It has been 21 years since Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan was forced to leave Syria as a result of an international conspiracy which ended in his capture on February 15, 1999.

The Kurdish people have been struggling to defeat this conspiracy ever since. The people of Maxmur Camp have always been involved in the resistance and continued their struggle.

The Kurdish people and their friends who closed ranks around Öcalan with the slogan "You cannot darken our sun" are demanding his freedom in the fields today as they were 21 years ago.

Martyr Rüstem Cudi (Maxmur) refugee camp residents condemned the international conspiracy and its perpetrators.

The NATO conspiracy against Öcalan, the US and the EU's role was pointed out by Maxmur Martyrs’ Families association co-chair Xantur Kara. "This conspiracy has not targeted just the Kurdish people’s leader, but the entire Kurdish people and the peoples of Turkey. The occupying forces are occupying our lands to prevent the implementation of the Democratic Nation paradigm, which Öcalan has created and presented to all the peoples of the world.”

During the 22-year captivity of Öcalan, huge prices were paid and great gains were made with this. Kara continued: “Thanks to Leader Öcalan, the struggle of the Kurdish people has spread to the whole world and has started to be accepted among the peoples. The conspiracy against Öcalan has turned into isolation today. This isolation has been going on for years and is getting heavier. There are many reactions against it all over the world, but most of the time these reactions remain on paper. The more concrete the reactions against conspiracy and isolation, the more fruitful they will be. We, the Kurdish people, have to respond to the efforts of Öcalan. The more we endorse the initiative launched by the KCK, the more we can serve Öcalan. The Kurdish people could not take advantage of the opportunities they encountered throughout history and were killed, but today we are facing a historical opportunity. We are trying to increase our struggle; we must endorse the KCK’s initiative today.”

Saying that the purpose of the international conspiracy was exposed by Öcalan himself, Hadi Akidi, co-chair of the Max Camp Martyrs' Families Association, said: "One aim of the conspiracy was to prevent the people from living a life based on the nation concept. Hence, hegemonic powers eliminated many religious beliefs, cultures and races. The emergence of Öcalan and the PKK countered these dark policies in the Middle East. Soon the hegemonic powers realized that this new paradigm would turn their system upside down.”

Therefore, said Akidi, “they started to countered this paradigm from the beginning. This being the objective, even the forces that were hostile to each other became friends and united against Öcalan and the PKK and started attacking them.”

Sarya Marinos, a member of the Martyrs' Families Association, said that the conspiracy was made against all oppressed peoples. "Although the enemy wanted to silence Öcalan and sever ties with the peoples, it has not succeeded. Because Öcalan's philosophy and the path he chose to walk are the most correct. International powers saw this as a danger to themselves.

International forces exerted a lot of pressure on the Syrian state to expel Öcalan. He deemed it appropriate to leave Syria in order to avoid any harm to the Kurdish people, the Syrian peoples and the friends of the movement and headed towards Europe. He decided to go to Europe because he was in favor of resolving the Kurdish problem through peaceful and democratic means. Yet, the international forces leading the conspiracy did not allow this.”