Sabri Ok: It's our duty to start new phase with high morale

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on May 12 that it held its 12th Congress between May 5–7 in the Medya defense areas, and shared its outcomes with the public. During the congress, Executive Council member Sabri Ok spoke and began his speech by commemorating all the martyrs of the revolution, particularly the PKK founders Ali Haydar Kaytan and Riza Alton.

Sabri Ok’s evaluations during the congress included the following statements:

"All historical experiences in the world do not equal half of the PKK's experience"

“No one feels sorrow over the idea of the PKK being dissolved. Leader Apo lived this joy. He is confident in himself and in what he intends to achieve. He said in this regard: 'This is my will, my responsibility. Let them say what they want, let the PKK be dissolved.' We understand this. As comrades have also said, we have 52 years of history, and that is enough for the world. When we were thinking about how to fight and organize ourselves, we read the histories of global wars one by one. But if you combine all of them, they do not equal half of what the PKK has achieved. We contributed something to humanity and to the world. Yes, those are values, but not only for us, they will always exist for humanity. As the comrades also mentioned, the PKK is spirit, ethics, life, and above all, it is Leader Apo. We always say, 'We are Apoists.' All leaders are like this. Prophets are like this. Such people, such leaders come to the world once every hundred or thousand years."

We must understand the spirit of democratic society and become its response

“It is now known, fifty years have passed, and his reality has only been understood relatively. But we claim that no prophet, no leader has introduced himself to humanity in the way that Leader Apo has over 10 or 20 years. Leader Apo saw his path from the 20th century to the 21st century. In 2025, there is no other organization or party in the world that has resisted and struggled like the PKK. The 20th and 21st centuries witnessed a model shift, and the world changed. Leader Apo wants to start something new. What is it? Democratic society, democratic unity, this is in line with the global situation, the time, and the stage. What is its spirit? Let us understand and respond accordingly.”

We must live the strategic ideological system of Leader Apo

“As the PKK, we have demanded more than anyone else the establishment of an independent state. We also said 'a united state, a united Kurdistan.' Now, Leader Apo wants to unite the four parts of Kurdistan, the Kurdish nation, and the freedom of the Kurdish people through a new model. He does not rely on the traditional nation-state models we once aimed for. He provides new definitions and names based on the era, and each has meaning. 'Socialism of democratic society', these are Leader Apo’s terms. No one used them before him. They are new, not only for Turkey, North Kurdistan, or the other parts of Kurdistan and the Middle East, but globally. He discussed Marxism and what should replace it. Leader Apo wants us to experience the depth he lived. We need to live by the strategic ideological system of Leader Apo. We must understand, deal with, and see ourselves in this way.”

We do not have a third power that can mediate to solve the problems

“We can connect this to our initiative, our will, and our intellect, but some things are beyond our control. If the Turkish state insists and imposes war on us, it will do so. That too is a possibility. One must consider the overall current situation. When one focuses on their language, they do not just feel the Turkish society and its language; they symbolize its mentality as well.

This has been said since the PKK's founding: the Turkish occupation and the situation in Kurdistan are unparalleled in the world. In reality, there is none like it. Also, the way to resolve the issue is unprecedented globally.

One scholar said there is no example in the whole world about problems that can be solved through war, like the problem between the PKK and the Turkish state. Why? There must be a third power in this process. It has always been like that. But we do not have such a power, and Leader Apo knows why.”

Believe in yourselves

“The Turkish state is one of those states that neither moves forward nor backward. It is our duty to begin a new phase with high morale, awareness, and great resistance in response to the historic step Leader Apo intends to take. Believe in yourselves and in Leader Apo. But know this: we are in the midst of a war, which means what will happen and when is uncertain. Our thinking, lives, and efforts must be aligned with this reality. We will not give up on it either.”

A-H

ANHA