The war in the western Zap region is the epitome of all wars and uprisings in Kurdistan. The guerrilla war against invasion in the region is not only based on a long history, but also represents an important step towards a free future. And each of these steps is safer and stronger than the last.

While the Turkish army broadcasts footage of its mostly fruitless attacks against the guerrillas, it spends minutes advertising its reconnaissance and combat aircraft, tanks, artillery and all of its other military technology. When the images of their supposedly invincible war machine flicker in full length across the channels of the media apparatus controlled by the Turkish state, the aim is to suggest viewers that the Turkish army is “unstoppable”. However, not a single guerrilla fighter was injured in the air and poison gas attacks, the heavy bombings and explosions of the last few weeks. On the contrary, the guerrillas have carried out actions and major operations while being under these attacks. The guerrillas confiscated the weapons of the Turkish soldiers killed.

The decisive factor in war is not technology

But what are the PKK guerrillas fighting with? When we asked this question to one of the guerrillas before the revolutionary operation in the western Zap region, he took out his equipment from his backpack before answering. He then said: “A gun and its magazines, a radio, five hand grenades, a pair of gloves and, most importantly, a helmet camera. These are more than enough to defeat a unit of the Turkish army, because equipment alone does not wage war. The only thing you need to beat the enemy is the belief that you can actually defeat him. Yes, the enemy has reconnaissance drones, planes, tanks, surveillance systems, he outnumbers us, but there is something much more important that we have and the enemy does not: willpower, determination and exclusive focus on one goal. In other words, the will to sacrifice. As long as we have this willingness to sacrifice, we will achieve many more victories with just one weapon and a few bombs.”

Empty propaganda from the Turkish state

The action that followed this conversation demonstrated the meaning of these words. Despite all their heavy equipment, the Turkish soldiers could not defend their positions. At the first shell that exploded, they fled, trampling over each other and their dead to save their lives. What is reflected in the footage from the guerrillas’ head cameras is one of the most important documents to understand the reality of the Turkish army’s war and to see how empty the Turkish state’s propaganda – “We have destroyed them and we are done” – is.

The guerrillas destroy the occupiers’ strongholds with their will, determination and tremendous inner strength. As this guerrilla said, the only thing necessary to defeat the enemy in the mountains of Kurdistan is already deeply embedded in the heart, mind and practice of every guerrilla.