On October 9, 1998, Rêber Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) left Syria to prevent attacks by the Turkish state on the country. At that time, Rêber Apo had to make a far-reaching decision, either to go to the free mountains of Kurdistan to the guerrilla or to Europe to make diplomatic work. In order to prevent an escalation of the war, especially in the mountains, Rêber Apo went to Europe and thus searched for a political solution to the Kurdish question. But instead of the states of Europe opening up to dialogue, a tangle of intrigue and betrayal emerged that had been planned for years. From Athens, via Moscow and Rome to Nairobi, Rêber Apo looked for a place to stay and work politically. But although thousands of politicians, journalists, democrats and society showed solidarity in those places, NATO thwarted the plan with the pioneering efforts of the USA and various secret services, especially by Mossad. Within four months, the conspiracies of the hegemonic powers against Rêber Apo came to a peak and they deported him to the Turkish state. On many levels, this was an international declaration of war against the entire Kurdish people and the Kurdish resistance. But more than that, the capture was an intervention in the context of the Third World War, which aimed to occupy and take control of the Middle East. It was also an attack on the democratic forces and the ideology of women’s liberation in order to erase their social force.
October 9 became a heavy day for the Kurdish people. Every year on October 9, the main role of the hegemonic Western forces in the conspiracy repeatedly comes back to mind. The Turkish state in particular always relies on psychological warfare. That is why the days around October 9 are often used as an opportunity to carry out military operations against the guerrilla forces or against the Kurdish population. This always sent a message – the international conspiracy and the intervention of the West continues. On October 9, 2019, Turkey started the war in Serekaniye, West Kurdistan. On October 12, 2019, Hevrin Khalaf was executed in the open street by Ahrar al-Sharqiya fighters in Gire Spi, West Kurdistan. Her murderer is now the commander of the official Syrian army. On October 9, 2020, the traitor party KDP, the Iraqi state and the UN signed an agreement to destroy the autonomy of Shengal, Southern Kurdistan. On October 4, 2022, Turkish intelligence assassinated the revolutionary Nagihan Akarsel in Sulaymaniyah, South Kurdistan. On October 7, 2023, the Mossad began a new intrigue against the people of the Middle East and launched the war against the Palestinian society in Gaza. At the same time, there were also heavy Turkish air strikes on West Kurdistan. On October 8, 2023 29 members of the security forces against drug traffic fell martyr by a Turkish airstrike in West Kurdistan. Also this year, on October 7, fighters from the “Syrian Army” attacked the Kurdish districts of Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiah. More than 60 people were injured and two people were killed. With these inhuman and ever-continuing strategies, the enemy tells us: “The Middle East is ours. Whoever rebels against it will be destroyed.”
Although all of this is happening both in Kurdistan and in Gaza under the deceptive name of “counter-terrorism,” we know that it is actually about eliminating strong pioneers like Rêber Apo, resistant peoples and, above all, resistant women. The main aim of Turkey showing solidarity with Palestine is to create contradictions between the Kurdish movement and the Palestine movement. This fits perfectly with the old strategy of divide and conquer. Only a union of democratic forces in the Middle East can destroy the hegemony of the states and create a new perspective for life. That is one of the goals of Rêber Apo. A social system built on the foundation of the unity of peoples. The end of nationalism and the state mentality; because state means power. But the power of the peoples is not a destructive force, but a constructive one. It is not just about Kurdistan, especially at the present stage when Rêber Apo is developing the perspective of ‘Peace and a Democratic Society‘. It is about, as Rêber Apo says, stopping the Gazafication of the Middle East, which is systematically separating and killing societies, constructing state hegemony and fascism in the Middle East. Because right now, it is burning everywhere. Our aim is not to fan the flames with flames, but to create a counter force, to strengthen the river of democratic modernity, and thus to render the Western powers ineffective in the Middle East. The aim is the autonomy of peoples, the free woman and a democratic society.
To achieve this, all democratic forces must work together. Just as in Syria the Kurds, Arabs, Druze, Alevis, Armenians, Assyrians, Ezidis are uniting against the Islamist, nationalist and misogynist rule of Al-Sharaa, it is time for all the peoples of the Middle East to see this necessity. It is time the internationalist forces strengthen their common organization, as Rêber Apo emphasizes in his last perspective. An organization to overcome the contradictions and fragmentation the system spreads consciously. Like this, we will respond to the Third World War and the genocide of the peoples with democratic, international organization. To achieve this, the physical freedom of Rêber Apo is our central goal. Because Rêber Apo has the strength, the knowledge, the connection and the perspective to transform the Middle East into a place of diversity, democracy and peaceful coexistence. We, as internationalists in Rojava, therefore call on all women, young people, socialists, communalists to join the fight for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. This time calls for a clear stance which we must take with deep conviction. Taking part in this struggle means at the same time taking part in life, defending life itself.