Leyla Yıldıztan, who was born in 1984 in Xecîxatun village in Çaldıran district of Van province, was known as Deniz Fırat in the PKK ranks. Since her village was located on the border between Turkey and Iran, her family was repeatedly subject to attacks. For this reason, her family moved to Maku in 1990 and then to Urmia in Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan, Iran). After a while, they settled in Xakûrkê in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
Deniz, who stayed in Xakûrkê in 1991-1992, witnessed the attacks on Southern Kurdistan with the co-operation of the Turkish state and the ruling party, KDP. In this process, Deniz and her sister Sarya (Sakine Yıldıztan), influenced by the martyrdom of Bêrîtan (Gülnaz Karataş) who rejected the KDP’s betrayal and chose resistance, decided to join the PKK. Her sister Binewş (Ayfer Yıldıztan), who had joined the PKK before Deniz, was martyred in a clash in Zap in 1997. Deniz only heard about the martyrdom of her sister Sarya, with whom she had joined the struggle, two years later, on 8 August 1999. Deniz was active in many areas in the guerrilla ranks and started to take part in press and media activities in 2007.
Starting her career in the press with the magazine “Tanrıça Zilan” [Zilan the Goddess], she also worked for the “Dengê Welat” [Voice of Homeland] radio. Later, in Maxmur Camp, she reported news for “Rojeva Welat” newspaper and various TV channels and agencies. She also wrote articles for the magazine “Zilan the Goddess”. As a revolutionary journalist, she closely followed the attacks launched by ISIS against Maxmur on 6 August and was martyred on 8 August 2014 during these attacks.
On the eleventh anniversary of her martyrdom, Deniz Fırat was commemorated at her grave in the rural neighborhood of Xeçxatun in Van’s Çaldıran district.
The commemoration was attended by the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (MKGD), Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), the Association for Assistance and Solidarity with Those Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilisations (MEBYA-DER), the Peace Mothers’ Council, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and journalists.
MKG member Öznur Değer stated that Fırat’s struggle is a source of inspiration for the free press, saying, “We will not leave Deniz’s pen unclaimed.”
Deniz Fırat’s elder brother, Seyat Yıldıztan, reacted to the police siege around the cemetery during the memorial service and called for peace.
DEM Party MP Gülderen Varlı recalled Deniz Fırat’s words, “I fight with my camera,” emphasizing that her struggle continues to serve as a guiding light today.
Flowers were left on Deniz Fırat’s grave at the end of the commemoration.
Source: ANF News
