During the 12th congress of the PKK, held between May 5 & 7 in two separate locations in the Free Mountains of Kurdistan it was announced that Heval Fûat (Ali Haydar Kaytan) one of the leading cadres of the party had been fallen martyr in 2018. Heval Fûat was a guerrilla, intellectual, politician, poet and first and foremost a truth seeker. We translated this article, originally published in 2020 (https://www.nuceciwan133.xyz/ku/archives/109052), where he speaks about the Internationalist character of the Revolution that Rêber Apo’s has been leading and deepening despite total isolation on the prison island of Imrali: “For Rêbertî, the solution to the Kurdish question is a tool for the march of freedom for humanity; the beginning of the Kurdish Revolution is the source of hope for the march of freedom for humanity.“
In the Athens Declaration, when the Rêbertî (Abdullah Öcalan) evaluates his journey to Europe before the February 15 conspiracy, what he says is clear: “My search for the freedom of the Kurdish people and the journey to Europe turned into a worldwide adventure. But unfortunately, I had not yet got to know myself. What could I have given this people in terms of freedom?” In other words, this is what Rêberti was like before the February 15 conspiracy. It is true that Rêbertî rose up against the existing system and detached himself from it. The representatives of the system themselves know this very well. Because this system never took root in Rêbertî’s personality. Therefore, Rêbertî does not accept it. The Imrali prison is a coffin and Rêber Apo, like Jesus, was crucified and imprisoned in this coffin by the ‘New Roman Empire’ and its collaborators. The current conditions, in addition to physical annihilation, include all the means and methods of oppression and cruelty. Rêber Apo continued his journey of seeking freedom even in this coffin. Unlike many of us, he did not complain about the lack of opportunities and did never surrender to helplessness. In this situation, the criterion he set for himself was essentially this: What does not kill me makes me stronger! What was sought was to untie the knot of freedom. However, this was not an ordinary solution to the Kurdish question. This should never be forgotten. For Rêbertî, the solution to the Kurdish question is a tool in the march of freedom for humanity; the beginning of the Kurdish revolution is the source of hope for the march of freedom for humanity. This also reveals another truth: A person who joins the ranks of the PKK has to to sacrifice herself/himself for the cause of human freedom. Because there is only one humanity. Kurds, Turks, other peoples are all parts of this humanity. In a situation where humanity is reduced to the level of primates in a system, in a situation where the world has become like a place that spreads filth, and nature is being plundered in a serious way, if people try to build a free, isolated island in Kurdistan, this will mean creating a small sphere of life for themselves in the middle of the ocean, which is unacceptable. It is not an easy task for the Kurds to be free in this way. Therefore, Rêbertî’s appeal is to the entire world, to the system. He has been acting this way since the beginning. There is universality in his autonomy from the beginning.
THE FIRST STEPS AND THE FREEDOM MARCH
People cannot reach socialism until it is universal. Socialism is not only concerned with the liberation demands of nations, it is concerned with all of humanity. Of course, socialism is practically implemented in the area where it has begun. That is, if there is a freedom march for humanity, socialism is built in the area where its initial step has been taken. However, until humanity fully reaches socialism, the liberation and true freedom of humanity is impossible. This is the ultimate goal of the freedom volunteers. From the beginning Rêber Apo did not accept the dominant system and was in conflict with it. He may not have been able to build his own system until now, but he does not accept the current statist system either. Therefore, he has an autonomous stance against the reality of the current system. Autonomy is to remain outside the current system no matter what the circumstances. Before the international conspiracy, some people said that Rêber Apo and the PKK were within the system because they did not build their own system. This is absolutely not true. Rêber Apo calls this “not selling his soul.” Not selling one’s soul, no matter what the circumstances, is a rejection of the oppressive and colonial system.
