KCK Executive Council co-chair Cemil Bayık said that "the success of the process developed by Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] is possible only if the Turkish state also fulfills its duties and responsibilities. Rêber Apo is the guarantee of the process; however, its outcome depends on mutual efforts. As much as Rêber Apo has assumed a historical duty and responsibility and is trying to fulfill it, of course the Turkish state must also fulfill its duties and responsibilities. Only in this way can the process develop and yield results."

Bayık added: "This movement started as a movement of will and continues its struggle in this way. It has never been a movement that fights on ready-made opportunities. It has never been a movement that puts the easy way forward. It has always been based on creating what it needs through struggle. It has never simply demanded the state to take steps without having struggled for it. Another assertion than this would not be true; it would be contrary to the truth of Rêber Apo and the freedom struggle he leads. Everything that Rêber Apo created, grew, and brought to this day was through his struggle. In other words, nothing can be achieved without struggle. Nobody simply offers anything on this scale without a struggle for it – especially if it is the Turkish state, which has spent everything it has to eliminate everything that belongs to the Kurds. It was the struggle led by Rêber Apo that prevented the Turkish state from succeeding with this policy. Therefore, the policy of denial and annihilation has been rendered unworkable. It was the result of a fierce struggle, and the Kurdish people are very well aware of this.

Rêber Apo once stated that “without struggle not even a leaf can move in Kurdistan”. This is the reality here in Kurdistan. The current developments were achieved by waging an extensive struggle, paying a high price, and experiencing great pain. There is probably no suitable comparison in history. Kurdistan is facing its very own, very specific situation. Everything has been trampled underfoot. It has been severed from its roots, history, values, and language – everything – and subjected to extermination. Waging the struggle for freedom and democracy in such a society, in such a country, meant the most difficult struggle in the world. Even if you are fighting a great struggle, this does not necessarily mean that you will achieve exactly the results you had in mind. This is related to the reality of Kurdistan and the reality of its enemy and the situation the people of Kurdish society have been put in. This country and its people have seen a great struggle. The values and achievements it has created must not be underestimated. What needs to be done now is to further extend, deepen, and expand these in order to achieve even greater success."

Bayık continued: "Rêber Apo has developed a constant revolution in this movement. He has always developed renewal, change, transformation, and restructuring on this basis. That is why all attacks and conspiracies against this movement did not yield results. Otherwise this movement would have ended long ago; this society would have experienced annihilation. The fact that this movement has survived and was able to develop and create great values, that it has reached a level that meets the aspirations and demands of everyone, is due to the reality linked to the change, transformation, and restructuring led by Rêber Apo. For this reason, all attacks and conspiracies have not yielded results and will not do so in the future. The conspiracies and the politics of denial and annihilation have been frustrated. The rest is to realize freedom and democratization through this. For this, the people must not only maintain their loyalty to Rêber Apo, but also share the duty and responsibility he has assumed and lead the work of a new build-up together. If this struggle is carried out in this manner, the Turkish state will have no other choice than to take steps. If it still insists on the politics of denial and annihilation, this will lead Turkey to the abyss. It will face a situation similar to the last days of the Ottoman Empire, or even more severe than that. Neither Rêber Apo, nor we, nor the Kurdish people, ever want the people of Turkey to face such an end. We state that returning to the founding philosophy of the Republic is in the interest of both peoples and nations. All our work is based on this.

As I have stated before in my speech, if the conditions for Rêber Apo’s free work are not ensured, the process that Rêber Apo strives to push forward cannot develop. This is absolutely clear. This process is for the benefit of everyone. No one will lose; everyone will win through it. A historical opportunity has been created, and it should not be wasted. The Turkish state must take a step. That is what everyone is saying right now. The step that the Turkish state must take is to create the conditions for Rêber Apo to work freely. It is to make the necessary legal changes for this. It is the liquidation of the Imrali system. This is in everyone’s interest. This is not solely the demand of the Kurdish people, but everyone in the world who is struggling for socialism, for freedom and democracy, for the environment and ecology, and for women’s freedom; they are all saying clearly that Rêber Apo must be enabled to work freely.

