KCK Executive Council member Mustafa Karasu said that "the essence of the policy of the Turkish state and the current AKP government is to liquidate the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom in every dimension and to commit genocide against the Kurds."

The isolation being imposed on the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan, continues. On 3 May, another six-month visit ban was announced in the press. Reactions against this isolation are increasing day by day and a multi-faceted struggle is being waged. How do you evaluate the current situation and developments?

The essence of the policy of the Turkish state and the current AKP government is to liquidate the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom in every dimension and to commit genocide against the Kurds. The pursuit of this policy serves as the foundation for all other policies. This fact must be recognized, especially when evaluating the policies of the governments in Turkey. The policy being carried out in Imrali is also the policy of genocide against Kurds.

Rêber Apo’s [Abdullah Öcalan] uprising and his struggle for freedom were always struggles against this policy of genocide. Rêber Apo initiated the struggle based on the determination that Kurdistan is a colony. Already back then, he emphasized that the main aim of the Turkish state is to turn Kurdistan into an expansion area for Turkish nationalization. In just half a century, Rêber Apo managed to create an organization, a political movement, and a society that is struggling against this policy of genocide.

Those who pursue this genocidal policy aim first and foremost to prevent society from becoming organized or having political will. They want to liquidate the organization and its leader, who fights against genocide. Rêber Apo has been targeted from the very beginning, as he is both the founder of this organization and the one who determines its ideological and political philosophy. When the Turkish state failed in the struggle against the PKK and Rêber Apo, he was taken into captivity through an international conspiracy. The conspiracy against Rêber Apo was carried out in order to liquidate the freedom movement and the struggle against genocide, and this is also the purpose of the heavy isolation policy implemented in Imrali today.

The policy of genocide is applied first and foremost to Rêber Apo. All other genocidal policies and practices take their source from here. If one looks at the policy being implemented in Imrali, one can understand the policy that is and will be implemented for the Kurds. There are some who believe that regardless of what happens in Imrali, different policies may be applied towards the Kurdish democratic political sphere, the organized forces of the Kurdish people, and society. Those people have failed to understand the reality of genocidal colonialism and its policies toward the Kurdish people. On the other hand, comparing the policy implemented by the Kurds with the policies of different peoples and nations elsewhere in the world leads to wrong evaluations and a wrong political approach. As a matter of fact, many individuals within the Kurdish political sphere and its friends are guilty of such misguided approaches.

The struggle to oppose the isolation imposed on Rêber Apo and to liberate him directly means the struggle for the freedom of the Kurdish people. In fact, if the struggle for Rêber Apo’s health, security, and freedom is not put at the center of the entire freedom struggle, this struggle cannot be successful. If a society, organization, or political movement does not take care of their leader in captivity, they cannot take care of themselves; such a struggle will not bring freedom.

This reality is being analyzed by our people, their international friends, and generally the democratic forces; therefore, the struggle to liberate Rêber Apo has evolved to such an extent and on so many dimensions in the last few years. Since Rêber Apo is seen as an important ideological and political leader, not only for the Kurdish people but also for the peoples of Turkey, the Middle East, and all oppressed and exploited societies of the world, especially women, the global campaign for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo is growing stronger and stronger.

The main reason why Rêber Apo is subjected to such severe isolation is the fear of his ideological power and political ability. This in itself shows how important the liberation of Rêber Apo is for the peoples and women. The isolation in Imrali is being imposed on the peoples of the Middle East and all humanity, especially the Kurdish people and women.

The reason why the AKP-MHP government is able to act this oppressively and anti-democratic, is the lawlessness and pressure exerted on Imrali. Preventing Rêber Apo’s thoughts from coming to life, or preventing people from demanding his freedom, is an act of oppression in itself. In fact, the hostility of the AKP-MHP government to democracy, and their violence against the smallest democratic struggle, is because they know that Kurds and democratic forces will benefit from democratization. In short, Kurdish enmity is taking the shape of enmity of democracy. Now that this reality can be seen even clearer, our people and the democratic forces are embracing Rêber Apo more and taking the struggle to new heights in many ways.

Undoubtedly, the struggle for physical freedom for Rêber Apo is developing. The global campaign, launched on October 10 by friends all over the world, and the day of reading Rêber Apo’s books on December 10 are important and meaningful. This struggle must develop further to yield results. Our people say that solely the fact that Rêber Apo is still in captivity should be reason enough for us to give self-criticism. Based on this self-criticism, the Kurdish people in the four parts of the country and abroad should participate more actively in this struggle. If the democratic forces in Turkey and the Middle East and the Kurdish people raise this struggle further, it will lead to the further development of the struggle for the freedom of Rêber Apo in the world.

The struggle to reunite with and physically liberate Rêber Apo has been going on for decades, and it has already achieved significant results. This struggle has been going on since 1998, 1999, i.e., for 26 years, led by those who put themselves in front of Rêber Apo and formed the slogan, ‘You cannot darken our sun!’ Many people gave their lives for this struggle. As a result of this, the liberation of Rêber Apo, and therefore the liberation of the Kurdish people, has come closer. Although this colonialism maintains denial and genocide in a strict manner, the ground on which it is based has weakened with the struggle of the Kurdish people and democratic forces.