At a time when especially the PKK movement was moving towards statehood and the possibilities for this were increasing, Rêbertî said that there had been a meaningful change in his personality. In other words, something in his fundamental revolutionary nature had been cut off, something was bothering him. He may have grown, but the people facing him were gradually becoming smaller. What was causing him to be in this situation was the system itself; what made the state, hierarchical and authoritarian, was the system, the dominant system, the system that paved the way for class formation. The class mind is open to the creation of classes, to thinking on a hierarchical basis. When it becomes dominant, it acts like masters, when it is subordinate, it acts like slaves. Rêber Apo became increasingly annoyed by this and continued his searches. Along with this ongoing search, Rêber Apo tried to develop his analysis of the family and the woman in the late 1980s, the problems of women’s liberation, the efforts to form an women’s army. From 1996 onward, he defined women’s freedom on a socio-historical basis and tried to create an ideological foundation for it. His searches led him to emphasize the women’s problem. He sought solutions here the most; he was profound here. He himself spoke about the ideology of women’s freedom on March 8, 1998. Although his tendency was inherently correct, it was far from solving the system in a unified way.
Because without solving the system, he has not yet been able to build its own system. As we often say, people can reject the system, not participate, this is possible; rejecting the system is the simplest way to not participate in the system. However, this situation does not show that you have solved the system, eliminated it. For this, first of all, people must understand the system, solve all its characteristics. When you have solved it, then you can lay the foundation for the system to eliminate it and build its foundation. Rêber Apo did this. When the February 15 conspiracy took place, in his own words, everything was as if frozen for Rêber Apo. This can also be understood as a point of no resolution. The disaster here is, that a situation was created that was like on the verge of falling off a cliff. This situation was not a physical disappearance or a threat of execution. It was a situation where the Kurdish people had entered a situation where a serious possible war was looming before them. But this was noticed: The solution has not yet been found, the real solution has not yet been achieved. The lack of solution is related to the current paradigm. Seeing and noticing this was the level of freezing of life. Rêbertî realized this, focused on this issue in an unprecedented way, with great effort and intellectual depth. This intellectual depth is a deepening in understanding the reality of the system; an analysis and solution of the system in a correct and integral way, creating a definition of it and an attempt to create a system that will eliminate it.
UNDERSTANDING AND UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM …
Here, Rêbertî’s miraculous method proved itself once again in practice. The character of the process and the facts that emerged were dangerous in every way. However, the greatness of Rêbertî and his unique understanding showed themselves here. With the criterion of ‘What does not kill me makes me stronger’, he showed his leadership in the difficult conditions of isolation. He says ‘A person can only fly when he is on the verge of falling from a cliff’. The process that began for Rêbertî was a process of winged thinking. The February 15 conspiracy is a situation that resembles being on the verge of falling from a cliff in every way. It was also likely to fall from a cliff. However, Rêbertî was winged at this point, he thought in this way; he analyzed the system with all its characteristics, and also identified the characteristics of his own system. What was created here was not only a Kurdish solution, such a understanding is a misconception. What was created was a solution for all of humanity. The solution was to free people from the pollution of the five thousand year old state-based civilization system, from its dehumanizing activities and practices. This solution is an ecological, democratic and women’s libertarian society. He determined that this must be achieved through Democratic Confederalism, an alternative to the state. This is not a solution only for the Kurdish society, but a form of society that contains the solution to humanity. Therefore, the solution that Rêbertî created is not superficial, it is deep. It is not regional, it is global. It is not fragmented, it is integral.
