The General Command of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) released a statement commemorating the immortal commander Martyr Xebat Dêrik on the eleventh anniversary of his martyrdom.

The statement published on Thursday includes the following:

“First, we commemorate the eleventh anniversary of the martyrdom of the intrepid leader, Khabat Derek, and bow to his greatness.

From the dawn of time to date, and especially during the construction of homelands or the beginning of revolutions, figures are born bearing the boldness, knowledge, and qualities of leadership. In the revolution of Rojava and northeastern Syria, persons have the same traits emerged and worked hard to change the fate of their people. The martyr Khabat Derek was one of these leaders.

When the seeds of the march of free life were planted over the years in Rojava and northeastern Syria, it blossomed grew in 2011 covering the whole world. The people were organized and led by the martyr Khabat who educated them to protect the revolution’s achievements and gains. For a revolution to triumph, its foundations must be strong and so did the martyr Kabat for the revolution, especially among the Kurdish people who have served as someone else’s soldiers for thousands of years. They found that it is time to serve and fight for themselves.

For substantial protection, an army was constituted that consists of the region’s peoples:(Kurds, Arabs, Syriac, and other components. He was able to unite them, bringing them together under one banner, and building the democratic framework of peoples is the best proof of this.

The fighting of Martyr Khabat’s fighters from all components who fought shoulder to shoulder in all frontlines was the cause of our resistance’s victory and with the efforts of our comrades and friends who fought in a commando spirit, promoted their struggle in the hardest circumstances, turning themselves into shields against occupation and sacrificing their lives. We can count on the legacy left by the martyr Khabat and all the martyrs to launch dozens of revolutions.

The revolution began depending on the heroes and great figures, and the martyr Khabat was one of those figures in our revolution. He has become a great figure through his many years’ experience. His boldness, his guerrilla spirit, and his hyperactive style have taken him a short time to step forward. The establishment of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) is good proof of this. Commander Khabat Derek, founding the YPG, helped the people take a historic step. Through his positions, Comrade Khabat laid the foundations of the guerrilla spirit, which contributed to the development of a systematic and disciplined style of fighting against all kinds of reactionaryism in Kurdistan and the Middle East. He also utilized the many years-long fighting experiences that he has constantly developed in the founding and permanence of the YPG.

We, the General Command of the YPG, commemorate, with respect, the anniversary of martyr Kabat martyred on January 14, 2012. Once again, we reiterate our promise to maintain the legacy of our 10,000 martyrs with their guerrilla spirit and protect the achievements of our revolution in Rojava and northeastern Syria.