective, and result-oriented manner on the anniversary of the February 15 conspiracy and in the 26th year of struggle. I wish great success to all those who struggle on this basis. Success and victory will be for those who resist the conspiracy and the Imrali system for freedom.