Martina Anderson: Isolation imposed on Öcalan is unique

Former Sinn Féin EMP Martina Anderson said that the isolation imposed on Öcalan is unique.

Martina Anderson is an Irish republican politician from the North of Ireland who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2020 to 2021, and previously from 2007 to 2012. A member of Sinn Féin, she served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2012 to 2020.

Anderson is a former political prisoner, involved in the Republican struggle since the '70s.  In June 1986, she was convicted of conspiring to cause explosions and sentenced to life in prison. She was released 13 years later as a condition of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequently became involved in politics for Sinn Féin.

In this interview she first talks about her political involvement, and then about the isolation imposed on Öcalan, which she said is unique. "I was imprisoned in England, which was far from Ireland, but at least we got access to the outside and we got visits. Whereas the isolation experienced by Öcalan hasn't been experienced by anyone."

She added that "this isolation was meant to make everybody forget about Ocalan. But in fact, I think the opposite was the case and more and more people are actually getting curious about him, his thoughts, his writing."