Activists made a press statement in Melbourne, Australia as part of the international campaign “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” launched on 10 October with press conferences in 74 places around the world, from France, to Belgium, from Italy to the Spanish state, from Germany to the UK, from Ireland to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, Cyprus, Greece and across the ocean in Australia, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador. From South Africa to Kenya, Japan, India, Bangladesh, East Timor, the Philippines.

74 represents the age of the Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held as a hostage on the prison island of Imrali since his handover to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy that began on 9 October 1998, when he was forced to leave Syria and ended on 15 February 1999, when he was deported from Kenya to Turkey.

The central focus of the new international campaign is to bring about the release of Öcalan as a prerequisite to the beginning of a new peace process in Turkey and the wider region. However, the most pressing immediate demand is to bring an end to the total isolation that Öcalan has been subject to for almost three years.

Speaking at the event in Melbourne, MP Samantha Ratnam, leader of the Victorian Greens, said: “The fates of the Aborigines, the owners of the lands that we stand on today, and of the Kurds are very similar. Both of these indigenous peoples were torn off their roots, subjected to every atrocity and paid a price. The Kurds and Abdullah Öcalan must attain their freedom.”

Socialist Alliance Moreland City Councillor Sue Bolton said: “Abdullah Öcalan’s ideas inspire us and spring to life in Rojava. The hegemonic states feel uncomfortable with it and that’s why Abdullah Öcalan is behind bars.”

Unionist Ron Guy expressed happiness about being a part of the international campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” and voiced his hope that the Kurdish leader attains his freedom.

KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) Representative Heval Herki denounced the inaction of the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) in the face of the crimes committed by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people.