HPG and YJA Star guerrillas stated that the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan is the main goal of the Kurdistan freedom guerrillas and all peoples, emphasizing their readiness to pay any price to achieve this.
Challenging the harshest conditions, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas maintain their loyalty to Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the PKK. They are confronting the occupying Turkish state’s attacks in the war tunnels in Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
Guerrillas of the HPG (People’s Defense Forces) and YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) spoke to ANF about Abdullah Öcalan’s resistance in Imrali Island Prison, where he has been held in inhumane conditions since his arrest in Kenya and handover to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy on 15 February 1999.
YJA Star guerrilla Besta Sîdar: We condemn the international conspiracy which we consider a crime not only against the person of Rêber Apo (Leader Öcalan), but against all peoples. The conspiracy aimed to break the will of our movement and the Kurdish people. However, Rêber Apo has strengthened the struggle since the first day he was imprisoned in İmralı. The conspirators aimed to imprison the Leader within four walls and thus liquidate our movement. However, Rêber Apo's resistance frustrated the plans of the conspirators and raised the hope of the peoples of the world.
For this reason, wherever the Leader is mentioned, there is a stance and a struggle against the conspirators. Rêber Apo may be within four walls, but his ideas live on in the struggle of the peoples. Not only the Kurdish people but also the peoples of the world are responding and fighting against the conspiracy.
Protests, marches, hunger strikes and other actions are organized against the conspiracy. This is the strength and resistance of the Leader. Ensuring the physical freedom of the Leader is the main goal of the Kurdistan freedom guerrillas and all peoples. A great price has been paid for this, a great effort has been made. The Leader is putting up unique resistance in İmralı and this resistance creates determination in the struggle of the freedom fighters and the people.
Until the physical freedom of Rêber Apo is ensured, our struggle will never stop and will become even stronger. There have been talks with the Leader recently, but this does not mean that the isolation imposed on him has been lifted. As long as the isolation continues, we will never give up our struggle. The indication of our struggle and determination is embodied in the stance of our people, the resistance of our comrades, and the sacrifices of Asya and the Rojgers.
HPG guerrilla Ferhat Egîd: Every PKK fighter is a selfless fighter of Rêber Apo. Therefore, as long as there is isolation, the struggle will continue. The conspiracy is still going on, but Rêber Apo is putting up historic resistance. His will frustrates the conspiracy. With this plan, the conspirators aimed to finish off the Kurdish people and the freedom struggle, but the Leader has been fighting for the peoples for years and has become their belief, determination and will. We, as the guerrillas of the Leader, will further increase our struggle to be worthy of him. We are ready to pay any price to ensure his physical freedom.
HPG guerrilla Bawer Hebeş: As Kurdistan freedom guerrillas, we send our respect and greetings to Rêber Apo. When the International Conspiracy was carried out in 1999, the target was not only Rêber Apo, because he was the representative of the oppressed peoples, the peoples of the Middle East and all those seeking freedom. The capitalist system targeted Rêber Apo in an effort to impose its hegemony on the Middle East and the freedom movement. The Turkish state has been carrying out genocidal policies against the Kurdish people since 1925.
The policies of physical genocide and assimilation have been implemented through different methods. However, Rêber Apo is the only leader who can stop this genocide. He is the leader of the Kurdish people and the peoples of the Middle East. As his fighters, we will increase our struggle day by day until we achieve his physical freedom. This is our main task as guerrillas. The Kurdish people must also raise their struggle in the four parts of Kurdistan, Europe and the Middle East. A greater struggle must be waged for the freedom of Leader Apo. From the war tunnels to İmralı, we offer our greetings and respect to Rêber Apo.
HPG guerrilla Hemze Ereb: Rêber Apo has been putting up great resistance for 26 years since the conspiracy was carried out. The conspiracy was not only directed against the Kurdish people, but against all the peoples of the Middle East. The capitalist powers that dominate these lands do not want a revolution in the Middle East, especially in Kurdistan. That is why the conspiracy has continued until today.
I, as an Arab fighter, will fight in the ranks of the PKK until the physical freedom of Rêber Apo is achieved. This isolation is imposed not only on the Kurdish people but on all the peoples of the Middle East. Today, Rêber Apo is not only the leader of the Kurdish people, but of all peoples. Everyone, young and old alike, is fighting for his freedom. Our struggle will continue until the physical freedom of the Leader is achieved. 2025 should be the year of Rêber Apo's freedom. We believe that all peoples will further increase the struggle to break the isolation and ensure the physical freedom of the Leader.
