The General Coordination of Democratic Press Union (Yekitiya Ragihandina Demokratîk, YRD) released a statement paying tribute to Kurdish journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin who lost their lives as a result of an UCAV attack by the Turkish army in northern Syria on Thursday amid continued attacks by the genocidal Turkish state against Rojava.

YRD expressed their condolences to the families of the fallen journalists and to the entire free press community, reiterating their promise to keep their memories alive and achieve their goals.

“Our comrades Cihan and Nazım were murdered because they frustrated the special war attacks and propaganda of the genocidal Turkish state through the media, and because they were the voice, the word of truth. They joined the caravan of free press martyrs. But it should be known that both Nazım and Cihan embarked on this path at great cost like every free press worker and showed an indomitable determination. They were aware of the genocidal attacks against our people, against our peoples, and they did not hesitate to give their lives to frustrate them. Fortunately for them, both Nazım and Cihan succeeded in becoming fighters for truth.

Of course, this tradition, from Mazlum to Gurbetelli, from Apê Musa to Seyit Evran and Gulistan Tara, has grown even more with every attack and martyrdom, and will continue to grow from now on. The successors of Nazım and Cihan will continue to resist and struggle against the power and state mentality represented by the colonialist, genocidal Turkish Republic today and tomorrow, as they did yesterday. They will continue to wave the flag of the democratic nation and democratic modernity at the highest heights.

On this basis, we once again condemn the colonialist, genocidal Turkish state, call on all revolutionary democratic public opinion, national and international press to take action against massacres by ISIS partner Turkey, and wish the free press labourers success in their struggle.”