27 years have passed since the martyrdom of German revolutionary Andrea Wolf (Ronahî), who was brutally murdered by the Turkish state in 1996. The great internationalist revolutionary Andrea Wolf (Ronahi), who was tortured and murdered by the fascist Turkish state after taking the right hand in the conflict with the fascist Turkish state with 23 of her comrades 27 years ago, becomes the symbol of the internationalist struggle within the PKK.
German revolutionary and PKK guerrilla Andrea Wolf, also known as Ronahî German, is one of the women who left her mark on the history of the Kurdish Women’s Freedom Struggle, where many young German revolutionaries fought for Kurdish freedom. Andrea Wolf is known as the ‘Symbol of the International Struggle’ in the Kurdish Freedom Struggle. Many German revolutionaries who joined the PKK after her are named after her.
Who is Andrea Wolf-Ronahi?
Ronahî (Andrea Wolf) was born on January 15, 1965 in Munich, Germany. Wolf witnessed Germany’s most complex times (1970-80). She was introduced to politics at the age of 15 and became a member of the youth branches of the German Social Democratic Party. Growing up in a socialist family, Andrea Wolf also participated in anti-system marches with her family at a young age. Andrea and her friends later founded an organization called Freedom Time 81. Thus, she began to be seen and recognized in newspaper headlines. Andrea later became a target of the German police and was detained dozens of times. Despite this, she did not give up the struggle and continued her revolutionary work until the 1990s.
Her search for a free life leads him to the PKK
Andrea Wolf, who is also closely interested in World Revolutionary Movements, is acquainted with the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle. When it was decided to arrest her in Germany in 1996, she joined the PKK. Andrea joins the PKK when Kurdish revolutionary Ronahî (Bedriye Taş) sets her body on fire to protest the German government’s Newroz ban. Thereupon, Ronahi goes to the mountains of Kurdistan.
‘From now on, I will fight on these lands as a German revolutionary’
Andrea Wolf, known as Ronahî German in the PKK, explains in a text the reason why she joined the PKK: “I do not want to live in the middle of the pollution that humanity is currently experiencing. It would be my greatest honor to get rid of this filth. I will walk this path with great effort and care. Even though I come from a different culture here, I never felt like a stranger. The responsibility I take here will change and transform me. From now on, I will live in these lands as a German revolutionary. I will defend my lands with the power I receive from here and I will use all my strength for this. I believe I will succeed.”
‘They left no other way for us except the mountains’
Martyr Ronahî German wrote the following in her diary in the mountains of Kurdistan on May 1, 1997: “We should have stopped the war machines in the cities, but it didn’t happen. “They left us no other way out than the mountains.” On October 23, 1998, she was captured alive in the conflict with the Turkish state with 23 of her friends in the Şax region of Wan and was later martyred. The martyrdom of Andrea Wolf later led to a crisis between Turkey and Germany. Türkiye claimed that it had no knowledge of the incident. Even her body could not be found for years. It was learned that she was found in a mass grave in Dökmelitaş village of Şax in 2011.
‘I joined the PKK for the freedom of all people’
Information about Ronahi’s martyrdom was confirmed by Ronahi’s comrades and villagers who survived the conflict. Her comrades who survived the incident described the incident as follows: “They were calling in Kurdish for us to surrender. At that time, comrade Ronahi went out with other female comrades. As soon as she came out, she addressed the soldiers and said, ‘I am a socialist, I joined the PKK for the freedom of all people.’ The rangers were talking about the things in her bag, their voices could be heard. Half an hour after comrade Ronahi’s voice, gunshots came. We waited until 12 o’clock the next day. In the afternoon the enemy withdrew from the area. We went out that night. The enemy had gathered most of the comrades’ bodies in one place. Some remained separated. Comrade Kamuran’s body was cremated. Comrade Agiri was beheaded. Comrade Ronahi’s body was 10 meters away from them, the enemy did unethical things with her body.
Ronahi became the symbol of internationalist struggle
An international commission of inquiry was established in 2011 by human rights defenders from around the world to investigate the atrocities committed against Andrea Wolf (Ronahi) and her friends. However, the Commission’s efforts to investigate the incident were thwarted. On September 15, 2013, the public built a “Ronahi Martyrdom” monument for Martyr Ronahi and his friends. Later, the Turkish state decided to demolish the “Ronahi Martyrdom”, but there was a great reaction from the public and women kept watch at the monument for days. Ronahi Martyrdom was bombed and destroyed by Turkish warplanes in 2015. There are currently hundreds of German, British, Latin American and many other International revolutionaries in the PKK’s Kurdistan Freedom Struggle, and they describe Ronahi as their pioneer.
Source: International Revolution