The Press Center of the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ) released a statement paying tribute to press martyrs Dilovan Gever, Vedat Erdemci, Mihemed Reşo and Seed Ehmed on the first anniversary of their death.

The statement by YPJ Press Office includes the following:

"Our comrade Dilovan Gever and free press workers followed the reality of the invading Turkish state, the honorable resistance of the people and the fighters with one heart and one spirit. As the YPJ Press Center, we have actively tried to continue our journalism activities during the intense war. Our comrade Dilovan moved to Girê Spî under challenging circumstances and shared with the public every moment of war and resistance from October 9 to October 13.

The brutal murder of our comrades Dilovan Gever, Seed Ehmed and Mihemed Reşo and the injuries of dozens of reporters on the same day (13 October 2019) reveal the intensity of the war in Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê. The brutality of the Turkish state was once again revealed in the massacre of journalists, healthcare professionals, party co-chairs, parents and children.

One of the journalists murdered by the Turkish state is our comrade Dilovan Gever. Dilovan crossed borders and joined the YPJ ranks when mobilization for Kobanê was declared in 2014. She knew very well that love for land was not easy in an occupied country and required sacrifice. She bid farewell to a friend of her for the sake of sacred lands every day. Dilovan, who worked in the archive section of the morgue after the liberation of Kobanê, documented the heroism, struggle and resistance of thousands of martyrs here. In 2018, she was transferred to the YPJ Press Contact Center as a continuation of the archive work.

Having learned the language of the press in a short time, Dilovan took her place in many historic campaigns. She went to Girê Spî on 9 October 2019 to share with the public the Honor Resistance of the people of the region and the fighters and the brutal attacks of the invading Turkish state. Dilovan, who participated in many battles with determination and enthusiasm, wrote history with her comrades in Kobanê. She witnessed every moment of the annihilation of ISIS in Deir ez-Zor. She witnessed the invasion and brutality of the Turkish state in the city of Girê Spî.

'WE WILL WRITE THE HISTORY OF FREEDOM’

Her journey which had begun in the resilient town of Gever (Yüksekova) in North Kurdistan, continued in Kobanê, Amûdê and Deir ez-Zor. This meaningful journey ended in Girê Spî. while on her way to there, she said ‘We will write history’. Indeed, she wrote history with her companions against the heavy attacks of the Turkish occupation state in Girê Spî on 13 October 2019. She wrote the history of Honor Resistance.

Dilovan may have left us, but her excitement, enthusiasm, morale, lifestyle and resistance have been the way we all adopt now. Like our comrades Dilovan, Mihemed, Seed and Vedat Erdemci, we will be followers of Gurbetelli, Agirî Yılmaz, Dilişan, Nûjiyan and Deniz Fırat. We promise that their pens will stay with us. With their pens, we will write the history of the liberation of our lands, we will write the history of freedom.”