HBDH pays tribute to founding commander Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu

HBDH Executive Committee commemorated the 4th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu, one of its founding members, and said his ideals “live most vividly in our united revolutionary struggle."

In a written statement, the HBDH (People's United Revolutionary Movement) Executive Committee said: “Four years ago, on May 9, 2017, Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu (Mehmet Kurnaz) fell a martyr in the war against ISIS mercenaries in Raqqa. Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu was one of the leading revolutionaries who grew up in the revolutionary movement of Turkey in the 1990s.”

The statement continued: “Comrade Ulaş, who has put the cause of revolution and socialism at the center of his life since his high school years, was a revolutionary who did not hesitate to pay whatever price was required for the revolutionary struggle. Comrade Ulaş, who stayed in prisons for many years, resumed his struggle after being released. The leading revolutionary spirit of comrade Ulaş came to the fore in many actions within the youth movement, from YÖK protests to anti-fascist actions, from NATO protests to anti-IMF actions. Comrade Ulaş, who led the youth movement and many social actions, came to the fore as a revolutionary whose name was identified with Taksim square and the resistance during the Gezi resistance. He came to the forefront with his revolutionary practice in the liberation of Taksim Square and the defense of the square.”

The statement added: “Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu set off to Medya Defense Areas in 2014 and took the name of Mehmet Kurnaz. He learned from the military experience of the Kurdistan freedom guerrilla. During the years of struggle, he has been the teacher who first learned and then taught young cadres coming after him. Mehmet Kurnaz's labor in the militarization of many revolutionary cadres and in understanding the revolutionary style of warfare was remarkable.”

The statement went on: “Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu said, ‘One lives once, dies once, the revolutionary is the one who does both right.’ He himself has been a revolutionary who lived in accordance with this saying and was most committed to the revolution and the struggle for socialism until his last moment. He participated with all his energy as an internationalist revolutionary in the struggle for the defense of the Rojava Revolution. As a commander, a fighter who personally participated in the Manbij and Raqqa Operations, he made a great contribution to the militarization of both his own party and internationalist revolutionaries.”

The statement ended with the following remarks: “Considering the 4 years since his martyrdom, Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu's ideals live most in our united revolution struggle. The struggle against fascism, the united revolution struggle is developing and organizing in all areas of life, from the mountains of Kurdistan to the Black Sea, from the militias organizing action in the streets of Istanbul to revolutionary mass actions in the most general sense.

Our promise to Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu will be to achieve the success of the united revolution of Turkey and Kurdistan, for which he was longing.”