PANORAMA 2024 | Global actions in support of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan
🌍 International calls for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom reached new heights in 2024, as global campaigns demand a political solution to the Kurdish issue.
Rediscover key facts from 2024.#FLASHBACK2024 |… pic.twitter.com/LGGf9XbvCl
— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) December 27, 2024
International solidarity for the Kurdish cause, and calls to release Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan from his 25-year isolation on Turkey’s high-security prison island of İmralı, reached a peak during 2024. Campaigns, under the banner ‘Freedom for Ocalan, a political solution to the Kurdish question’ ramped up across the globe, while Turkey’s repression of Kurdish rights and direct bombardments of Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq escalated into full blown war.
At the beginning of the year, cities around the world joined a postcard campaign to send letters to İmralı prison, where Öcalan, the co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been held since his abduction as a result of an international state conspiracy in 1999. Hundreds of postcards were sent in only a few months, after the campaign launch in late 2023.
Activists marked the 25th anniversary of Abdullah Öcalan’s arrest in February with the 8th annual ‘Internationalist Long March,’ which saw around 200 participants march from Basel, Switzerland, to Strasbourg, France, in support of his release and to advocate for a political solution to the Kurdish issue. The march culminated with a rally in Cologne on 17 February, joined by thousands of Kurds and supporters, as part of a global campaign pursuing Öcalan’s liberation and emphasising his ideologies on freedom, democracy and ecology.
🔴#LIVEUPDATE 2 | Cologne, Germany, witnesses a powerful gathering as Kurds and supporters rally for Öcalan’s release on the 25th anniversary of his capture. Demir Çelik emphasises the event’s importance in demanding freedom and a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question.… pic.twitter.com/bOsL52wGLQ
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) February 17, 2024
Thousands joined the rally in Cologne on 17 February.
The action ‘Dialogue Days’ took place 15-22 June. Over 50 global events took place across 15 countries, encouraging discussion of how Öcalan’s paradigm of women-led direct democracy can help pave the way to liberation from capitalism, patriarchy and the nation state.
The ‘right to hope’ for Öcalan became a key issue during 2024, with legal experts and international campaigns advocating for his freedom and enforcing European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings. This was amplified by protests, conferences, and statements from his lawyers and activists. In September, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers met in Strasbourg, giving Turkey a one-year deadline to address Öcalan’s legal rights, including the right to appeal after a life sentence.
In July, 69 nobel prize winners signed a letter of concern to European and international human rights bodies highlighting the illegal conditions in which the Kurdish leader is being held on İmralı.
Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party intensified its support for Öcalan through various initiatives. In October, the DEM Party participated to meetings in Strasbourg on Turkey’s authoritarianism and human rights violations, and raising the issue of Öcalan. DEM also supported a major rally taking place in Diyarbakır (Amed) on 13 October challenging the continued isolation imposed on him.
From October 1 to 10, the Free Öcalan Global Days campaign mobilised activists in widespread protests across over 20 countries, including Austria, Greece, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. These events featured press conferences, seminars, and public discussions aimed at raising awareness about Öcalan’s prolonged isolation and advocating for his freedom. The organisers of the campaign shared a letter summarising a year of action, thanking everyone for their participation and announcing that the campaign will not stop.
Europe-wide protests continue to call for Öcalan’s freedom
🔴In a powerful demonstration of global solidarity, Kurdish activists and supporters held events across Europe to demand the release of leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan. From boat trips in… pic.twitter.com/w2PaCT6FDx
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) October 9, 2024
On October 8, the International Solidarity Network launched an online campaign to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the international conspiracy against Öcalan. Participants utilised social media platforms to spread hashtags demanding his release, emphasising the necessity of his freedom for lasting peace in the Middle East.
The action culminated with a major rally in Cologne, Germany, on 16 November, where thousands of internationalist activists gathered to demand Öcalan’s release. The event underscored the global support for his freedom and advocated for him to be able to play a central role in resolving the Kurdish issue and achieving peace in the Middle East.
In Argentina, a continental campaign commenced on 13 November, organised by labour unions, human rights organisations, and political figures. The initiative included a press conference and a ten-day signature campaign, with the collected signatures directed to the Inter-American Court and relevant Council of Europe institutions, advocating for Öcalan’s freedom.
Late October saw a significant political development, with the leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, extending an invitation to Öcalan, to attend the Turkish parliament if he was to lay down arms.
In the following days, Öcalan’s nephew Ömer Öcalan, a DEM Party MP, was allowed to visit his uncle in İmralı after 43 months of continuous incommunicado detention. In their meeting, Abdullah Öcalan sent a strong message signalling his openness and strength to solve the Kurdish issue through political and diplomatic means, instead of war and conflict.
During the last days of the year, a group of youth activists disrupted the session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. They opened a banner saying ‘Freedom for Öcalan – For a peaceful solution in the Middle East – Stop the Third World War’ and demanded the European Union exert pressure on Turkey to release Öcalan, viewed as key to establishing a renewed dialogue for peace.
🔴Youth action for Öcalan’s freedom during the Parliamentary session in Strasbourg
📌Youth activists have disrupted the session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, demanding the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).… pic.twitter.com/nOUGqwckbZ
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) December 19, 2024
These coordinated international actions reflect a growing global movement advocating for Abdullah Öcalan’s release and a political solution to the Kurdish question.
