Interview With A Commander Of TKP-ML TIKKO Martyr Eylem Yildiz Battalion

We at Redspark are pleased to share with our readers the following interview with a Commander of the TKP-ML TIKKO Martyr Eylem Yildiz Battalion. The interview addresses questions concerning the the recent overthrow of the Assad regime and the new administration in Syria, as well as the effects of these events in Rojava and the process of revolution in that region. This interview was conducted in January 2025 and was first published on the Maoist Road blog site. Red Salute!

With the fall of the Syrian government in the first days of December, the new administration in Syria and the process in Rojava have been at the top of the international agenda.

We asked Munzur Bakır, one of the TKP-ML TIKKO Martyr Eylem Yıldız Battalion Commanders, our questions about this process.

Hello. First of all, let’s start with the latest developments in Syria. How do Syria and Rojava take place in the axis of increasing imperialist aggression and popular resistance in the Middle East? Also, what would you like to say about possible future developments?

First of all, the last week of January is a week when we commemorate our immortals, on this occasion we bow with respect in front of our immortals and reiterate our commitment to them. Ali Haydar Yıldız, Meral Yakar, Cemil Oka, Mehmet Zeki Şerit, Hayrettin Bakış, Ali Uçar, Zeki Uygun, Yel Mountain
martyrs, Süheyla Dağdeviren, Munzur Keskin, Beşler, Yurdal Yıldırım Haydar Arğal, Murat Tekgöz, Cengiz İçli and our twelve comrades who were martyred in Dersim Aliboğazı and our general secretaries who were immortalized in the line of duty while leading our party, we hereby reiterate the promise that we will carry this uninterrupted war to the end with the excitement, patience and enthusiasm of the first day. History has given us the honor of being the comrades of hundreds of our immortals and we will be worthy of history.

Especially in the last two months, Syria has been at the top of the world agenda. The sixty-year-old Ba’athist regime collapsed in a short period of two weeks with the ‘counter-attack to prevent attacks’ launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against Aleppo. This is how the collapse of the Ba’athist regime is propagated in public opinion or in the international media. But we cannot look at it in this way. It is clear that there is no war between HTS and its affiliated jihadist gang groups and the Ba’ath regime, and the war cannot be considered as a localized war. From this point of view, it would be more accurate to evaluate it as the mutual moves developed by the inter-imperialist rivalry in the Middle East.

After the attack of the Palestinian resistance groups against the Zionist state of Israel on 7 October 2023, Zionist Israel created a ground for its regional expansionism by justifying this attack. Israel’s regional interests and the interests of NATO-oriented imperialist powers, especially US imperialism, intersected at the point of redesigning the region. And precisely for this reason, the Zionist state of Israel has received great support both financially and militarily from the NATO-orientated powers, especially the USA, Britain and Germany.

The US and EU-orientated imperialist bloc acted in agreement that Russia’s advantageous position in the region must be weakened and Iran’s hegemony in the region must be broken. For this purpose, weakening and destroying the local structures called the ‘axis of resistance’ affiliated to Iran, forcing Iran to withdraw to its own borders and depriving Russia of its bases in the region and ensuring its exit from the region were exactly where the interests of the US/NATO-oriented imperialist bloc and the Zionist state of Israel converged.

First, Gaza was razed to the ground and Palestinian resistance groups, especially HAMAS, were dealt heavy blows. Subsequently, the Lebanese leg of the resistance axis was tried to collapse by inflicting heavy blows on Hezbollah. After a certain distance was achieved here, the jihadist gangs in Syria were
unleashed and Damascus was captured.

The power that kept the Ba’athist regime standing militarily was the support provided by Russia and the active deployment of Shiite groups in the region. After the 7 October attack, the Shiite groups were weakened and debilitated by the systematic attacks of the Israeli state. Russia, for the most part, was content to watch this process from the outside.

Now the situation in Syria has radically changed and taken a completely different turn. The seizure of central power by ISIS and similar jihadist gangs in Syria should be considered not only as the end of an era but also as the beginning of a bloody period.

It is necessary to act with the knowledge that the US and British monopolies have replaced the Russian imperialists in Syria and that their local support is the gangs, and to foresee what awaits us regionally in the coming period.

Today, the HTS, which is being paved the way by shining in the Syrian specific, is far from being a structure that will cover the whole in a cosmopolitan, multi-national and multi-faith country like Syria. As we have mentioned, HTS is based on a Sunni Salafist ideology, and this ideology is a structure based on the principles of conquering, plundering and looting. It is not even realistic for this structure to create a liberal bourgeois profile in the classical sense.