A great pressure is developing on this basis. If the Turkish state has gone from denial and annihilation to accepting Rêber Apo and the Kurds, this is, of course, a result of the struggle we are waging and the developments in the Middle East as a result of the internationally initiated freedom campaign. It is the combination of all of those. That is why the Turkish state was forced to go to Rêber Apo."

Bayık underlined that the Turkish state "wanted Rêber Apo to be forgotten. This is also what Suleyman Soylu meant when he said that in a year’s time there would be “no more talk of him and his struggle”. This was not just a discussion, but the policy of Turkey, of the government. What Soylu basically predicted was total extermination. Now we have come from that point to the point of “let him come to parliament and speak”. This is a very decisive development. Rêber Apo valued this and therefore assumed this historical responsibility.

What must be done is not to let this historical responsibility go to waste. The opportunity must not be wasted. Therefore, everyone must fulfill their duties. If they do, the Turkish state will have to take the required steps. If the struggle so far has brought upon such a result, if it made them say, “Here, let Apo come and speak in the parliament,” it means that if the struggle is increased further, more results will be achieved.

Of course there are some positive statements, and we value them, but alongside these positive statements, there is also a very negative rhetoric being used. This negative rhetoric and these negative statements sabotage the process. This must have an end. Especially those who value the steps we are taking, those who see them positively, should make an effort to change the negative rhetoric used by others so that this process can develop positively and yield results. They should stand against the sabotage attempts of some. In particular, they should mobilize the Turkish society, writers, intellectuals, and academics on this basis. This negative rhetoric and negative statements cannot be prevented by the unilateral efforts of Rêber Apo and the Kurdish people."

Bayık added: "There is still talk of “terrorism”, “terrorist organization”, “terrorist leader”, “PKK having to surrender; having to hand over its weapons” and so on. There are speeches, discourses, and attempts to poison the atmosphere. Because the process has the potential to tear the foundation of their belligerent lives out from under their feet. That is why they are developing these attacks and propaganda. The narrative that they are pushing is the following: “We fought the PKK, we defeated the PKK, the PKK must surrender.” With this, they want to cover up the weakness and deadlock they got stuck in. They don’t want the truth to be understood. They don’t want to show what kind of a deadlock Turkey is in, what kind of dangers it is facing. They are trying to cover it up. They are constantly trying to escalate nationalism, chauvinism, and fascist understanding. Their sole interest is to gain wealth and political power.

Those who are aware of the significance of the steps we are taking and also see the potential for positive effects and give meaning to them must embrace them. It is not enough to just say, “We see it positively”. They need to take their own responsibilities in practice. If they see the steps taken positively in rhetoric but do not take steps in practice, then it shows that for them it’s just a kind of little game. This is how we understand it; this is how the Kurdish people understand it. This is how everyone who wants a solution understands it. Some even reach out to us and try to warn us. I can reassure these friends; our movement is experienced. It has experienced many things. We let no one play games with us. Rêber Apo publicly made a call to the PKK, and the central committee of the PKK publicly responded to this call. They clearly expressed that they intend to fulfill Rêber Apo’s calls when Rêber Apo’s free working conditions are ensured. They pointed out that Rêber Apo must convene the congress, that he must lead and direct the congress.

Only then can the congress convene, discuss, and decide on the situation of the armed struggle, the situation of the PKK. They explained that the congress cannot convene in an environment where the guns are still speaking, where daily bombardments by airplanes are conducted, where UCAVs are circulating 24/7, and where there is constant artillery fire. In such conditions the cessation of the armed struggle and the liquidation of the PKK, as stated by Rêber Apo, cannot be discussed. The HPG made a public statement in this regard and stated, “It is not possible to convene the congress under these conditions. There must be not a unilateral ceasefire, but a ceasefire implemented by both sides. The UCAVs, airplanes, tanks, and artillery must stop.” The armed forces made this call, and everyone appreciated this call. The only ones who oppose it are those who want the Kurdish question to remain on the ground of conflict.

The conditions of a mutual ceasefire must be met. Then the congress of the PKK can convene and implement decisions according to Rêber Apo’s calls. And the congress must be convened, directed, and managed by Rêber Apo himself. No one other than Rêber Apo can convene the congress and make those decisions in the congress. Because it is Rêber Apo who founded and developed this movement. None of us, the PKK leadership or the PKK cadres, could do this."