In the second part of this interview, Sozdar Avesta, member of the Presidential Council of the KCK, spoke about the actions by guerrillas and the new opportunities for 2025.

The first part of the interview can be read here.

Led by the YJA-Star, the guerrillas have dealt heavy blows to the occupying Turkish state from Ankara to the free mountains of Kurdistan this year. How do you evaluate the guerrilla struggle in 2024?

The fascist Turkish state, both presidents, and the chiefs of the general staff and the defense ministers have stated that in 2024 they will “lock down” the Medya Defense Zones. In other words, they stated that they would liquidate the guerrillas. Looking at the truth, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas fought a relentless struggle everywhere. Particularly in northern Kurdistan, from Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) to Dersim (Tunceli), from Botan to Merdin (tr. Mardin), from Serhat to Zagros, and from Metina to Zap and Khakurke, a great resistance was waged. Many heroic, sacrificial comrades were martyred. On this occasion, I once again commemorate all the martyrs of 2024 with respect and gratitude. The Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas are defending their positions against the enemy’s attacks. They have not stepped back, even in a single area.

The attacks against the guerrillas have been going on uninterruptedly for over four years, but the guerrillas are putting up great resistance in all these areas, and particularly in western Zap and Metina, on Mount Bahar and Mound Cudi. The guerrilla has shown its professional performance. They used rich and new ways and methods. On the occasion of Newroz 2024, good news was given to the Kurdish people. The guerrilla has improved its measures against the enemy’s air attacks by the downing of UCAVs and drones. The enemy was hit many times, and the guerrillas defended their areas and positions.

In 2024, the actions reached their peak with the attack on the TAI. This action showed how great the will and power of the guerrillas are. What the guerrilla, which trains itself in the philosophy of Rêber Apo, can do was revealed in the person of comrade Asya Ali and Rojger Helin. In their letters, these friends also gave the perspective for the coming year. They showed what a guerrilla is capable of, how it can be organized, how it can lock on to its target, how it can take action, and how it can get results even under the harshest conditions. Their letters are both a doctrine of war and a manifesto of free life. Freedom guerrillas should take this as a basis. They showed that those whose compass is Rêber Apo can find their course. We believe that the freedom guerrillas will exhibit this performance they have achieved in the global campaign for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo in 2025, in the defense of revolutionary values, and in the solution of the Kurdish question. The guerrilla’s strategic role in the struggle continues.

Is there any further message you would like to give? Is there anything else you would like to say in relation to the struggle for the physical freedom of Abdullah Ocalan and for Kurds to have a status in the Middle East? What is your New Year message to women, youth, and all freedom-striving forces?

The genocidal attacks against our people continue, and so does the heavy isolation of Rêber Apo. A new map of the 21st century is being drawn, and the region is being redesigned. There are as many opportunities as there are dangers for the Kurdish people. But one should be aware that the Kurdish people are no longer the people they were a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago there was the same danger as currently. The enemy still acts with the same mentality as a hundred years ago, but there is one thing he has not calculated: the Kurds are not the Kurds of a hundred years ago. The Kurdish Freedom Movement, led by Rêber Apo, the youth and women of Kurdistan, and the peoples of the Middle East, has reached an important level with their struggle according to the concept of a democratic nation.

The unity of the Kurdish and Arab people is strategic and not only for today. Rêber Apo struggled in the Middle East for twenty years and made great efforts. With his struggle in Damascus and Lebanon, he created a great foundation for the Syrian people. The people of North and East Syria, especially the people of Kurdistan, all political parties, and Kurdish parties, especially the parties in Rojava, should not deceive themselves once again; they should not pursue vested interests; they should focus on national interests and freedom. They should use this opportunity very well. This duty falls on everyone. If acted accordingly, no matter how great the danger is, the will and truth of the Kurdish people is greater than it. The Kurds can nullify all these attacks, these dangers, and achieve national unity. They can take part in the democratization process of Syria with a common will in the whole of North and East Syria. In this way, they can further strengthen Kurdish unity in the other parts of Kurdistan.

There are great dangers to democratic gains, but 2025 could be a year of great success. On this occasion, we call on our people, particularly women and young people, and also on our international friends, all institutions, parties, and organizations, to put aside their disagreements, whatever they may be. Everyone must participate in the process in the right way and play their part. Finally, I wish to all our friends and people a Happy New Year 2025.