10 October marked the final actions a series of a series of global days of action for the freedom Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader. Events and demonstrations were held in France, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, the UK, Germany, Australia and Mexico.
Many of the events marked the anniversary of the beginning of the ‘international conspiracy’, which led to several states betraying the Kurdish people and collaborating to arrest the Kurdish leader in Nairobi in 1999.
Sweden
In Stockholm, Amara Women’s Assembly held a public protest against the imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan. The group organised a piece of street theatre where one of their members appeared in a cage, and then symbolically broke free:
9 Ekim komplosu Stockholm’da Amara Kadın Meclisi öncülüğünde protesto edildi #FreeAbdullahÖcalan pic.twitter.com/tHe22L76Nr
— KCDK-E (@_Civak_saz1) October 10, 2024
UK
In London, the Kurdish Revolutionary Youth Movement is holding a three-day ‘long march’ calling for Öcalan’s freedom. 9 October saw the march entering central London. Mazlum Çewlîk proclaimed to the crowd in Trafalgar square: “The conspirators will be defeated, Leader Apo will be freed.” That evening, an event was organised promoting Scottish author Sean Michael Wilson’s new graphic novel on Öcalan’s life.
The UK’s Kurdistan Solidarity Network (KSN) held its network gathering recently, in the north of England. The group recorded solidarity videos calling for the freedom of Öcalan. They wrote: “As Kurdistan Solidarity Network UK, we urgently call on the UK government to raise Öcalan’s detention with their Turkish counterparts, join international initiatives to send fact-finding delegations to İmralı prison, and work with Öcalan and the broader Kurdish movement to pursue a democratic political settlement in the Middle East.”
“Öcalan, the ‘Mandela of the Middle East’, has spent the past 25 years in conditions of almost complete isolation, without any contact to the outside world whatsoever for over three years. The humanitarian implications of his detention, which has been widely condemned by international bodies, lawyers and rights monitors, are themselves grave enough.
“More than that, it is only Öcalan’s liberation which can pave the way for the resumption of peace talks between the Kurdish movement and Turkey like those in place 2013-2015, and the establishment of a multi-ethnic, democratic settlement for both the Kurdish people and millions more living throughout the Middle East.
“The Kurds themselves face the threat of genocidal violence in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran, aided and abetted by Western technology and complicity with the Turkish government’s existential war against the Kurdish people and political movement. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that international bodies and governments exert pressure on Turkey to take this essential step toward a lasting peace in the Middle East,” they concluded.
The group’s members recorded a solidarity video, chanting “Freedom for Öcalan” and “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî”:
One group member recorded a personal message, calling for Öcalan’s freedom:
Spanish state
Inside the Spanish state, in the city of Murcia, many people from the Women Defend Rojava campaign held placards and displayed banners calling for Öcalan’s freedom.
Meanwhile, in the Basque country, a solidarity demonstration was organised by the Workers’ Solidarity Union (ELA). A rally was also held by the Basque country’s Union of Trade Unions (LAB) said, “Öcalan’s freedom is key to finding a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem.”
The Inter-Union Confederation and the General Confederation of Workers of Catalonia issued a joint statement calling for freedom for Öcalan.
Germany
In Kiel, Germany, Defend Kurdistan, Jîyana Jîn and Kiel Democratic Kurdish Community Assembly held a stall distributing Öcalan’s books and demanding that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) investigate the conditions of his detention.
In Freiburg, an event was organised on 9 October by the Tirêjên Rojê Campaign and the Nuda Women’s Council. The statement of the European Kurdish Women’s Movement (TJK-E) on the aggravated life sentence and isolation of Öcalan was read and distributed. The event ended with chants of “Bijî Serok Apo” and “Jin Jiyan Azadî” (Long live leader Apo – Öcalan- and Women, Life, freedom).
Events also took place in Heidelburg, Strasbourg, Bremen, Berlin, Luzern, Münih, Duisburg, Mannheim, Frankfurt, Heilbron, Hamburg and Darmstadt – commemorating the 9 October 1998 ‘international conspiracy’ against Öcalan.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, events were held in five cities to commemorate the start of the international plot against Öcalan. In Lucerne, the Arin Mirkan Women’s Council held a film screening of ‘History from Fire’, a film which discusses Öcalan’s arrest.
Meanwhile, at Geneva’s Fahrenheit Bookstore, a reading of passages of Öcalan’s writing was held, followed by a discussion. Demonstrations and educational events took place in the Swiss cities of Aarau, Chur and St Gallen.
Austria
Public meetings were held in the Austrian capital of Vienna and the city of Linz featuring speeches from former Green Left Party representative (YSP) Kamuran Tanhan and Lawyer Cengiz Yürekli. A Freedom for Öcalan march has been called in Vienna on 12 October.
Denmark
A public meeting was held in Denmark’s capital city of Copenhagen. The event featured a speech by Professor Jesper Brandt on the application of Öcalan’s system of democratic confederalism since 2012 in North and East Syria.
Netherlands
In the Hague, over 40 people attended a seminar on Öcalan’s ecological and women’s freedom paradigm. Speakers included Medya News contributor Frederike Geerdink, Walter Wittkamp and politician Songül İmak.
Cyprus
In Limassol protesters gathered for a march, organised by the Cyprus Kurdish People’s Assembly. The demonstration ended with a rally, addressed by politician Lezgin Serhat, outside the municipality building.
France
In Marseille, a large youth demonstration gathered, letting off colourful flares and chanting the Kurdish slogan “Bê Serok Jiyan Nabe” or “Without the leader, there is no life.”
Youth leader Çekdar Nisebîn addressed the crowd. He said: “Today is the anniversary of the International Conspiracy that was launched on 9 October. The conspiracy was carried out against the entire Kurdish people and Kurdistan, in the person of Leader Apo, by the hands of NATO, the EU and the Turkish state. The Leader has been showing an unprecedented resistance against the conspiratorial forces in Imrali for 26 years. Many actions have been taken so far for the physical freedom of Leader Apo, from whom we have not received any news for the last 44 months. As young people, we need to continue these actions uninterruptedly. We state once again that we will be active everywhere until Leader Apo regains his physical freedom.”
Meanwhile, a protest march was held by youth in Paris. One young person proclaimed to the march: “We will form a circle of fire around our Leader.”
Mexico
In Mexico City, a photography exhibition at Resistancia Cultural Center in Mexico City on Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdish struggle continued.
The popular exhibition was organised by the Committee of Solidarity with the Kurdistan Women’s Movement and the workers of La Resistancia Cultural Centre.
During the exhibition the Uruguayan author Raul Zibechi made a statement in support of Öcalan’s freedom. He said “I demand that the state authorities end this situation as soon as possible for Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned for 26 years and kept in isolation for the last four years [since March 2021]. I demand that human rights organisations fulfill their duties and take action to end the isolation. Because Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom will be an important step for the Kurdish people to achieve peace and freedom.”
At the same event, Journalist Gloria Muñoz Ramírez recorded a video statement in support of the campaign:
Australia
In Australia, protesters gathered in Melbourne calling for Öcalan’s freedom. Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) representative Heval Herki read out a declaration from the campaign.
Finally, this week the Freedom for Öcalan campaign has released a new short documentary about Öcalan’s life. You can view it here on YouTube:
