The Rojava Committees, a Swedish group dedicated to supporting the Kurdish cause, took centre stage in Uppsala to mark Öcalan Books Day. The occasion served as a platform for the group to engage in discussions about democratic confederalism, inviting locals to join them in exploring the writings of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
At their stand, the Rojava Committees displayed a diverse selection of Öcalan’s works, offering visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the political literature that has significantly shaped the discourse surrounding Kurdish issues and the wider Middle East region.
In a unique and symbolic gesture, the committee asked participants to bring a pair of slippers, introducing an unconventional activity involving an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Bring a pair of slippers and see if you can land a hit on the head of our famous Erdogan effigy,” the group said on its social media account.
The controversial effigy of Erdoğan had already gained international attention earlier this year, when it was hung upside-down by the ankles outside Stockholm’s city hall by the Rojava Committees. The unconventional protest led to a peak in tensions between Sweden and Turkey following Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Then it made a bold reappearance, this time being placed upright on a truck, with a rainbow flag in its hand in August.