TKP/ML CC-PB: EVERY PART OF KURDISTAN WILL BE A GRAVE FOR US IMPERIALISM, ITS LACKEY FASCIST TURKISH REPUBLIC, AND HTS!

We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement issued by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee (CC-PB) of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML).


Syrian Kurdistan and its national achievements are under attack from fascist Turkey and the jihadist Syrian regime, under the patronage of US-British-French-German imperialism. Following the handover of the Assad regime on a silver platter to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led by al-Jolani by US-British imperialism on December 8, 2024, the search for reshaping a fragmented Syria has intensified.

US imperialism, by developing closer ties with Syria, which has now become its semi-colony, and its puppet HTS, has attempted to position itself in a way that suits both the political structure and the role it has envisioned for the region. In particular, Turkey, Israel, and to some extent other regional states subservient to the US, under the leadership of Tom Barrack, have worked intensively in shaping Syria. The most significant contradiction in this process has been the status of Syrian Kurdistan.

In parallel with the regime change in Syria, the Turkish ruling classes announced in October 2024 that they had initiated talks with the PKK and its leader Abdullah Öcalan aimed at “peace and reconciliation.” The parties defined the purpose and objective of these talks not as resolving the “Kurdish national question,” but as abandoning the “armed, illegal form of struggle” and “paving the way for democracy.” While Devlet Bahçeli and Tayyip Erdoğan described the process as “a terror-free Turkey, a terror-free region” and a “Turkish, Kurdish, and Arab alliance,” Abdullah Öcalan defined it as a “democratic republic, democratic integration,” and a “transition to unarmed struggle.”

More importantly, these “peace talks” are directly linked to Syria and Syrian Kurdistan. The fascist Turkish state insisted that steps such as the laying down of arms and the elimination of the PKK should also apply within Syria, treating the issue as a unified matter. It evaluated the entire process on the basis of eliminating, if possible, or at least limiting, Kurdish national gains in Syria.

In its regional planning, US imperialism has aimed to alleviate the internal problems of the countries under its hegemony, strengthen their “internal fronts,” and reinforce regional alliances. It seeks to build this strategy in the region through key pillars such as Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Its defined geographical scope extends from the Caucasus to North Africa.

Trump’s alliance policies and his leanings toward peace and conflict are a source of serious tension both within the US and among imperialist powers. Ultimately, however, the Trump clique is striving to build upon this defined direction through imposition and force. This situation fuels ever-deepening contradictions and creates grounds for greater conflict.

Under Trump’s leadership, US imperialism seeks to disrupt and reshape all balances. Strengthening the new Syrian regime is seen by the US as a means of more effectively engaging with countries with which it has deep conflicts, such as Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Iran. In Syria, the path has been paved for the creation of a subservient “Sunni state” under the leadership of al-Jolani and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and the way has been laid for its functionality. Indeed, Tom Barrack explicitly emphasized the need for a strong Syrian state in his statement on January 20th.

The US has stated its preference for HTS, which controls the Syrian state, in the conflict between the SDF and HTS, with whom it has developed tactical relationships and alliances since 2014. This stance is consistent with imperialism’s positioning in favor of the oppressor nation-states in a world divided into “oppressor and oppressed nations.” The sovereign nation-states that imperialism has turned into its puppets are its strategic and primary allies. Its hostility towards oppressed nations is consistent with its historical character.

The problem lies precisely in whether oppressed nations possess a clear understanding of the nature, positioning, and interests of imperialism. Imperialists primarily prefer rulers who have sworn allegiance to them, as this serves their own interests. This is consistent with the spirit of the system they have established. What has been happening in Syria since December 8, 2024, is precisely this. The state has been seized, given a new guise, and Arab dominance has been attempted to be maintained through this transformation.

The US has accelerated this transition process in several ways. The agreement reached between the SDF and HTS on March 10th created a tendency to “resolve” the Kurdish issue by strengthening the Damascus-centered state. During the same period, the massacres of Alawites were normalized, and Sunni-Arab chauvinism was reinforced. Problems with Israel, meanwhile, were brought to a certain point with the Paris Agreement of January 5, 2026.

The Syrian transition process, lasting approximately 13 months, has produced two main results. Firstly, Israel has expanded both its territory and its hegemony. Secondly, it has fueled jihadist hostility towards different faiths and nationalities, accelerating the construction of a regime fully compatible with the Turkish ruling class.

From January 6, 2026, the transition process gained new momentum, rendering some tactical alliances ineffective. The jihadist state led by al-Jolani launched attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. While negotiations regarding the March 10 agreement were ongoing, the first phase of a wave of attacks against the Kurds, supported by the US, was implemented.

