Interview with Sîpan Nûjiyan, International HPG Fighter
29.08.2024
Interview by Riseup4Rojava
A large scale operations of the Turkish Army in Southern Kurdistan, particularly focused on the Metina region, which has been heavily contested since 2022 is the scene of intense fighting between the Turkish invading Army and the guerrilla forces of the People’s Defense Forces and the Free Women’s Units, the YJA Star and HPG. Despite years of Turkish military operations and continuous bombardment, there are still areas in Metîna where the guerrillas, primarily from war tunnels, have maintained their positions and continue to resist the Turkish state’s advance. We spoke to a International Guerrilla about the current situation and the meaning and implications of the war in Kurdistan.
1) Can you Introduce yourself?
My name is Sîpan Nûjiyan. My roots are in west Europe. In the year 2019 I joined the Kurdish liberation movement. Since then I have spent most of the time in the Mountains of Kurdistan as a part of the peoples defence forces HPG.
2) In recent months the Turkish state has deployed thousands of soldiers, armored vehicles and heavy material into Southern Kurdistan, respectively the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. How is the situation right now in Southern Kurdistan? What can you tell us about the latest developments?
To understand the recent Situation, it is at least necessary to understand the style of war that is fought in the last nine years. Until 2015 there has been a process of negotiations between Rêber APO and the Turkish state, that gave at least little hope for political solutions of the Kurdish question. This process found an abrupt ending from the Turkish side and what followed was the attempt to wage all out war with the one goal to drown the Kurdish question in blood. This war has reached a tipping point and has be come a matter of to be or not to be. The Turkish state has put everything they had on one card. Whatever the human, financial and political cost may be, any liberation aspirations of the Kurdish people were to be eliminated. As much as I named the Turkish state, it is important to understand that the Turkish state is not an autonomous subject, much more, as a NATO member, it is guided by the interests of the hegemonic forces of capitalist modernity.
Furthermore we need to understand, that the situation in the region and the developments in other places like Ukraine, Palestine and Karabakh for example are not at all isolated, but all battlegrounds of the third world war. When Rêber APO defined the overall situation as world war 3 it is in no way metaphorically or exaggerative, but grounded on a deep analysis of history and geopolitics. On the frontline of this battle Rêber APO’s resistance in Imralî has brought the capitalist system to a point, where its main players fear nothing more than a spoken word of Rêber APO and they seem to know, that his physical liberation will be a major turning point and the manifestation of their ideological defeat.
With this in mind we can discuss the recent situation in southern Kurdistan, in which the enemy once again tries to broaden military operations supported by the KDP regime. Considering that in spite of constant use of chemical and tactical-nuclear weapons and enormous military spending the enemy could not even get close to what he aimed for originally, any further attempt makes the enemy resemble the dying beast trying desperately to pull everything together to rise this one last time. If we just review the last months we witness a succession of military embarrassment on the side of the Turkish army. In the latest stage, we see the enemy defeated in his stronghold, which used to be up in the sky. For years every tactic of the enemy was based on his air-force. Drones, Jets and Helicopters have been the key factor in their style of war. In the end the Guerrilla not only made their effect grow smaller and smaller, but finally found ways of shooting down enemy drones and helicopters over and over again. The actions, which the Guerrilla is conducting with their own air-force completes the embarrassment of the enemy.
3) The main target for Turkish military action right now seems to be the Metîna Region. Already since 2021 Turkish forces have been trying to get a foothold in this region. As we heard you yourself have been to Metîna recently. What can you tell us about the strategical importance of the Region. What can you tell us about the war in Metîna and the resistance of the guerrilla there?
There are many ways to describe the importance of Metîna. geo-strategicaly it is right beneath the Turkish-Iraqi state border making it an important access point between north and south Kurdistan. Demographically it is a Region, where different ethnicity and believes coexist peacefully for thousands of years, where you can find christian churches and mosques side by side.
But in this context I would like to point out, that it needs to be understood, that the war fought in Metîna is in no way limited to the region. This war is the physical clash of two modernities, two antagonistic worldviews, a free life and self governance versus slavery in all its forms. The predetermined breaking point of 5000 years of state, power and violence has been uncovered in Kurdistan and solely in this context we can begin to understand the immense moral and energy that the Guerrilla proves every day, over and over again. Realizing the historical meaningfulness of every deed and every moment is the fundament for this immense will power, that lacks any comparison. It is hard to describe the reality in a place like Metîna, especially to readers from central Europe. It is in those circumstances that one witnesses all of our values being lived and practiced in their purest essence. It is easy to talk about sharing, when the table is full of food. It is easy to talk about friendship, when existential hardships are far away, but it is exactly in those situations of the highest pressure, when diamonds are taking shape, legends are being created, history is written. Intense phases like the last years in Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna have seen endless stories of courage, selflessness and friendship, that make the wildest fiction seem pallid. Even by writing hundreds of books we can’t cover even half of the realities. It is stories like the one of Şehîd Azê Erdal, who was the only one surviving a series of attacks with chemical weapons on the tunnel she fought in. On the outside the tunnel was surrounded by the enemy, inside she was surrounded by the bodies of her friends, that fell Şehîd. In this dire situation, and still able to contact the outside over radio transmitters, she showed not even the slightest sign of despair. On the contrary she motivated her friends outside, told them not to worry and kept fighting on her own and giving reports for over one month. It is stories like this making words like friendship, willpower, sacrifice and militancy winning the deepest of meanings. It is stories of friends like Şehîd Ronî, who in spite of being in other works and two days of marching away from the region, takes the initiative and without further knowledge of the area sneaking through enemy lines and finding his way to the friends at the frontline. From then on leading months of the most intense resistance and falling Şehîd in the same heroic manner that he used to live every day of his life in the revolution. It is stories like this, it is the level under which the leading revolutionary principles are put to concrete action, that form the unbreakable defense against even the most inhuman attacks.
Wherever in the world we are struggling and under which ever circumstances, we have to understand the imperative of those acts and as their friends we need to try ever harder to live up to the standards, that our friends have set.
4) Until now the Turkish invasion has gained little to no international attention. What do you think the solidarity Movement with the Revolution in Kurdistan and also progressive people in general need to do in this situation?
Concerning solidarity movements and other progressives I believe that it is crucial to understand the gravity and historic importance of the situation and to realize that this is neither a regional, nor a national conflict, it is determining the future of life in the broadest sense imaginable. On this basis there are endless forms of action to be taken, endless ways of engaging, endless weak spots to attack. None of us can afford to underestimate one’s responsibility and the effect of every deed that in sum will decide if we fulfilled our historic role or become guilty of treason of the human history. Especially I want to share how much every form of action taken in other parts of the world is a huge source of moral for our friends on the frontline. Whenever there is a chance to follow the news the friends wonder if other parts of the world rise up and take action and even seeing a simple protest march has a motivating effect. But especially in the centers of the capitalist modernity there a numerous targets, calling for action. Under no circumstances can we allow white torture or the use of chemical weapons become anything close to ordinary. Most of you remember the pictures of the friends falling Şehîd under the influence of chemical weapons which the friends shared to the public. I remember that right after those shocking images a friend next to me said, that the people in Europe will not leave this approach to raise awareness without reply. Unfortunately the reply lacked in many ways. Only if we really become one, take our responsibility towards the friends on the front seriously, we can live a revolutionary life.
Source: Riseup4Rojava