In fact, with the collapse of the Ba’ath regime and the exit of Shiite groups from the region, massacres against the Alawite faith have already begun. In terms of forming their own organization, the most disorganized section in Syria today is the Alawite section. And the massacres were started from here first. Although some Alawite resistance groups have formed at the local level, they have not yet formed an integrated structure. In this respect, the Alevi community can only stop these massacres by forming its own armed organization and resistance line. It seems that Alevis have no other means of self-protection than forming their own self-defense. It is remembered that HTS’s attempt to intervene in the regions where the Druze minority lived in the south was met with resistance from the Druze in the region. The Druze demanded reassurance. Therefore, under these circumstances, all oppressed nationalities and beliefs in Syria have no choice but to resist and organize their own self-defense. It is inevitable to organize an armed force to protect one’s own existence in the region called the Middle East. In the words of Chairman Mao, ‘a people without an army has nothing.’ The truth of this statement proves itself once again.

What happened in the region under the control of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria during this process? As far as we can see, HTS did not directly attack Rojava. However, there were attacks by the Salafist jihadist gangs called the Syrian National Army (SMO), which was directly organized and paid by the Turkish Republic. These attacks are still continuing. What would you like to say about this?

Yes, Rojava’s position stands in a slightly different place in this process. For 12 years, it has organized itself as an autonomous system at the regional level and has created certain military and political organizations. It had to meet this new process with the possibilities and opportunities that this revealed.

It can even be said that the region in the most advantageous position was the Regional Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria. And how effectively did it use this advantageous position in such a process? This is a matter of debate. In this process, Minbij was lost in a short period of time. QSD forces had to withdraw from places they entered, such as Derazor. It had to leave the Tal Rifaat-Shahba line. And all this happened in a very short time.

We believe that it is necessary to look at all these events with a critical eye. However, after all these withdrawals, a resistance that could change the fate of the Rojava Revolution began.

You say that the resistance on the Tishrin-Qaraqozak line can change the fate of the revolution. This resistance gained a different dimension with the participation of Rojava peoples. People and fighters are fighting in the same positions in different ways but for the same goal. Could you share your thoughts on this subject?

It is precisely here that the resistance on the Tishrin and Qaraqozak line gains meaning. The fascist Turkish state and the SMO gangs affiliated to it, after their easy success in Tal Rifaat and Minbic, have embarked on a comprehensive attack on Rojava as a whole and Kobane in particular. Kobane is not only an important city for the Autonomous Region of Northern and Eastern Syria, but also one of the symbolic cities of the victory against ISIS. In this respect, the capture of Kobane would provide a significant military, political and psychological advantage to the fascist Turkish state and its gang groups. After the fall of Minbic, an intense attack was launched from the Karakozak and Tishrin lines to surround and capture Kobane.

In both lines, the QSD and its affiliated forces organised a strong resistance line and resisted with a strong resistance. At the current stage, the attacks of the gangs and the Turkish state have been significantly broken and the invasion attempt of Kobane has been frustrated. As a result of the resistance on both the Karakozak and Tishrin battle fronts, there are escapes and dispersals within the gang groups. Every gang group that came against the QSD fighters was either destroyed or fled in a very short time. The fate of the latest Uzbek groups was no different. The fascist Turkish state sought to find a solution in the effective use of warplanes and all kinds of aerial vehicles but failed to break the resistance. Recently, there has been an intense bombardment without any discrimination.

The most important factor that makes the resistance on the Tishrin line different and meaningful is that the people also supported the QSD fighters and marched to the resistance positions and kept watch at these positions. The fact that the people themselves marched to the battlefields was the most important proof that the democratic structure in Rojava was supported by the people. In fact, the people have demonstrated their support for the QSD fighters on the front in different ways, both by holding rallies on the streets and by cooking and sending food to the fighters on the front, but a further stage of this is to take their place in the resistance positions.

The fascist Turkish state and its gangs have shown their intolerance towards this ownership of the people by bombing the areas where our people are located with warplanes and carrying out massacres. The fascist Turkish state once again showed its massacring face in Tishrin. Over twenty people were massacred and dozens of people were seriously injured. Attacks are still continuing.

The march of the people to the war positions has undoubtedly been the most revolutionary move of the last period. It has also become a great source of morale for the fighters fighting in the positions. The distinction between just and unjust war has once again been revealed in the reality of a resisting people.
QSD fighters, as the rightful side of this war, draw their strength from this very people.

The technique of warfare has been in a state of continuous and rapid development for a certain period of time. Especially with the introduction of drone systems on the battlefield, the form of warfare has changed drastically. With the Turkish state starting to use this system, it has gained a relative advantage especially against the guerrilla. Accompanied by racist fascist propaganda, the Turkish state issued deadlines claiming that the revolutionary forces fighting now have no remedy against them.

