The co-presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council released a statement on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the July 14 resistance. July 14, 1982 marks the beginning of a death fast in Amed prison. It represented the height of prison resistance in the 1980s.

The KCK statement includes the following:

“On the 42nd anniversary of the Great July 14 resistance, a day which our movement has declared a national day of honor, we remember all the immortal martyrs of this historic fight. We honor the martyrs of the freedom revolution, including comrades Kemal Pir, Mehmet Hayri Durmus, Akif Yilmaz, and Ali Cicek, with love and appreciation. We bow respectfully before their treasured memories and renew the promise we have given to them.

We congratulate all of our patriotic people and humanity on this sacred day of national victory. The tenets of victory formed by this resistance are what protected, and continue to protect, the honor of our people who were left to face complete annihilation and genocide. In this regard, the July 14 resoluteness lives on in our people’s battle for national freedom.

The July 14 resistance is one of the most important events in Kurdish history. When seen in terms of national, social, political, cultural, and intellectual developments, the significance of this day becomes clearer. It is crucial to strive to understand and comprehend this resistance, it is also vital to remember and comprehend the great historical figures who spearheaded it. The comrades Kemal, Hayri, Akif, and Ali are pivotal historical figures not only for the Kurdish people, but also for humanity as a whole as they demonstrated human ideals in the most noble manner despite the most terrible circumstances. They should undoubtedly be viewed and appreciated as magnificent human monuments.

One of comrade Hayri’s last words, as he fearlessly went to his death, reveal the feelings, thoughts, and personalities of those behind this great resistance. He demonstrated his love and loyalty to the people, to freedom, and to the struggle by requesting that the word “indebted” be engraved on his tombstone. Despite having resurrected a nation, they felt indebted for having not done more. In this regard, the Kurdish youth, women, and society should always remember these great historical personalities and their battle with gratitude.

The historic resistance of July 14 is an important event that needs to be examined and researched in many respects.

The entire Kurdish society was sought to be completely annihilated through the fascist junta of September 12. In an atmosphere where Kurds, women or child, civilian or not, were being put through the most brutal and inhumane methods of torture, the heroes behind this resistance proved that victory can be achieved. Through their action, they defeated serfdom in Kurdistan. With the July 14 resistance, the Kurdish people achieved victory for the first time and began a new chapter.

The July 14 resistance served as the foundation for the subsequent victorious historical process. The tenets established on 14 July proved a deciding factor in the PKK’s formation and method of struggle. Based on these concepts, Rêber Apo [Leader Abdullah Öcalan] took efforts to strengthen the struggle, educating and deploying guerrillas throughout the country, and launching the August 15 offensive, achieving the resurrection revolution and accomplishing the Kurdistan freedom struggle.

Undoubtedly, one of the most notable aspects of the July 14 resistance was that it was an act of enormous bravery and heroism that was carried out fearlessly. The fascist September 12 coup d’état was imposing genocide on society. Thousands of revolutionaries were being thrown into prison, being tormented and tortured with the goal of forcing society to submit to the fascist regime. The prison of Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) was notorious for its barbaric torture methods. The anti-Kurdish, massacring, torturing, racist, and fascist mentality inside Diyarbakir jail had eroded human dignity to its lowest point. What was done to the revolutionaries and patriots of Kurdistan in Amed prison exemplified Turkish colonialism’s homicidal nature. Acting under such circumstances, and overcoming such a deeply ingrained and structuralized fascism at its peak, is unprecedented in human history. The actions and consequences of the July 14 resistance are distinctive.

The current AKP-MHP regime replicates the September 12 ideology, assaulting all cultures, particularly Kurdish society, women, humanity, and nature, in order accomplish this goal. Again, the most recent invasion attacks against Southern Kurdistan are aimed at annihilating the Kurds. The AKP-MHP-KDP-ISIS alliance’s invasion and genocidal attacks on Southern Kurdistan must be met with the spirit of the July 14 resistance.

If we join in our struggle, the murderous imperialist enemy will undoubtedly be defeated and the people’s resistance will prevail. On this basis, we call on all the patriotic people of Kurdistan, the Arab peoples, and the democratic libertarian socialist forces to take a strong stance against the occupation of Southern Kurdistan and to organize an all-out resistance.”