HPG guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara, one of the thousands of heroes of Kurdistan, fought until his last breath with great determination, risking all kinds of difficulties and costs for the liberation of his country and his people.

In the history of the Kurds, there have always been Egîds, self-sacrificial fighters. With the emergence of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, this line of sacrifice and resistance became clearer. Erdal, Tekoşer, Çiyager, Reşîd, Cuma, Şoreş, Adil and thousands more had their names written in golden letters in the history of Kurdistan.

Among these heroes is Ernesto Che Guevara (Jiyan Bilge) from Amed (Diyarbakır), the capital city in the heart of every Kurd. When Amed is mentioned, the homeland of the Egîds, uprisings and resistances come to mind. Jiyan was born into a patriotic family in the Bismîl district of Amed. Since his family came from a tradition of deep-rooted Kurdish culture, Jiyan Bilge also grew up with this tradition and culture. From his childhood, he grew up with the stories of the legendary guerrillas of Kurdistan. When those revolutionaries came to the village, their hearts were filled with hope and joy of success. For this reason, he determined his own road map in his childhood and decided to become one of the heroes of those glorious epics.

In 2015, when the enemy launched a new extermination and genocide plan against the Kurdish people, Jiyan broke away from the system and joined the guerrilla ranks, taking the first step towards a new life. Jiyan received his first training in the Besta region, drawing great conclusions from the short-term training he received.  He laid the foundation of his revolutionary personality in the Besta region, where he stayed for a short time. In Botan, he took the name of Ernesto Che Guevara, one of the greatest revolutionaries in the world. And, realising the weight of his name, he embarked on a long path of struggle. Ernesto was aware that he had a thorny, difficult and obstacle-filled path ahead of him. But he followed his childhood love and risked all difficulties and costs for the liberation of Kurdistan. On this basis, after training in the Besta region, he moved to the Medya Defence Zones.

Ernesto joined the work in Heftanîn and rapidly developed himself with his intelligence and talent. He practised in Heftanîn for about a year and gained experience and competence in guerrilla work. Like every new guerrilla joining the ranks of the struggle, he was very impressed by the comradeship relations in the PKK. Therefore, he always tried to be a part of this real comradeship. Knowing no obstacles in his life of struggle with his organised stance and Apoist lifestyle, Ernesto moved to the Shengal (Sinjar) area in 2016 after a year of practice in Heftanîn to stand against the attacks against the Yazidi people and to participate in the liberation of Shengal. He took part in many actions against ISIS and fulfilled the tasks assigned to him with great determination. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, he left a peaceful Shengal for the Yazidi people and returned to the Medya Defence Zones.

Ernesto returned to Heftanîn during a period of attacks by the occupying Turkish state, fighting selflessly against the brutal attacks of the Turkish army together with Bargiran, Esmer, Zelal and Rûbar. He resisted with unwavering will and determination to avenge his martyred comrades who said ‘Ev der Heftanîn e’ [This is Heftanin]. The occupying soldiers witnessed a battle they would never forget. After a tough and arduous battle, he moved to the Metîna area. By actively participating in an action against the enemy's attacks on Zendûra in 2021, he made it his top priority to avenge his comrades who were martyred by the fascist Turkish army with chemical weapons in Zendûra. Together with his comrades, he inflicted heavy blows on the invading enemy. They did not let the enemy breathe as they used the technique at their disposal. Ernesto, a guerrilla in many areas of Metîna, aimed to achieve absolute success in every endeavour.

Ernesto fell a martyr together with two of his comrades as a result of the attacks carried out by the Turkish state on 3 December 2023. Like thousands of martyrs of Kurdistan, he devoted his life to the values of freedom. Before his martyrdom, he expresses his goals in revolutionary life with the following words: ‘I want to create a free person in me, I want to be a true comrade following in the footsteps of the PKK pioneers.’ Martyr Ernesto, who set an example to his comrades with his personality and stance, sacrificed his life for the sake of free life. The martyr Ernesto Che Guevara will be one of the names that come to mind when people talk about the love of freedom, loyalty to Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] and love for the country.