PKK Executive Committee Member Murat Karayılan spoke to ANF and warned the Turkish state against possible attacks against Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Karayılan said that targeting Öcalan will be disastrous for Turkey, and the Battalion of Immortals – which is organized for this scenario – will take action.

Karayılan described the Battalion of Immortals as elite forces of self-sacrifice that are currently semi-active. Once fully active, he said these forces would destroy all politicians involved in the decision to target Öcalan.

Murat Karayılan also made important statements on the KCK’s call for the Kurdish National Congress.

"TARGETING LEADER APO WILL BE DISASTROUS FOR ENTIRE TURKEY"

KCK Executive Council Member Zübeyir Aydar spoke during the Kurdish Conference at the European Parliament and said that AKP and MHP were working together on a project of murdering Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Aydar added that they received information on this plan. What are your thoughts on this project of murder?

Yes, it is a very important issue. Our movement received information on this issue. AKP and MHP, and even some betrayers of Kurdish origins, are debating on the murder of Leader Apo and discussed what the reaction of Kurdish people would be once Öcalan was annihilated. Zübeyir Aydar’s announcement during the EP is based on this information. This should be taken seriously; this is why the administration of our movement made this announcement and called upon different groups to take action.

Our people, peoples of Turkey and all parties should know that the fascist alliance is in similar projects. Their unthinkable and dangerous approach shows how serious this situation is. In this regard, our people and all parties that want Turkey to become a free and democratic country should struggle carefully and take a stance against such racist, fascist and frantic plans. Such a plan would trigger a Kurdish-Turkish war that could continue for decades, and would not be accepted by any Kurdistani that does not deny her or his identity.

Leader Apo brought the people of Kurdistan to the stage of history. With his ideology, thought and struggle, he brought Kurdish society from the brink of destruction to a modernizing and struggling society. He is both a modern leader and a philosopher. He has written nearly 200 books. His life, struggle and philosophy have deeply inspired hundreds of thousands of Kurdish youth. Nobody can get rid of this influence from the hearts and minds of Kurdish women and youth. Those that attempt to murder Öcalan will attempt to bring disaster. Approaching a leader, who has become the symbol of the freedom of women and Kurdistan’s society, in this way is playing with fire. Leader Apo is the force of change and coexistence in Turkey. He is the modern leader of the march for people’s fraternity, coexistence and revolution in the Middle East. Today, the paradigm of Democratic Confederalism and Democratic Nation is the only project that can solve the problems of the Middle East. Targeting Leader Apo is targeting the democratic future and union of Turkey as well as the existence of Kurdish people.

If people still consider living together in peace and democracy in Turkey, despite the deepening war in the country, it is because of Leader Apo. Targeting Öcalan is a madness that will add fuel to the fire in Turkey and bring disaster to the entire country.

"IF THERE IS AN ATTEMPT ON LEADER APO, THE BATTALION OF IMMORTALS WILL COME FORTH"

What do you say to the discussions on a physical attempt against the Kurdish People’s Leader?

Without a doubt, even discussions of such a subject is grounds for a struggle. As a people, or as a movement, we cannot accept such a thing even being talked about. So, we will fight against this with everything we have.

But one thing I can say specifically, is that as well as our society developing a great insurrection on the basis of a fracture that would take years, the Battalion of Immortals who have been organized for such situations will also get into action. The Battalion of Immortals are a kind of sleeper-cell, always active sacrificial forces. One could say they are the “guards of the guards”, an organization at a higher level of concentration. The concept of this battalion is “to destroy all politicians and leaders involved in the decision to attack Leader Apo”. No one should think “They can’t do it”. Don’t you think 4 guards attacking at once on a leader speaking in a crowd or riding in a convoy will achieve results?