Following this, in Tapqa, Raqqa, and many other areas, numerous Arab tribes, organizations, and parties allied with the SDF declared their intention to cooperate with HTS; these areas came under the control of the Damascus government without a fight. While the US pressured the Kurdish National Movement to accept everything in the March 10 agreement that favored the central government, the clauses favorable to the Kurds were effectively rendered ineffective, becoming mere verbal promises. The agreement was implemented unilaterally, disregarding Kurdish gains and rights, through the mobilization of organized HTS military forces. This was spearheaded by US imperialism.

Thus, the US has chosen not the Kurds, with whom it has been conducting a military tactical alliance for over a decade, but its puppet Turkish ruling classes, al-Gholani, and HTS. The Kurdish National Movement rejected the January 17 agreement, which amounted to nothing more than surrender and involved the transfer of Kurdish organizations and rights, and decided to wage war.

Following this decision, US imperialism imposed a condition on Colani, stipulating that he not enter Kurdish cities and villages, and giving the SDF four days’ notice. Colani, in turn, made vague and ambiguous promises, such as the constitutional guarantee of Kurdish national and political rights and the self-governance of Kurdish cities and villages.

The HTS operation, which began on January 6th and was supported by US imperialism, resulted in the transfer of control over a vast territory that had long been under the control of the SDF. This operation deepened the Kurdish-Arab conflict and further highlighted the jihadist character of the Syrian Arab Republic under HTS leadership. All these developments took place in the shadow of Israeli and US attack plans targeting Iran.

The US and all Western imperialists have openly declared their support for al-Gholini by pitting the Kurds against jihadist Arab nationalism. The Kurds, in turn, have concentrated their forces in Hasakah and Kobani, leveraging their strong military and political organization in the region. At this stage, it appears that the US, Turkey, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) share a common stance against Kurdish rights and organizations.

The Kurdish Movement, which for a long time was allied with imperialist USA, albeit at a tactical level, is experiencing deep disappointment with this position taken by imperialism. The Turkish-centered Kurdish peace and reconciliation approach, which is based on conformity with imperialism’s regional plans, has now acquired a more unified character with the Syrian axis. It has become clearer with recent developments that Turkey’s aim is not democratization and progress in the national rights of the Kurds.

Hostility towards the gains in Syrian Kurdistan indicates an increase in efforts to dismantle the organized and armed forces of the Kurds. In this context, it must be said that US imperialism, despite its internal contradictions, will impose its hostility towards the Kurds through policies of “peace” on the one hand, and elimination on the other, relying on the credit given by Trump.

Imperialism’s hostility towards the oppressed Kurdish nation and all oppressed nations and faiths in the region, particularly Palestine, has become more evident. The attitude adopted towards the Kurds in Syria has clearly demonstrated that a future for oppressed nations and faiths cannot be built by taking imperialism into account.

The Kurds, fighting alongside other oppressed peoples in all four parts of Kurdistan and on a global scale, have to some extent curbed imperialist-centered attacks. But more importantly, for oppressed nations and faiths, imperialism means nothing more than blood, tears, usurped rights, ruthless exploitation, and the imposition of slavery. This reality has been revealed in Syria in an extremely sharp and brutal way. Imperialism is the enemy of everything that carries democratic content; it is the strongest friend of pure reaction.

Imperialism and regional reactionaries are pursuing a coordinated effort to restructure and enslave the entire region. The disarmament of resistance in Palestine, the elimination of anti-American sentiment in Lebanon and Iraq, the overthrow of the regime in Iran, and the subjugation of the oppressed Kurdish people in Syria and Turkey to Arab and Turkish rulers are the fundamental goals of this strategy. Alliances and power balances are being shaped accordingly, and an order is being constructed to accommodate this.

The liberation of oppressed nations and faiths, of the oppressed peoples of the region, depends on organization, struggle, reliance on their own strength, and building a People’s War line under communist leadership. There is no other path to liberation.

The future will be won through the common struggle of oppressed peoples and nations, through their unity against imperialism, and through the organization of a Democratic People’s Revolution against fascism and feudalism. The attacks against the Kurds in Syria have once again shown that if the Kurds did not have organized power and their own army, they would have been slaughtered by the blind blade of reaction. This truth has been proven once again: If a people has no army, it has nothing.

In response to the attacks directed at Syrian Kurdistan, it is time to expose and target the fascist Turkish state, a puppet of imperialism, Zionist Israel, and the HTS alliance everywhere in the world; to escalate the struggle and protect Kurdish national gains.

Down with Imperialism, Feudalism, and All Forms of Reaction!

Freedom for the Kurdish Nation will come through People’s War!

The Right of the Kurdish Nation to Self-Determination Cannot Be Prevented!

The Kurdish Nation Will Win Through Resistance, Not Through the Favor of Imperialism and Its Lackeys!

January 2026

TKP/ML CC-PB

(Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist)

Central Committee-Political Bureau)

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