A conference in Uppsala, Sweden, was titled “Turkey and the New Kurdish Reality: Challenges, Alternatives and Solutions”, and brought together academics and activists to discuss the Kurdish issue and the role of the ideologies of the imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in shaping a democratic and ecological society.
Speakers, including Eda Düzgün of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in Europe and academic Necmettin Türk from Hamburg University, highlighted the importance of Öcalan’s freedom for a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question. Author Terry Carlbom and the European Jineology Centre’s Lena Wilderbach emphasised the global relevance of Öcalan’s philosophies, particularly regarding women’s liberation and societal transformation.
Parallel to this, the conference “Philosophy of Transforming Life: Jin Jiyan Azadi” was held in Roma Tre University in Rome, focusing on Öcalan’s ideological and practical contributions to the Kurdish women’s movement and global waves of feminism. The conference, featuring discussions by professors Laro Kuradi and Cea Pikardi and researcher Federika Jardini, explored Öcalan’s analyses of history and society, his impact on eco-feminism and experiences of the women’s struggle in Rojava.
A panel titled “Freedom for Leader Apo [Öcalan], Solution to the Kurdish Issue” was organised in Antwerp, Belgium as part of a campaign advocating for a political resolution to the Kurdish issue.
The panel met under the motto “We will organise democratic modernity with Jin Jiyan Azadi [Women, Life, Freedom]”, and covered topics such as democratic confederalism, jineology and ecological society, with contributions from Azad Mahîr, Gönül Kaya and ecology activist Asos Zand, among others. The sessions celebrated Öcalan’s vision and criticised the conditions of solitary confinement he has to endure, highlighting the need for his liberation to advance peace and democracy in the region.
A conference titled “Freedom for Leader Apo and the Solution to the Kurdish Issue” was held in Bilbao, Spain on Thursday as part of a series supporting the freedom movement for Abdullah Öcalan, delved into the conditions of isolation he faces in Imrali Prison and highlighted the hope his paradigm instills in people.
Speakers, including one of Öcalan’s lawyers İbrahim Bilmez and MEP Pernando Barrena, criticised the Turkish state’s disregard for legal obligations and called for international action for the PKK leader’s release, underlining the growing influence of his ideology and the solidarity between the Kurdish and Basque causes.
