In this podcast episode, former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema confirms United States involvement in the 1998 ‘international conspiracy’ to abduct Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan. The exclusive interview, led by Erem Kansoy of Medya News, marks the 26th anniversary of the start of the international operation to capture the PKK leader, with him forced to leave Syria on 9 October 1998 and resulting in his seizure in Kenya on 15 February 1999.
Former US President Bill Clinton personally called D’Alema, and requested that Italian authorities hand over the Kurdish leader from asylum in Rome, to which the answer was a resounding ‘no’. Twenty six years later, D’Alema has come forward to expose the details of his communications with the US State Department at the time, and his critical perspective, as a former leader of a major European nationstate, on how Öcalan holds the key to a peaceful resolution of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
Öcalan escaped to Syria on the eve of Turkey’s 1980 military coup, with the PKK launching a full-scale insurgency against Turkish forces in 1984, an uprising against state assimilation, oppression and ‘visceral racism‘. Violence during the 80s and 90s included entire Kurdish villages razed to the ground, extrajudicial killings, mass detentions and a worsened clampdown on Kurdish culture. During a PKK ceasefire, Turkey threatened to attack Syria if Öcalan were not expelled, so he left for Europe to pursue the PKK’s aim, to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue.
After seeking refuge in several European countries, the PKK leader arrived in Italy. During his time in Rome, the United States, under the leadership of President Bill Clinton, pressured the Italian government to extradite Öcalan to Turkey. In the podcast, D’Alema shares with us his first hand account of this moment. Multiple international actors were involved in the operation to capture Öcalan. Isolated on Turkey’s high security prison island of Imrali ever since, and under inhumane conditions of total incommunicado for the last three and a half years, Öcalan is still regarded as key to negotiating a peaceful resolution of the decades-long conflict.
Please find an interview transcription below:
Former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema:
“It was not easy to resist the United States because President Clinton personally called me and said, ‘You must hand over Öcalan to Turkey.’ Yes, President Clinton said this, and we replied with a firm ‘No.’ Believe me, it is not easy to say no to the United States, especially as their allies. It’s definitely not easy. When the United States of America says, ‘You must do this,’ many within Italy—newspapers, political leaders—stood up and said, ‘Yes, we must fulfil the United States’ request.’
The United States has always supported the Turkish government, and of course, that’s why we faced such pressure. Yes, we are Italy, but we are allies of the United States, and we are part of NATO alongside Turkey. It was difficult for us to resist this pressure and say no to the US, and it’s understandable that Italy was under such pressure.
Yes, I know Öcalan was committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, on the other hand, the Turkish government was not ready to accept this process. We cannot forget that the Turkish government was being supported by the United States. While I appreciate Öcalan’s intentions and ideas, at that time, there was no realistic foundation for them to succeed.
From our perspective, the inhumane treatment of Öcalan is completely unacceptable. We respect human rights, including the rights of people in prison. Politically, it is also unacceptable because I want to emphasise that Öcalan could play a crucial role in a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the Kurdish people and the Turkish government.
[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan should release Öcalan immediately to create a solution that includes full respect for the rights of the Kurdish people. I have never understood Turkey’s nationalist mindset. The Kurdish issue will not be solved in this way; it will be resolved by granting the Kurds their rights. This was my opinion 25 years ago, and it remains my opinion today.”