With the HPG forces developing counter-technical attack tools on simple drone systems, the Turkish state’s propaganda of invincibility has now been thrown into the dustbin of history. Likewise, with the effective use of drone systems by the QSD forces, a significant advantage and success has been achieved against the gangs on the war fronts. The kamikaze drones named Brusk by the QSD fighters have become the fearful dream of the gangs and of course the fascist Turkish state.

In fact, it is quite appropriate to the nature of the war. Each technique develops by creating its own counter technique. Against the TB2s of the Turkish state, Brusks have a feature that changes the course of the war.

26 January is the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Kobane from ISIS gangs. How would you evaluate the resistance at that time and today?

Yes, 26 January is the tenth anniversary of the liberation of Kobane from the occupation of ISIS gangs, and today Kobane is again under threat from the fascist Turkish state and ISIS remnant gangs. Just as everyone took their place in the battle positions against ISIS attacks that day, so today they are taking
their place without hesitation against the invasion attacks of the Turkish state and its jihadist gangs.

In fact, there is no difference in essence between the ISIS invasion ten years ago and the threat of invasion by the Turkish state today. The only difference is that while in the first case the Turkish state was content with military and financial support, today it is attempting to invade directly.

The Kurdish people and fighters put up an epic resistance against ISIS, paving the way for the defeat of ISIS. At that time, our comrades also wrote the name of our party in history as part of this epic resistance. It should be known that we will be worthy of our party’s line of resistance to protect and defend the gains of the Kurdish nation, no matter what.

Today, conditions are positively different compared to ten years ago. Compared to ten years ago, the people are more organized and have become a part of the democratic national gains of Rojava. The people of Kobane have the consciousness and self-sacrifice to protect and defend their own gains. The
people of Kobane have shown this with their extraordinary efforts and sacrifices in the last two months.

If the fascist Turkish state falls again into the mistake it fell into ten years ago, this will be the beginning of the end for it.

How do you establish the relationship between the defense of the Rojava Revolution against the attacks of the Turkish state and the Turkish revolution?

The Middle East is a geography with high transitivity as a region. And because of this, a development in one place directly affects other parts. When it comes to the Kurdish national question, this reality comes to the fore more. The Kurdish question is a regional problem. In this respect, the Rojava Kurdish national revolution stands in an important place in weakening the regional reaction, especially the Turkish state, with its achievements and development. It is necessary to evaluate the Rojava revolution and the democratic people’s revolution in Turkey on the axis of the Kurdish nation’s right to free secession. Breaking the annexationist occupying attacks of the Turkish state against Rojava will be a factor that will accelerate the defeat of fascism.

Today, the Turkish state perceives the Kurdish national gains and a possible Kurdish status in Rojava as a destructive threat to itself and tries to do its best to eliminate these gains. For this purpose, it pursues an expansionist annexationist policy in Syria and wants to liquidate the Kurdish national movement with all its components.

For this purpose, it has put all kinds of policies into action in different ways and methods. But every policy serves the strategy of collapse and annihilation.

The defeat of the attacks on Rojava has a high potential to mobilize different dynamics by opening unbridgeable breaches in the walls of chauvinism.

People from all walks of life, even at different levels, need to defend and mobilize for the Kurdish national democratic gains in Rojava. Without the elimination of chauvinism, there will be no liberation for the workers and laborers of the Turkish nation. The struggle against chauvinism passes through the defense of the right of oppressed nations and nationalities to secede freely.

In the war against the TC and SMO gangs, on the one hand the resistance has reached an important level, on the other hand martyrs are being martyred. You welcome the Week of Remembrance of the Immortals of the Party and Revolution in such a process. Finally, could you share your feelings and thoughts on this subject?

Hundreds of fighters and people from the people have been martyred in the last two months on the war fronts and in the air strikes of the Turkish state. With great sacrifice and self-sacrifice, a great war is being waged on the front lines to defend the liberated lands. Once again, when we look at the developments of the last two months, as I stated above, Chairman Mao’s thesis that ‘a people without an army has nothing’ has been proven once again in Syria.

Our party has immortalized hundreds of cadres and fighters to create the army of the people throughout its more than half a century of armed struggle. We are aware that true freedom will only come with an army that will destroy those who take it from our hands. Our immortals fought for this, and we will continue to fight for this.

January 26, 2025

Source : https://maoistroad.blogspot.com/2025/01/martyr-eylem-yldz-battalion-interview.html