A war has been waged in the North Kurdistan region for decades, during which the Turkish army has committed numerous racist crimes against humanity. Young people are being dragged into a dirty war where military service is mandatory as a state policy.

The number of Kurdish youths that join guerilla ranks and refuse to serve in the Turkish military in opposition to the AKP government that tries to rule over Kurdistan with fascist policies continues to grow. HPG guerrillas Fedakâr Diyadin and Helwest Partizan are among the youths that refuse be inducted into the Turkish army and join guerilla ranks. The two guerillas spoke to ANF on why they refuse to serve the Turkish military.

HPG guerilla Fedakâr Diyadin joined the guerrilla ranks in 2015 after he was medically examined for military service but changed his mind and joined the HPG instead. Diyadin describes how he joined the guerilla struggle in this way: “I would not be able to join the army of the Turkish state. For a young Kurd, serving the Turkish military is similar to betrayal. This is because a freedom struggle has been waged in the mountains of Kurdistan over the past 40 years. PKK guerillas struggle for the freedom of their country and people. I would not fight against the people that fight for my freedom. As a Kurdish youth, I will continue my struggle in the guerrilla ranks, where I belong.”

Guerilla Diyadin made the following call to young Kurds: “Kurdish youth should join their freedom struggle, not the Turkish army. Kurdish youth should join the fight for freedom against the AKP-MHP fascism that wages an all-out war against all four parts of Kurdistan.”
Born in Urfa and raised in Antep, guerilla Helwest Partizan also refused to be enlisted in the Turkish army and joined the guerrilla ranks in 2017. Partizan said “I had to be with those that fight for the freedom of my people, not their enemies.”

Guerilla Partizan continued: “I too joined the guerrilla ranks after I changed my mind about serving the Turkish military. As a young Kurd, it is immoral and treacherous to join the Turkish army and fight against the PKK. Therefore, I am where I belong. I faced my own truth in the guerirlla ranks. Of course, I also witnessed the savagery of the enemy here. Now, I understand better that I made the right decision by joining the guerrilla ranks.”

Partizan stated that it is an honor for him to fight against the fascism of the Turkish state that subjects the Kurdistan people to all kinds of denial, massacre and annihilation.

HPG guerrilla ended his words with the following call:“Kurdish youths should know their history well. They should face their history and think of their future. Do they agree to remain silent as the Turkish state wages a comprehensive war against the Kurds and Kurdistan? Do they want to serve or resist the fascist mentality that puts our people, young and old alike, through massacres without mercy? Kurdish youth should take their place in the ranks of resistance and put up a strong struggle against the enemy, as they always do.”