Here, Rêbertî first of all reached the correct definition of society; with this definition, it also solves the state. The state means a new society. However, this society has been cut off from the natural society that describes human existence, it is a slave society. At that time, the correct definition of society, the return to natural society, is the most important way to liberate humanity. Rêbertî has made it clear that the new society built on the basis of civilization is a break from the society of human existence; when it is evaluated from this perspective, then the code of truth has been revealed. What has been revealed is the code of society. Of course, we must also solve this code. Solving this code also means that we must understand; civilization or a hierarchical and statist society is a departure from the path, a departure from humanity, and classism, the result of this, is a departure from being human. An understanding of socialism that is based on classism is incorrect. First of all, this must be abandoned. Because there is no good class. Because slavery, barbarism, and the proletariat are also forms of slavery. Every form of slavery is a separation from the fundamental human reality. A statist society is a society of slavery. This is the nature of the civilized system that relies on the state. Therefore, those who want to be free must first of all break away from this civilized system. Rêbertî clearly defined the third era of life that began with February 15 and will continue in this way until the end.. This was the era of the third resurrection. Everyone may create resurrections in their lives. However, this resurrection with Rêbertî is a resurrection for humanity, an era of resolution. Its main feature is the separation from the life of the state, especially the separation from the life of capitalist modernity. Rêber Apo said, “I am not going back to the wild life, I am not going back ten thousand years. However, it is clear that some of the fundamental values of humanity were hidden at that time. That era when civilization ended with science and technology, until it is unified with the level of scientific technology of humanity, the true liberation and freedom of humanity is impossible.” He explained that breaking away from a life based on the state and civilization is not regression. He pointed out that breaking away from the state-oriented and hierarchical class civilization is the greatest self-criticism. Rêbertî says, “I am confident that we can overcome this” and wants us to overcome this too. This is the starting point of the new paradigm.
THE NATION-STATE ITSELF IS A CONSPIRACY
The nation-state is the most extensive conspiracy imposed on peoples. It is a conspiracy, especially for the Kurds. The nation-state itself is a conspiracy. Therefore, it should not be said that the conspiracy continues, the system itself is a conspiracy. Conspiracies sometimes fail, sometimes weaken, but they always continue to exist. The attacks on Rêbertî themselves continue. If people pay attention to it, they can understand how the system is getting closer to the PKK and the Kurds. Is there any objection to this? At this point, I can give an example. There are many humanitarian organizations in this world. There are many human rights institutions. There is the Human Rights Association in Turkey. We cannot show their approaches negatively, because they are struggling to a certain extent. However, in the international arena, human rights institutions do not take a position against the invaders and the attacks on Afrin, Serêkaniyê, Girê Spî. There is an organization called the United Nations, whose main mission is to prohibit war, to stand up to war, to prevent war. No one speaks out against the most serious attacks. On top of that, they become partners in the genocidal policy of the Turkish state. There is a great corruption within the system. The corruption of the nation-state system means the corruption of the United Nations, which is a union of nation-states. One cannot expect much from these institutions. This is the current state of the world. There are some democratic forces in this world that have risen again. There are women’s and ecological movements. They are getting active, one should not underestimate them. People should rely on them for the struggle, rely on the people. Rêbertî talks about the anti-systemic forces. You will make it your base to support these forces against the system. If you can unite with them, then you can crush this rotten system. The power of the rotten system will not last. Turkey’s power is its aggression, and this is not power either. The power of America is also gone. It has reached the point where it has lost its hegemonic power. The situation after the 1998 conspiracy was somewhat different. There was a system that stood behind Turkey, and today we cannot talk about the same thing. Imposing denial and annihilation on the Kurds is itself a conspiracy. There is a community of people consisting of millions of people. Their identity, country, culture, and rights are considered non-existent and are submitted to the sovereignty of different states. The Kurdish issue is left unresolved. The system knows this well. When it says denial, it’s not solved. They continue the problem. They can deny it as much as they want. When the Kurds end, humanity will end. The Kurds do not end, but they are put in a position of power and the system uses them when it wants. It says, “If Turkey challenges me, I will use the Kurdish issue against them. If Iran challenges me, I will use it. If Syria challenges me, I will use it. If Iraq challenges me, I will use it against them.” In order to keep the Arabs, Persians and Turks close to them, they use the Kurdish issue as a tool for intimidation. This is how the system sees the Kurds. Rêbert Apo prevented the Kurds from being used as a tool, he created free Kurds. Free Kurds are those Kurds who are not used by the system to discipline the people. The system does not want to allow this. However, in the current situation, there are free Kurds, which actually defeat the conspiracy. Continuing the conspiracy means continuing the nation-state system. When you destroy this system, you do not completely eliminate the conspiracy, but you create a great foundation for freedom and democratization. There is no other way for us then to do this.
Heval Fûat (Alî Haydar Katan)