Through the freedom of Rêber Apo, the liberation of the Kurdish people will be achieved. It also means the collapse of the genocidal colonialist policy. It will pave the way for the democratization of Turkey. In this respect, the current level of struggle must be raised in every sphere. It is important that the protests for the freedom of Rêber Apo have become protests in which tens of thousands of people participate. The serhildan of Wan demonstrated how results can be achieved when large groups of people participate in protests. It is necessary to concentrate on improving the existing level of protest. It is necessary to find new forms of organization and action. Repetitive actions do not produce results. When previous forms of action are used, they must be more effective. Otherwise, they become routine, and stagnation sets in. In this respect, it is important to increase the quality and impact of the actions taken every day. The social and political environment in Turkey, the Middle East, and the world is ready for the development of this kind of struggle.

Calls to the Turkish state, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and the Council of Europe (CoE) will not achieve results. Undoubtedly, these institutions and their practices should be exposed, but only with struggle will these institutes be forced to take a step. There is significant potential within the youth in northern Kurdistan that can be mobilized for struggle. Organizing and mobilizing them with creative methods will play an important role in the development of the struggle.

There is also significant resistance in the prisons against the isolation in Imrali, which is also supported by the families of those imprisoned. What is the importance of resistance in prisons for Kurdish people and their friends?

The prisons have always played an important role in the development of the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom. The slogan ‘You cannot darken our sun’, and the struggle against the conspiracy that it stands for, were pioneered by them. It was they who pioneered the embrace of Rêber Apo. They formed a barricade of fire protecting Rêber Apo and thereby set the claim that this struggle must have. The support of the prisons towards Rêber Apo should be an example for everyone. Again, their latest attitude and course of action express the most correct attitude. They take the right stance and follow the right principles. Saying “we will live as our leader is living” is not only a form of action; it is an ideological-political stance.

Within the circumstances of prisons, misconceptions and wrong tendencies always emerge. In the 1980s, during the years of struggle against fascism that came upon the coup d’état of September 12, Rêber Apo organized a prison conference because mistakes and wrong tendencies emerged. Since then, it has become a tradition to hold conferences in prisons and to correct mistakes and wrong tendencies. In fact, the course of action in prisons today, like the conferences, functions as a correction of the general struggle.

The Turkish state has turned the right to have meetings and phone calls in prison into tools and methods of special warfare. The government prevents the imprisoned from having their fundamental rights. In this respect, the decision of the prisons to live in the same conditions as Rêber Apo, is in a way an attitude against the special war being waged. This is the spirit of July 14th. They are the successors of such a tradition of resistance. This is the tradition of loyalty to Rêber Apo, the freedom movement, the martyrs and the people. Living like Rêber Apo also requires thinking like Rêber Apo and having a philosophy of freedom. In this respect, this prison resistance achieves important results. It will be better understood that Rêber Apo has always been a person of organization and action. Those who understand Rêber Apo’s stance will become great militants and freedom fighters.

The struggle of the families of those in prison also has a tradition. In the 1980s, despite all kinds of insults and oppression, the families of prisoners did not give up their solidarity with their children. The government tried every way and method to prevent families from taking responsibility for their revolutionary prisoners. The families were tortured, detained, and insulted, but this only increased their anger. They became aware of the Turkish state’s policy and politicized at the gates of the prisons. Just as those resisting in the prisons are the continuers of the July 14 resistance, today’s prisoners’ families are the successors of the families who struggled in front of the prisons in the 1980s and 1990s. We still remember how the families of prisoners, our mothers, were insulted, beaten, and dragged on the ground during the 2018–19 prison resistance. These incidents have enraged our comrades and those of us in prisons, and they have made our families more determined to continue the struggle. The families of prisoners’ and the Mothers of Peace are the moral values of our struggle; they are the pillars of our revolution. Today, our mothers, whether they are the mothers of prisoners, martyrs, or guerrillas, are the mothers of the entire Kurdish society. They are the moral values of this struggle. It is the stance of our mothers that makes our struggle invincible. Those who hurt our mothers will never be guilt-free. In this respect, genocidal colonialism will not be guilt-free. In addition, the Saturday Mothers are an important part of this struggle. The whole public is aware of the pressure exerted on them. We salute them with respect and believe that their actions in the 1000th week of their protest will be an important turning point in learning about the fate of their children.

It is not right to leave the weight of resistance solely in the prisons, and therefore the struggle for the freedom of Rêber Apo, on the families of prisoners. Rêber Apo is today's pioneer of the prison resistance. The prison resistance has become the resistance for the freedom of Rêber Apo. In this respect, all our people and democratic forces, especially the youth and women, should participate in this resistance.

Today, tens of thousands of freedom fighters are imprisoned for participating in the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom. In fact, one could say that the Kurds have broken the world record for being imprisoned for political reasons. There is no other society in the world that is imprisoned as much as the Kurds. The Kurds also hold the record for the number of women imprisoned for political reasons. In fact, the entire Kurdish population is being imprisoned through those who have been imprisoned physically.

The prisoners represent the honor of Kurds at the highest level. All Kurdish people, whether they have children or relatives in prison or not, should be proud of their resistance and should support the prisoners. Some of them spent decades in prison for the freedom of the Kurdish people. Despite serving 30 to 35 years in prison, they live to protect their people and the struggle for freedom. Those who have served and completed their sentences are not being released from prisons because of this reason. The people who remain in prison and resist should be protected, respected, and their resistance supported. If they manage to resist under such difficult conditions, the Kurdish people should support this resistance and strengthen Rêber Apo’s struggle for freedom.