June 30 is the anniversary of Zilan's (Zeynep Kınacı) self-sacrifical action. Zilan had blown herself up in a military parade in the province of Dersim on June 30, 1996, on her own initiative, setting a beacon. On July 5, 2019, Helmet (Diyar Xerib), a member of the KCK Presidential Council and the PKK Central Committee, was killed in a targeted Turkish airstrike. The PKK issued a statement in memory of both martyrs.

The statement includes the following: "On the 25th anniversary of the self-sacrifical action of Zilan, we remember her as a sacrificial champion, goddess of freedom and dignity of the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. We remember her with respect, love and gratitude. We salute Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) and all comrades, our brave guerrillas, the patriotic people of Kurdistan and our friends on the 25th anniversary of Zilan's action. We salute all those who are fighting in the line of Zilan for freedom and democracy against colonial fascism and wish them success. In the 26th year of Zilan's sacrifice, we declare that we will fight even harder and win even more as a movement and as a people.

As is known, 25 years ago, on June 30, 1996, Heval (Comrade) Zilan dealt the heaviest blow in history to the fascist genocidal system with her self-sacrifical action in the center of Dersim, and she took our actions to new heights with her consciousness of freedom. Her courage and sacrifice, her determination and will, her attachment to Leader Apo and her passion for freedom embraced all our people, our youth and especially women, and created the basis for a democratic society based on free individuals. She became a symbol of the guerrilla's invincibility and tactical creativity. Her action concretized the organization of women in the guerrilla and their leadership role in the struggle for freedom. With the action, the women's liberation line was developed and the women's freedom revolution, which is developing in Kurdistan and spreading all over the world, was advanced. Zilan showed everyone the creative power and certainty of victory that women who liberate themselves on the Apoist line develop. The women's guerrilla is the sword of freedom, it has realized its self-defense here.

"We fight and win with the sacrifice of Zilan"

As a people and as guerrillas, we fight and win in the line of the heroic prison resistance of July 14, 1982 and on the line of Zilan and the women's guerrilla. It is this line of sacrifice that raises our consciousness, organizes us, gives us spirit and courage, makes us invincible and always leads us to victory. It is this line that frustrates the international plots of the colonial powers. This is the line that is embodied in the reality of Zilan, it is the greatest source of strength for us as a movement and a people.

Today, the war for freedom and democracy is being waged in all regions, from Metina, Zap and Avashin to Heftanin, Xakurke, all the mountains of Kurdistan and the metropolises of Turkey. It is this line that deals heavy blows to AKP/MHP fascism on a daily basis, making it history. In all four parts of Kurdistan and abroad, our people and our friends are carrying out actions on this line against the Turkish occupation and collaboration with it. The leadership role of the women and their resistance bring this line to the fore. The fighters of the HPG (People's Defense Forces) and YJA-Star (Free Women’s Troops) walk in the footsteps of Zilan and become the vanguard of the struggle and the harbingers of victory. Comrade Zilan has lived on in this courageous struggle for 25 years and will continue to do so in the future!

"Comrade Helmet is a symbol of justice and truth"

Moreover, the second anniversary of the death of PKK Central Committee member and member of the KCK Presidential Council, Helmet (Diyar Xerib), is now coming upon us as a movement and as a people. On the second anniversary of his death, we commemorate comrade Helmet, who has always illuminated our path, with deep respect, full of love and gratitude, and we reaffirm our pledge to achieve his goal and keep his memory alive. We call upon our patriotic people, political forces, intellectuals and artists, especially our people in South Kurdistan, where comrade Helmet came from, to understand and stand up for Helmet's reality.

Helmet's life stands for enlightenment, law, justice and truth. Helmet teaches us what true Kurdish patriotism and democracy should be and what it means to become a revolutionary. It shows us how every Kurd should take a stand in the face of Turkish colonial fascism. He shows us what stance we should take and how we should do it in the face of the invasion of AKP/MHP fascism in South Kurdistan.

Comrade Helmet's life enlightens us about all kinds of ambiguities, distortions, approaches of collaboration and betrayal. He shows us how a proper national and democratic attitude should be. He illuminates our way with the fact that he did not accept the fragmentation of Kurdistan, did not recognize the occupation and colonialism, and prioritized a democratic unity as the basis for the struggle against genocide in all four parts of Kurdistan.

We believe that on the second anniversary of the death, this reality of Comrade Helmet will be discussed, understood and accepted, especially in South Kurdistan. Our people and especially the youth and women will rely on this. Collaboration will be exposed more strongly, a clearer and more decisive stance will be taken against the AKP/MHP invasion, and a stronger unity and struggle will be waged against all kinds of occupation, invasion and collaboration. This is the stance that is in the best interest of our people and humanity. This attitude and struggle will guarantee our national existence and our free future.

On this basis, we call on all parties and organizations, especially the KDP, to clarify their positions in the struggle for national unity and freedom against occupation and genocide. We call on all foreign powers, especially the United States and Germany, to move away from their stance of destroying Kurdish unity and take a position for national unity and freedom. We call on all peoples and humanity, especially neighboring peoples, to work together to create a livable democratic world.

We, the PKK and the Kurdish people, have always stood for Kurdish unity on a democratic basis and a fraternal and democratic solution to the Kurdish question with the neighboring peoples. We invite all political forces to see and respect this fact. On this basis, we have defended ourselves for more than four decades, giving tens of thousands of martyrs, creating heroes like Zilan and Helmet. We will continue to fight on the same line for freedom and democracy in the future - that is for sure. In this context, we call upon our people and friends, especially women and youth, to embrace the victorious offensive of the guerrillas and make the campaign for freedom of Abdullah Öcalan a success under the slogan 'Time for Freedom'."