The People’s Defense Forces (HPG) Press Liaison Center issued a written statement on the 22nd anniversary of the 1 June Initiative.

 

The HPG statement reads: “The International Conspiracy carried out on February 15, 1999, against our people and the Kurdistan Freedom Movement through Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] was a brutal attack aimed at leaving the Kurdish question unresolved and eliminating our people’s will for a free future. With great patience, determination, resistance, and persistence, and despite the conditions of the Imrali Torture System, Leader Apo responded to this attack by developing the Democratic Ecological Society Paradigm Based on Women’s Freedom, thereby presenting a perspective of democratic resolution and common life. Through this new paradigm, our Leader created a significant opportunity for the democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question in Turkey.

 

Based on Leader Apo’s approach, our guerrilla forces maintained a ceasefire position throughout the five-year period from the withdrawal decision taken on August 2, 1999, until June 1, 2004, thereby creating a strong foundation for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. However, rather than using this process to pursue a democratic resolution, the Turkish state sought to use it as a means to liquidate the Apoist Movement. The failure to take sincere and lasting steps toward a solution during this period, along with the continuation of denial and liquidation policies, gave rise to a new historical phase. Under these conditions, the June 1, 2004 Offensive emerged as an important step aimed at protecting our people’s existence, will, and demand for a free life.

 

The 22 years that have passed since then have demonstrated once again that the Kurdish question cannot be eliminated through policies of oppression, denial, and deadlock. The same period has tested the validity of Leader Apo’s ideas regarding democratic resolution, the unity of peoples, women’s freedom, and democratic society through a difficult struggle. His correctness has been proven by the judgment of history and continues to exist as an unshakable truth that sheds light on today’s reality. Today, the path to a lasting solution to the Kurdish question lies in ending the traditional state approach toward Leader Apo, securing his full freedom, enabling him to play his role as the chief negotiator of the Kurdish people, opening the way for democratic politics, and bringing peoples together on the basis of equality and freedom. Taking Leader Apo’s democratic solution perspective as the basis and implementing its requirements seriously by the Turkish state carries historical importance not only for the Kurdish people but also for the common future of the peoples of Turkey and the Middle East, as well as for thwarting plans imposed upon the region.

 

As Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas deepening pursuing the Apoist line of self-sacrificing militancy, we declare with full awareness of the historical responsibility we carry: We will never allow the unparalleled efforts of our Leader or the values created by our people through immense sacrifices and labor to be wasted. As we have done until now, we will continue to fulfill our duties and responsibilities without the slightest hesitation, acting with great willpower and determination. By representing the Apoist spirit of self-sacrifice at the highest level and deepening ourselves further in the Apoist militant line, we will not deviate for a single moment from the goal of securing the freedom of our Leader and our people. Following the direction set by our Leader, we once again strongly emphasize our determination to struggle under all circumstances, through diverse methods and means, with the Apoist spirit of self-sacrifice.

 

On this basis, we once again celebrate the congratulate our people, the families of our martyrs, our friends, and all our comrades on the 22nd anniversary of the Historic June 1 Offensive, and wish success in the new year of struggle.”