🔶Calls for Abdullah Öcalan's release and a peaceful Kurdish conflict resolution continue to resonate worldwide through the 'Freedom for Öcalan, A Political Solution for Kurdistan' campaign.
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— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) October 20, 2023
Calls for the release of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict have recently been launched in 74 centres around the world as part of the international campaign “Freedom for Öcalan, A Political Solution for Kurdistan“.
Further calls for an end to Öcalan’s two and a half years of total isolation in Turkish government custody continue to pour in from different parts of the world.
In Italy, Giorgio Abonante, the mayor of Alessandria and a member of the executive committee of the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico), joined the chorus of voices calling for Öcalan’s release.
Speaking to Medya Haber TV’s Erem Kansoy, Abonante urged the European Union to take a clear stance in favour of Öcalan’s freedom, stressing its importance for Öcalan and the Kurdish people.
“[Öcalan’s] story links us even more closely to the cause of the Kurdish people, especially as a representative of the plight of many other peoples who, despite all their rights, cannot determine their own destiny,” said Mayor Abonante.
Another call came from Brazil, where Matheau Crespo, director of the national secretariat of the Central Sindical e Popular Conlutas of Brazil and a member of both the Brazilian Revolutionary Socialist Movement (MRS) and the Committee for Revolutionary Recuperation (CRIR), which is active in Argentina, the United States and Mexico, answered questions from Serkan Demirel of Medya Haber TV.
Crespo recalled that during the conference of the International Union Solidarity and Struggle Network held in São José dos Campos, Brazil, in September, a declaration was adopted calling for Öcalan’s release. He stressed that the many trade unions that endorsed this statement remain committed to working for Öcalan’s freedom.
Expressing solidarity with the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom, Crespo stressed that Öcalan’s imprisonment and the conditions of his isolation were not just a matter of concern for the Kurdish people, but had wider global implications.
“The illegal detention of the great leader Abdullah Öcalan by the authoritarian regime in Turkey for more than two decades is a disgrace,” said Crespo. He pointed out that Öcalan’s imprisonment was also an attempt to suppress both the Kurdish and Turkish peoples.
Crespo also addressed Turkey’s military attacks on northern and eastern Syria, known as Rojava, saying, “The Turkish government’s attacks on Rojava are a crime against humanity. The Turkish state’s actions serve entities like the Islamic State (ISIS), which are known for their brutality, especially against women and civilians. We support the struggle of Rojava and all of Kurdistan and we are committed to providing the necessary support by all means.”
