Female guerrillas continue to read and discuss the Peace and Democratic Society Manifesto prepared by Abdullah Öcalan. In these discussions, they particularly focus on women’s freedom and organizational issues, addressing possible solutions.
Kurdish Freedom Movement guerrilla Amara Ciwanro shared her thoughts with our agency about the topics Leader Apo addressed in the Manifesto, within the framework of these discussions.
Amara Ciwanro stated that for 200 years, hegemonic states have pursued a divide–fragment–rule policy in the Middle East, setting peoples and faiths against one another, and added: “Their aim is for us, as the Kurdish people, to fight against the Persians, Arabs, and Turks, so that they can profit from the chaos that emerges. If we do not want to be their plaything, we must free ourselves from this situation. As the peoples of the Middle East, we must understand this well: as long as chaos and war continue in the Middle East, the greatest benefit and profit will be in the hands of colonial states; and the greatest loss will fall to us.
Leader Öcalan developed this Manifesto so that we would no longer be toys in the hands of these states, and so that the peoples of the Middle East could live together, in peace, and democratically. As the Kurdish people, we can lead such a transformation.”
Guerrillas know and experience the pains nature has suffered for 50 years
Addressing the ecological destruction policies in the Manifesto, Ciwanro continued: “As the Kurdish people, we can lead an ecological revolution. If we do not see ourselves as part of nature, if we see ourselves as separate from or above nature, we cannot lead a revolution. As the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas, we have been the ones who know best, and have experienced firsthand, the pains that nature has suffered for 50 years.
With every airstrike, not only do guerrillas fall as martyrs; animals are killed, trees and plants are destroyed. We experience all of this very clearly. For this reason, our leader wants to redefine and resolve the question of ecology.”
The largest section of the Manifesto is devoted to women’s freedom
Ciwanro said that from Leader Apo’s [Abdullah Öcalan] first “Defenses” to the most recent Manifesto he sent, he has placed women at the heart of democracy, and that without solving the problem of women’s freedom, no problem can be solved: “Leader Apo, since childhood, has always wrestled with and focused on the issue of women, wanting to thoroughly analyze and find solutions to women’s enslavement. He says that as a child he did not yet have the power to solve it, but he always wanted to develop the right solution to the women’s question. Twenty-six years ago, in his Defenses, we saw that the most important pillar of his paradigm was women’s freedom. In the Manifesto, again, the fundamental pillar of democracy is solving the problem of women’s freedom. The largest section is devoted to this.
Leader Apo saw that if we do not take women’s freedom as our source, we will lose just like other parties.”
Toxic killers in suits and ties walking among us
Commenting on how the hegemonic male, organized as a toxic killer and hunter, who historically attacked clans led by women, continues to manifest in different ways today, Amara Ciwanro said: “These killers still exist. Three thousand years ago they had knives and arrows in their hands; today’s toxic killers no longer have these. They wear ties and suits, but they are still the same toxic killers. We need to see this clearly. If women are still being raped and murdered, they are not separate from these toxic killers. They operate with the same ideas and philosophy as the toxic killers of 3,000 years ago, but with softer methods, working from behind the scenes. And we do not see this—we live alongside them. Leadership, with the Manifesto, wants us to see these realities, to recognize our enemy, and to take precautions.”
Emphasizing the importance of women’s organization against toxic killers, Ciwanro said: “Organizing against these toxic killers is necessary especially for us women. It doesn’t matter if they are Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, or even European. We think Middle Eastern women experience the most rape and violence, but women living in Europe, America, and Africa also face this violence. For this reason, we need a global women’s organization and alliance.”
Whatever change Leader Apo makes, we know it is for the benefit of women and peoples
Expressing her trust and loyalty to Leader Apo, Ciwanro said: “We always follow Leader Apo. Until now there was the PKK, but with the 12th Congress, the PKK was dissolved. The PKK is not a physical entity; it is a spirit. The PKK is the spirit of the martyrs who lived from the first day to the last day of this 50-year-long war. We have given martyrs in every part of Kurdistan. There is the spirit of these martyrs, and there is the hardship that Leadership has endured in a marathon-like way for 26 years on İmralı. We will do everything we can for these efforts to succeed. As guerrillas, we cannot ignore the hardships and martyrdoms we have experienced over 50 years; for this reason, our struggle will continue.”
She concluded with a call to the people: “Just as our people have stood by us until now, we believe they will continue to do so in the future. In this process, our people must strive to better understand our Leadership and embody it in their own personalities
