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The plot against the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan began when he was forced out of Syria on 9 October 1998. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Executive Committee member İdil Uğurlu spoke to Mezopotamya News Agency, evaluating the plot, its aims and its consequences.
She said Öcalan’s imprisonment has done nothing to improve relations between Turkey and the Kurds, leaving the Kurds feeling betrayed by the West and stimulating further actions in support of his release, which in turn only fuels further Turkish aggression against them.
Uğurlu pointed out that the plot against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Öcalan was not independent of the capitalist system, which she said targeted the unity of action in the centuries-long Middle Eastern peoples’ struggle for freedom, equality and preservation of their identity, because of the natural wealth and resources in the land where they lived. “It has to be seen as a plot not only against the person of Öcalan, but against the unity of the struggle”.
For the past few years, Öcalan has been kept in almost complete isolation, being allowed no contact of any form with either his family or his lawyers.
Uğurlu said that this policy of extreme isolation has not borne fruit for Turkey: “Although Öcalan is in prison he continues to be a source of hope to the people.” She said that his imprisonment has not prevented his ideas from spreading out into the world, and that his social model has been adopted by various communities, not just Kurds. “His model is spreading outwards in waves.”
The politician stressed that physical freedom for Öcalan would allow him to meet with people: “He continues to be of interest to many people. He presented a model which was included in the Dolmabahçe Agreement of 2015 during talks between the Turkish administration and the PKK for a resolution to the Kurdish Question, but this agreement was dissolved as a result of subsequent policies.”
She continued, saying: “If Öcalan is released the community will be able to breathe. All sorts of matters are dependent on Öcalan’s liberation; the working class, the fight for rights, the guarantee of a future for the youth and the inclusion of currently excluded groups, let alone the Kurdish Question.”
Uğurlu also called the public to join the “Freedom March” being planned, which will start at 15:00 hours on 9 October, from Basmane in Izmir.
