Mahir Doğan, a member of the PKK Education Committee, spoke to Dengê Welat radio about the isolation of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan, the ban of the PKK, the situation of ill prisoners, the migration of people from South Kurdistan, the guerrillas, and the people's resistance.

Mahir Doğan, who began his statement by commemorating the PKK's 43rd anniversary, drew attention to the isolation imposed on Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan. Doğan said that the state aims at destroying the Kurdish people through Öcalan. "Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] has been persecuted every month, every day, and every hour for 23 years. This isolation imposed on our leader is something never heard of. They employ every method available. They say that by isolating you, they would not only deny you the right to life, but will also destroy you and your culture. This is the degree of isolation they impose on Öcalan.

If we want to comprehend modern-day persecution, we must look at Imrali. Imrali has become a testing ground for anti-Kurdish operations. All oppressive policies originate in Imrali. Imralı is at the core of the conflict. A never-ending war is being carried out against our leader. They can't keep this brutality hidden for much longer. They can't hide their lies any longer. The Turkish state saw that it could no longer get results. There is a struggle for the freedom of Leader Apo in Kurdistan and all over the world."

Why is the ban of the PKK still on?

Doğan assessed the Council of Europe's decision to give Turkey until September 2022, at the latest, to provide information about Öcalan. "No one can be imprisoned for more than 16 years anywhere. This is unacceptable. People all around the world respect and defend their leaders. We must also intensify our fight for our rights."

Doğan drew attention to the ban of the PKK saying that "this prohibition is meaningless. For nearly 50 years, such a never-ending battle has been waged. This is not an unusual occurrence. This year, the anniversary of our party's founding was commemorated in a very remarkable way throughout Kurdistan and the world. When the state declares that the PKK has been defeated, the people give the necessary answer, which is also the answer to those who seek to outlaw the PKK."

Doğan continued: "What is the PKK's history? The PKK's history is one of self-defence. It is the history of defending Kurdish principles, preserving our culture, and ensuring women's freedom. How do you outlaw a party that supports these principles? How can a party that has made a name for itself in Kurdish culture and around the world be outlawed? The European Union does not draw any conclusions from what occurred. For all these years, the Turkish state has tortured the Kurdish people and European countries have been blind to this and continue to impose the ban. Such treatment of the Kurdish people is unacceptably cruel. What has the PKK done in these countries? Which country has the PKK fought against? These policies also have a negative impact on European countries."

Emphasizing that the PKK fights the most against gangs like ISIS, Mahir Doğan continued: "Of course, the PKK has taken on the responsibility of defending its own people. Before being defeated, ISIS carried out attacks against European people on a daily basis. Yet the ban of the PKK is still in place. This matter should now be on the agenda of European countries. It should also be on NATO's agenda. The prohibition and baseless ‘terrorist’ accusations levelled against PKK must be lifted as soon as possible."

Economic crisis is linked to war policies

Evaluating the situation of ill prisoners, Doğan said that the Turkish state uses ill prisoners as a weapon.

Noting that there were 120 thousand prisoners in Turkish and Kurdish prisons between 2010 and 2012, Doğan added that the number of prisoners climbed to 300 thousand after the AKP-MHP's war policies. "Even if you are ill, you will be imprisoned, that is the government’s message. A sick person must be treated outside, according to the law. However, Kurds are not treated according to the law in Turkey. They even attack our martyrs' graves. They do not return the martyrs' bodies to their relatives. All of them are the Turkish state's genocidal actions against the Kurdish people.  We will oppose this. We will exist with our resistance."

Underlining that the economic crisis in Turkey is not independent of war policies, Doğan continued: "The AKP-MHP coalition government is on the verge of collapsing. This regime's goal is to destroy the Kurdish people. The war policies of the dictatorship are inextricably tied to the economy. If this war policy had been successful, it would have destroyed the PKK and caused the Kurdish people to abandon their cause. These ambitions, however, failed.

They withdrew from a number of locations once this scheme failed. One of these regions is Werxelê. For months, Werxelê was the site of fierce resistance against Turkish state attacks. When the Turkish government failed to produce any results, a significant crisis erupted. In Turkey, they sold everything to fund this war. Turkey's wealth, territory, and institutions have all been sold to foreign countries. They were unable to succeed no matter what they tried. The conflict is being waged throughout Turkey. They threaten everyone, but their threats are now meaningless. The regime's collapse is close. The Turkish lira's fall against the US dollar and Euro is harming their economy. All of these are linked to war politics."

Kurdish young people should resist

Mahir Doğan, evaluating the current migration crisis in South Kurdistan, said that the Kurdish young people should resist and not abandon their lands.

Doğan drew attention to the Turkish state's use of chemical weapons and said: "Kurdish young people oppose chemical weapons, risk death, falling as martyrs, yet never abandon their territories. On the other hand, some young people risk their lives by fleeing their homes. This is a disgrace for the Bashur regime. The Bashur government gives no hope to these young people. This is also due to the KDP's collaboration with the Turkish government. The Turkish state would have been defeated by now if the KDP had not taken this attitude. The KDP is no longer in power. They are controlled by the Turkish government.

Doğan ended his remarks by saying that "last week, university students took to the streets to express their discontent for not receiving their scholarships. Young people are fighting for their legal rights. This is the appropriate attitude. They must strengthen their defences. The KDP is now behaving like the Turkish state. The correct thing to do is to oppose these policies. Young people from the South are migrating to Europe. They must, however, resist against KDP as they did against Saddam."