Below is a statement from the campaign committee on the 2nd anniversary of the campaign “Freedom for Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question.
Dear Friends,
Today marks the second anniversary of the “Freedom for Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” campaign, so it is fitting to acknowledge how far we have come together. When the campaign was launched on 10 October 2023, the isolation imposed against Abdullah Öcalan was at its most extreme, with no news or signs of life coming out of Imrali Island for nearly four years. Öcalan remains imprisoned, yet the world has changed drastically in the last two years, with Öcalan’s initiation of a new process for “Peace and Democratic Society” and significant steps being taken by the Kurdish society and movements. Now, more than ever, is the time to insist that a political solution to the Kurdish question is possible; to demand peace; and to demand the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan.
Over the last two years, hundreds of events, discussions, protests, concerts and other actions have been organised across six continents. United behind one goal, they showed the will and dedication of democratic forces and peoples in resistance around the world, and that Öcalan’s ideas are international in nature. As Öcalan himself said, “I am everywhere that my writings are”. Over the last two years, we have witnessed the spread of his ideas, brought to life by peoples and movements worldwide in myriad creative and revolutionary ways, sowing the seeds of a new internationalism.
On the second anniversary of the “Freedom for Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” campaign, we would like to send our greetings to everyone who has supported this cause over the last two years. We also call on all democratic and revolutionary peoples and movements around the world to continue walking this path together. Although the road ahead is still long, the solution is within our grasp. Now more than ever, the world needs to see that an alternative to the current regimes of war and capitalist exploitation under capitalist modernity is not only possible, but is actively being built by those seeking freedom.
Peace and democracy in Turkey can only be achieved through the resolution of the Kurdish question. As the key interlocutor in the peace process and the internationally recognised representative of the Kurdish people, Öcalan’s freedom is essential to the process’s success. EU and international actors must also take a stronger stance in support of the process, most tangibly through delisting the PKK, in accordance with EU and UN obligations.
Now is the time for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan!
“Freedom for Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” Campaign Committee