The Kurdish women's movement Kongra Star condemned international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan on the 27th anniversary of his forced departure from Syria. At the same time, it called for participation in protests on October 9.
Kongra Star, the women's movement in the autonomous region of North and East Syria, sharply criticized the international conspiracy against Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. At a rally in Qamishlo on Sunday, the organization described the events at that time as an attack on “humanity as a whole” and once again called for Öcalan's release.
On October 9, 1998, under international pressure from Turkey and NATO, Öcalan was forced to leave Syria and embarked on an odyssey through various European countries in pursuit of a peace process. This odyssey culminated on February 15, 1999, in an international intelligence operation that resulted in his abduction from the Greek embassy in Nairobi, in violation of international law, and his transfer to the Turkish prison island of Imrali.
Protest against continued imprisonment
The statement read out by teacher Esmehan Sedûn on behalf of the Kongra Star coordination said: “We condemn the international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan. It was directed not only against one person, but against all those who stand up for peace, democracy, and women's rights.”
Sedûn explained that Öcalan's ideas were of global significance for the equality of women and the establishment of a free life. His isolation, she said, is an expression of patriarchal systems of rule, which are challenged by his ideas.
“Although Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement since 1999, his ideas continue to be a source of peace and human rights,” the spokeswoman continued. She also criticized the fact that neither the Turkish government nor international actors have yet taken concrete steps toward a political solution to the Kurdish question.
Call for participation in protests on October 9
Kongra Star also called for participation in demonstrations marking the 27th anniversary of Öcalan's forced departure from Syria and thus the beginning of the conspiracy. At the same time, it called for protests against the Turkish-jihadist occupation of the northern Syrian cities of Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) and Girê Spî (Tal Abyad), which marks its sixth anniversary this month.
At the end of the rally, participants chanted slogans such as “No life without the chairman,” “Down with slavery,” and “Jin Jiyan Azadî” (“Woman, Life, Freedom”)—a slogan that has spread internationally in recent years beyond the Kurdish liberation movement.