Of course things don’t have to come to that. We don’t actually want to talk, or think about these things. But we need to remind everyone that this situation, this emergency valve is there. This is not a threat, but a stating of a fact. There are such guards. And, with such an attempt by the Turkish state, the number of these guards will increase a hundredfold. If there are a thousand now, there will be a hundred thousand then. In short, when we say, “Thinking of this is playing with fire,” we are not exaggerating, or shooting threats left and right. Nobody should think that. If you are talking about destroying the strategic future of a people, we as the representatives of this people need to express the facts as clearly and openly as possible. In spite of this, if you are willing to take a chance, you need to think about what it will take away from you.

In short, we are calling on everyone to be realistic about this matter. Thinking a result can be achieved through such politics over false tales of heroes and provoking people left and right is careless.

"WHOEVER SAYS THEY WILL “DESTROY PKK” WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES"

Aside from this, there is frequent talk of “We will destroy the PKK, and afterwards we will make peace with the Kurds”. Is that possible?

If you “destroy” the patrons of this cause, who will you make peace with? Look, what did Saddam do? Saddam implemented projects to destroy the Kurds, he excluded the pêshmerge, he even caused a great blow to the Kurdish Movement with the Algeria Treaty, and built a Kurdish autonomy with collaborating, traitor Kurds. Did that hold up? No. Does anybody talk about a Kurdish autonomy in Iraq in the 1970’s-80’s? No. Because it was not genuine. So now, you push the patrons of this cause, the people who have devoted their lives to this cause, the families who have lost their children and the clans aside, and on the other hand say that you will “develop a solution” with some traitors who have never protected their own kind, who have acted in enmity, who are not respected at all in society. What kind of a solution is that? Where in the world have you seen such a solution take hold, why would yours? Yes, there have been many such attempts all around the world, but they never took hold. There is not one example where this approach worked. Because it’s not genuine. In any case, the Kurdistan society of today is not one to fall for such disingenuous projects.

Today, as a people, as a society and as a movement, we are at our strongest. The flow of history cannot be stopped now, nobody is strong enough for that. Those who think they can do this with some stooges and some technical tools, will face the consequences of what they wished to do.

"THE KURDS NEED A COMMON STRATEGY NOW"

A discussion of national unity has started among Kurdistani institutions, organizations and prominent people in the community following the KCK Executive Council Co-leadership’s statement in the previous week. A wide array of people have responded positively. But there are circles who have yet to make their stance on this issue known. What do you think?

I wholeheartedly agree with the call for national unity made by the administration of our movement, the KCK Executive Council Co-leadership, with all its facets. There will undoubtedly be a restructuring in the region after the war in the Middle East. No places will stay the same. And the Kurds have achieved important possibilities and opportunities. The Kurdish people need a national unity approach for sure, to transform these opportunities and possibilities to a foundation for living freely on these lands, like the neighboring peoples. Enough is enough! The Kurds should have a common strategy now. We need to end this fragmentation. Nobody should say “We can achieve some results in some parts without creating a national unity too”. That is not going to happen. In this time, the enemies of the Kurdish people have made it their core strategy to destroy the unity among Kurds, develop dissent and create an internal conflict. We as the Kurdish politicians and the patriotic forces of the Kurdish people should not fall for this. The way to shut these tricks down is to come together in a policy of national unity.

It can be a congress, it can be a conference, or it can be a narrower and more urgent platform - in some way, an initiative that will reflect the Kurdish people’s national stance should develop. If such a development doesn’t come in such an important point in history, I will only say, “What a shame”. In this day and age, forces that could never be near can come together, Turkey and Iran for example are about to go into a war over the conflicts in the region but on the other hand the foreign ministers of the two states make 9 phone calls in one day. This age is the age of information and communication. That is true. But it is also an age of dialogue. In this age, if Kurds don’t try to solve the issues among themselves through dialogue, then that will mean that the Kurds are left out of this age. Then nobody will value the Kurds. Fragmented Kurds will not be valued by anybody. They can build relationships with them for their own interests, but they will not show any measure of value that corresponds to the actual Kurdish national reality. In this sense, we are in need of unity, as an absolute necessity. I find it useful to stress this very strongly.