The Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK’s) Executive Committee member Duran Kalkan was interviewed in a special programme broadcast on Medya Haber TV. Kalkan stressed that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s arrest on 15 February 1999 arose from a conspiracy that involved numerous international actors who targeted the freedom of Kurds as well as democracy in Turkey and throughout the Middle East.
Referring to the international solidarity campaigns that have been organised all around the world by supporters of oppressed peoples and the friends of the Kurds, Kalkan stated that the paradigm and the political thoughts of Abdullah Öcalan are now being embraced internationally, where millions of people support the “Freedom for Öcalan” campaign and wish to hear his voice as he speaks freely.
“The democratisation of Turkey by leader Apo’s (Abdullah Öcalan’s) solution proposal would have brought about a solution to the ‘Kurdish Question’ in the four parts of Kurdistan. This democratisation would have eventually lead to democratisation throughout the Middle East, including the Arab world. The Middle East would have embraced a revolutionary process of social democracy which would eventually have been based on women’s liberation and the recognition of the freedom of Kurds for the first time”, said the KCK Executive.
“There is support from the workers’ unions in Britain and support has spread throughout Europe and the African continent. Democratic-revolutionary forces around the world have embraced him (Abdullah Öcalan). It is not only Kurds, but millions of people around the world who support the international campaign that was launched for the physical freedom of leader Apo. You can see people from all sections of the international communities joining the campaign. All of them state that the system of torture and isolation in Imralı should be lifted”, he said.
Kalkan highlighted the resistance action and the recent campaign for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom that was launched by the Kurdistan Communities Union: “Our movement has launched a campaign: we are in an act of resistance with our campaign – ‘End the isolation, occupation, fascism: Time to ensure freedom’. This campaign aims to achieve the physical freedom of leader Apo, and the destruction of the system of isolation at Imralı”, he said.
“In parallel with these initiatives, we are striving for the freedom of Kurdistan and the democratization of the Middle East”.
