KCK’s Bayik: People of northern Syria must prepare for war

Cemil Bayik describes the Turkish state with its expansionist character as a basic problem for the Middle East and says: "The Turkish state is a danger not only for the Kurds, but for all."

According to the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Co-chair Cemil Bayik, the Turkish state attacks the Kurdish freedom movement because it is a bulwark against its anti-Kurdish goals. However, the attacks are not directed against PKK alone. Turkey is trying to legitimize its aggression by denouncing the presence of the PKK in South Kurdistan and by representing North Syria as a threat to its own. However, this does not correspond to the truth, says Bayik and asks: "Is the PKK also present in the eastern Mediterranean or in Libya?"

ANF ​​spoke to Cemil Bayik about the latest developments. Here are translated excerpts from the interview.

According to Bayik, it is clear that the AKP-MHP alliance with its big Turkish self-image cannot survive without war: "The attitude toward the Kurdish people has not changed. They will continue to practice a dirty policy against the Kurds and continue their occupation and massacres. The oppression of the peoples in Turkey will continue as well. Therefore, they want to destroy everything that bears the name 'Kurdish' or 'Kurdistan', to rebuild the nation state, to re-conquer Ottoman territory and once again reach the borders of the National Pact. To this end, they are waging a war in the Middle East, trying to strengthen their position in the region. On June 23 (in the elections) they suffered a heavy blow. Then they made the war the basis of their policy, to hide their weakness, to paralyze the democratic forces, and to stay in power.

The problem is not the PKK

The Turkish state is trying to achieve its goal by arguing that: 'We have nothing against Kurds, we oppose the PKK and only we fight it.' Fragmentation of the Kurds has always been a crucial tactic of Turkish fascism. Throughout its history, Turkish fascism aimed to destroy the Kurds. Those Kurdish actors who stand by Erdoğan and Bahçeli should know this very well. They are directed against themselves, their own people, not the PKK. They owe nothing to the Turkish state and they do not have to serve it. If it wasn’t for the PKK, they would have achieved no gains today. So, they owe to the PKK.

Turkey’s hatred is not only against the Kurds of Bakur (North Kurdistan) or the PKK, it is directed against the entire Kurdish people. This reality is seen clearly in Bashur (South Kurdistan) and Rojava (West Kurdistan). Some Kurds in Rojava and South Kurdistan say, 'That's right, the Turkish state is attacking because the PKK is here. If the PKK did not exist then such attacks would not take place. 'For those who think so I would like to point out the situation in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean. There is no PKK in Libya, but everyone knows that Turkey is the cause of the problems there. Therefore, it is not about the presence of the PKK. The PKK defends the dignity of the Kurdish people. That's why Turkey is attacking. Turkey attacks of all Kurds in the person of the PKK. The Kurds should see this and not put themselves in the service of the fascist Turkish state.

Turkey dangerous for everyone

Turkey is currently talking about a 'peace corridor'. At the moment, the peoples of northern and eastern Syria live in brotherhood. They want to create and develop their own democratic system. Turkey is an enemy of democracy and liberties. It is an enemy of brotherhood and peoples. Turkey has designed its own plan and acts accordingly. The basis of this plan is the question of how to best divide the Kurds, how to separate the Kurds in Bakur from those in Bashur and those in Rojava. As part of this plan, the Kurds are meant to be expelled and replaced with other people that Turkey sees as “favorable”.

We have to understand the goal exactly

When Turkey keeps talking about invading northern Syria, it also says, 'We will destroy this region and settle the refugees from Syria there.' At the same time, it plans to deploy its own militias there. We can see the implementation of this plan in the case of Afrin. The Kurdish people must understand this reality exactly and oppose it with all its possibilities. The peoples of northern Syria must also understand the goal of Turkey exactly. In this sense, the peoples of the region must further concretize their brotherhood and further develop the struggle through their organization.

People should prepare for resistance to the occupation

It is now necessary to build self-defense forces against a Turkish invasion, defense and security. If this does not happen, there will be a great danger. It does not look like that peace will be ensured in Syria in the near future. In the Middle East ravages the Third World War and it will go on. This war can expand even further. That's why it's not about the question of a peaceful solution. Nobody should cling to such hope and deceive themselves. Therefore, both the people and the defense forces of Northern Syria should prepare for war. The defense must be expanded in every respect. That's what has to happen. There is no other way to prevent the invasion by Turkey.

They are planning worse than in Afrin

The coalition, Russia and Syria must grasp this reality. The Arab peoples must also understand this. The Kurds, together with the Arabs, must courageously oppose the Turkish invasion. The Turkish state wants to strike a wedge between the Kurdish and the Arab population. They want to use some militia groups and cooperating Arabs for the occupation of northern and eastern Syria. They say that places like Girê Spî, Şêxler and Serêkaniyê are not Kurdish but Arab lands. They say they will settle there the Arabs who have fled to Turkey. 'They want to repeat what they did in Afrin. Everyone knows what the Turkish state and its militias did to the people of Afrin. Everyone sees how the Kurds in particular, but also all other peoples, are oppressed. If Turkey invades northern Syria, it will be worse than in Afrin. Everyone has to understand that. Therefore, all options must be used to strengthen the resistance."