The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the massacres in Gazi in 1995 and in Qamishlo in 2004, which also draws the line to today's massacres against the Alevi community.

The KCK statement on Wednesday includes the following:

“Thirty years have passed since the 1995 Gazi massacre and twenty-one years since the Qamishlo massacre in 2004. Both have been deeply imprinted in the memory of our peoples. On the occasion of these anniversaries, we once again condemn these inhuman massacres and commemorate with respect and gratitude all those who gave their lives for the revolution and democracy by commemorating those who lost their lives in these massacres.

The two named massacres were carried out by two states following a fascist, reactionary and monist mentality, that pushed forward their paramilitary forces as a result of the fear of the development of the common struggle of the peoples against this mentality of fascism, reaction and monism. They conducted the Gazi massacre as an answer to the rapprochement between the developing revolutionary struggle in Kurdistan and the democratic socialist movement in Turkey and the Alevi people who pioneered this historical development. In the Qamishlo massacre, the brotherhood and common life of the Kurdish and Arab peoples was under attack.

Although these massacres targeted the brotherhood of the peoples and the ideals of a free and equal life together in co-existence, they had not succeeded in achieving their goal. The common struggle of the peoples against the fascist, reactionist, and monist mentality and the values created through it has prevented and frustrated this. Both the developing solidarity and common struggle strategy among the peoples of Turkey and the revolution of Rojava and the democratic system of North and East Syria are historical results of this. These historical developments have been the most adequate response to the massacres.

But one must emphasize that, unfortunately, the massacring mentality has not been overcome so far. The efforts to sustain this mentality and pave the way for new massacres continue today. Even in this very moment that we commemorate those who gave their lives, new massacres are being committed. We are faced with the reality of a massacre against the Alawite people in Syria, which is still continuing.

We once again state that we strongly condemn this massacre against the Alawite people. These massacres and the dark aims of the massacring mentality can only and will only be nullified by the peoples developing a common struggle against the reactionary, monist, and fascist mentality.”