Page 172 - America's Failure to Perceive the PKK

Indeed, Salih Müslim, the co-chairman of the PYD, holds his con-
ferences under the posters of Öcalan, the co-chairwoman Asya Abdul-
lah directs the PYD directly from the Qandil mountains, and the YPG
militants carry pictures of Öcalan in their pockets and have them in
their homes.

Retired Major General Armağan Kuloğlu states the following
regarding this point:

The YPG is not a terror organization found as an independent
terror organization. It is an extension of the PKK in the north
of Syria. Once the conflicts in the north of Syria broke out, a
Kurdish formation appeared in the north. The YPG has been
established by the PKK as an organization ensuring the
control of the region and governing the people there. It

is an extension of the PKK, one under its com-
mand. Since the PKK is a terror organization,
the YPG is a terror organization as well. 64

Those who seek to portray the PYD/YPG as indepen-
dent of the PKK are either ignorant or else overlook-
ing the true facts. YPG meetings are held to the
accompaniment of posters of Öcalan, while YPG mili-
tants carry pictures of Öcalan in their pockets and in
their homes and read books by Öcalan.

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