Journalists Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn were targeted and killed by Turkish drones in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) on 23 August 2024. In a statement, the RAJIN Coordination paid tribute to the journalists with longing and gratitude, reaffirming their commitment to their struggle.
The RAJIN Coordination’s statement said: “The first target of those who want war and feed on war has always been the truth. Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn, two pioneering women journalists, fell as martyrs one year ago, on 23 August 2024, in South Kurdistan’s Seyîdsadiq district of Silêmanî, when the vehicle they were in was bombed by drones belonging to the Turkish Republic. As RAJIN, we commemorate our Free Press martyr comrades with respect, longing, and gratitude, and once again reaffirm our commitment to their struggle. As truth-seekers, they became the light that illuminated our path.”
Targeted because they were doing their job
The statement added: “Starting her Free Press journey in 2000, Gulistan Tara worked in many parts of Kurdistan, becoming the voice of the Kurdish people and women, exposing special war policies against women, uncovering collaboration, addressing corruption, poverty, and injustice, tearing down the veil of lies to reveal the truth, recording history, and dedicating herself to the freedom of her people as a Free Press revolutionary with a passion for liberty. Hêro Bahadîn, a young 27-year-old journalist from Silêmanî, listened to the voices of women in Southern Kurdistan, documented their lives, and pursued truth and justice as an ambitious, passionate journalist. Their targeting was not a coincidence. Those in the vehicle were chosen as targets precisely because they were members of the Free Press. For fascism sustains itself by distorting and denying the truth.
The capitalist, male-dominated system that does not want a bright, democratic, and free environment and society always targets light, life, and women, and seeks to silence the Free Press. The Free Press is one of the fundamental guarantees of a democratic society against despotic, male-dominated systems. It is one of the essential tools for achieving a democratic society and informing the people accurately. Targeting the Free Press means targeting freedom, truth, and the guarantees of society.”
Call to international bodies
The statement continued: “Nevertheless, history has shown us that truth-seekers have always existed against despotic systems, carrying the flag forward. If the world is still livable today, it is thanks to those who, despite oppression, persecution, and genocidal attacks, resisted, never abandoned their demands for democracy and freedom, and paid the price for it. Our comrades Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn also ran the race to the end against all threats and attacks, pursuing truth and justice without ever giving up. At a time when the war was at its peak, they exposed both Turkey’s attacks and the policies of Iraq and the Federal Kurdistan government, tearing away the dirty veil of lies and special war policies. With the way they were murdered and their martyrdom, the truths that were meant to be covered up once again came to light, revealing violations of the rules of war and collaborationism. In the light of the truth revealed by our Free Press martyrs, we call on international forces to hold those responsible accountable.”
Promise to the martyrs
The statement underlined that “such attacks on the tradition of the Free Press were not the first, nor will they be the last. To be the free voice and press of the Kurdish people means not only to report their experiences, but to live them. After Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn, journalists were murdered in both Southern Kurdistan and Rojava within the past year. Yet none of their pens were left lying on the ground. As successors of Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn, who passed down the pen they inherited from Gurbetelli Ersöz, Nagihan Akarsel, Nûjiyan Erhan, and Deniz Fırat to Cihan Bilgin, we will write with their pens, speak with their tongues, see through their lenses, and expand their unfinished struggle. With the strength and determination we draw from them, we will steadfastly pursue the democratic and free society they envisioned on the path of women’s liberation. Once again, we commemorate our comrades Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn with love, respect, and gratitude, and we renew our pledge to keep their hopes alive.”
Source: ANF News
