After 4 years of total isolation, a delegation was able to meet with Rêber APO (Abdullah Öcalan) two times at the end of 2024 and one time at the beginning of January. This is undoubtedly the result of a historic struggle by the Kurdish people and their internationalist friends. The international campaign “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan – Solution for the Kurdish Question” is led by internationalist organizations, women’s and youth movements, parties, syndicates and allies from all over the world. The strong guerrilla resistance continued uninterrupted this year, which weakened the Turkish State also in a military way. But how will this phase continue now? What is the real aim of the Turkish State with these meetings? And what are the possibilities for the Kurdish Freedom Movement?
After all, the stance of Rêber APO is clear. It is nothing new that Rêber APO is proposing a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. It was in 1993 that Rêber APO announced the first ceasefire between the guerrillas and the fascist Turkish army, and since then he has continued his efforts to find a political solution. But the Turkish state has always insisted on armed conflict. The only option Turkey proposes to the Kurdish freedom movement to resolve the conflict “peacefully” is the dissolution of the movement and thus the complete assimilation and massacre of the Kurdish people. The Turkish state always appears to be powerful, and the Kurdish movement to be marginal and terrorist. However, the fact that the Turkish state has not been able to weaken the Kurdish movement or separate the Kurdish society from it for more than 50 years, reveals the lies of the fascist Turkish state. What becomes very clear in this phase is that the Kurdish Freedom Movement is not marginal, but social. It is not terrorist, it is in a position of self-defense. The Kurdish Freedom Movement is defending society against the oppressive system.
Today we see that the Turkish state has been cornered on all fronts. For four years now, the Turkish state has been promising NATO that it will eliminate the guerrillas in the Medya Defense Areas (liberated areas in Southern Kurdistan). Although some guerrilla positions have been captured with the cooperation of the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) collaborators with the Turkish state, all the fighting is still on the outer edges of the defense areas.
The Turkish state is also trying to force changes of the administration in the municipalities movement in Bakûr (Northern Kurdistan), as well as the movement of the revolutionary youth. However, resistance has increased with the big uprisings in Wan and Batman against the unelected governments that the AKP wanted to force on Kurdish-controlled towns.
In Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) too, the Turkish state is trying to gain influence and use propaganda and agents to turn society against the Kurdish Freedom Movement. However, it was only after the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” uprisings that it became clear that it was the women and youth of Rojhilat who stand behind the idea of Rêber APO’s with great willingness to sacrifice.
In Başûr (Southern Kurdistan), the Turkish state is pursuing a strategy of assimilation, special warfare and targeted assassinations of Kurdish leaders, especially revolutionary Kurdish women. In spite of this, support for the movement is growing there, as can be seen from the progress of self-organization in Şengal and Mexmûr. The statements of the second largest ruling party, the YNK (Kurdish Nationalist Union), are also clearly condemning the occupation of the Turkish state. And also the meeting between the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) and Mazlum Abdi (Commander of the SDF) shows that the influence from Turkey on the KDP is decreasing.
On 27 November the most recent large scale attack on Rojava and all of Syria began. The Turkish state tried to target Rojava (West Kurdistan). Erdogan threatened a total takeover and the elimination of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces). As the HTS advanced from Idlib to Damascus, the mercenaries of the SNA, coordinated by Erdogan, only made it to Manbij, which are the outskirts of the land administered by the DAANES (Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria). Here the fighting is still ongoing. Since 8th December, the SNA have been stuck at the Tishreen Dam and the Karakozak Bridge, unable to defeat the SDF and unable to cross the Euphrates.
In Europe, the two massacres in Paris of 2013 and 2023, which mainly targeted militant Kurdish women, the arrests of numerous Kurdish activists and the continuing criminalization of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) show that the Turkish state is also trying to stop the spread of the freedom movement, to assimilate and isolate Kurdish society. But with the steady growth of international solidarity that extends far beyond Europe and has grown strongly around the world, especially in Abya Yala (Latin America), Africa and Asia, Erdogan has literally been plunged into despair.
The greatest battle is fought day after day on the prison island of Imrali. The isolationist torture of Rêber APO there was intended to cut off the Kurdish Movement from its greatest source of strength, to demoralize it and, above all, to weaken it spiritually. The fact that the Turkish state has initiated meetings with Rêber APO now, at such a critical stage, is a clear sign of the defeat of its plan to eliminate him. Now the Turkish media says, “We have weakened the Kurds greatly. Abdullah Öcalan should dissolve the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the guerrillas should lay down their arms”. But if the Freedom Movement has been seriously weakened, why do they ask Rêber APO to bring about the end of the PKK? Why can’t the Turkish state do this on its own?
The Turkish state uses a language of provocation. Instead of answering Rêber APO’s statements about a possible peace process and the unity of the Turkish and Kurdish people, the Turkish media still talks about “terrorists” who disturb the peace of the country. But the biggest obstacle to peace in the whole of the Middle East is the Turkish state itself. There are conflicting interests in NATO. So far, NATO has used Turkey to gain control of the Middle East. But because Erdogan has so far failed in his occupation plans, America and Israel are now taking the initiative. The role of the Turkish state is therefore becoming less and less important. The Turkish state’s economy is in tatters, mainly due to the continued use of advanced warfare against the guerrillas. Therefore, the G20 countries are increasingly distancing themselves from Turkey, and are planning energy and trade routes that deliberately bypass Turkey. The ongoing war in the Middle East seems to be slowly spilling over into Turkey. For years Turkey has been weakened by the fight against the Kurdish freedom movement. But Turkey can no longer afford this weakening. This is the real reason why the Turkish state started new discussions with Rêber APO at this stage. But the media propaganda tries to cover up this situation. If the Kurdish Freedom Movement was really in a difficult phase, as the media say, and if Turkey’s strategy had been successful, then Turkey would not have turned to Rêber APO now. It is clear that the Kurdish Movement is a strong force.
The Turkish state calls its actions an anti-terrorist offensive. But it is really an admission of one’s own weakness. The war crimes it commits out of despair at its failure to break the will of the Kurdish people demonstrate this reality very clearly. History also shows that inhuman strategies have been employed when “conventional” warfare has failed. In these years, the Turkish state has entered a great crisis. If it really wants a peaceful solution, it should start an anti-terrorist campaign against its self, and take Rêber APO‘s proposals as a basis for political change and democracy.