In Argentina, a continental campaign is being launched within the framework of the global campaign launched last year under the slogan ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’. In response to the call of the Kurdish Women's Movement and trade unions, human rights organisations and politicians, the campaign will be launched with a press conference on 13 November and will be completed on 23 November. The campaign will be led by labour organisations, lawyers' and press unions and feminists.

The signatures will be sent to Corte Inter America and the relevant institutions of the Council of Europe. Many MEPs are also supporting the campaign. CTA Autonoma, which is promoting and hosting the campaign, has released a video call for the campaign. Other human rights activists, who are also spearheading the campaign, released a video calling on all organisations, institutions and institutions to participate strongly in the press conference to be held on 13 November and the signature campaign that will last for 10 days. Labour Party MPs in the Argentine Parliament also called for participation in the campaign.

Messages from those calling for support for the campaign are as follows:

Julian Aguirre, Director de Internacionales de CTA Autónoma: “Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned for more than 25 years in a prison in the Turkish state, and we demand his freedom together with many other organisations out of our commitment to the rights, freedom and dignity of the Kurdish people and the peoples of the world. We in the CTA Autonomous have the commitment, word and deed of advocating and solidarity with the just causes of the peoples of the world in their struggle for dignity, freedom and sovereignty. That is why we will participate as organisers in the campaign for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan next Wednesday 13 November in Argentina.”

MP Vanina Biasi:  “I am Vanina Biasi, from the Argentine National Congress, from the United Bloc of the Left Front of the Labour Party. First of all, I send my greetings to the women in the defence forces who are raising the struggle to defend their lands and the Kurdish people and the peoples of Kurdistan. I believe that this fight is necessary in the framework of self-defence for the defence of the Kurdish people and for them to live freely on their lands. But, of course, I send my greetings to all the men and women militants of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement who are enhancing the resistance and struggle under the bombs of the Turkish state. And we need to raise our voices for the freedom of all political prisoners held captive by the Turkish state, especially Abdullah Öcalan.

Of course, we demand a lasting peace in Kurdistan. And we demand the recognition of Kurdistan's territory and the Kurdish identity. And finally, we demand an end to the oppression of the Kurdish people by the Turkish government and all states that pursue a policy of denial, and we demand that the Kurdish people be restored their rights and live freely on their own land in Kurdistan.”

MP Mónica Leticia Schlotthauer: “I am a deputy in the National Congress of Argentina. I belong to the socialist, left-front Workers' Party. Together with other organizations, we demand the freedom of our comrade. We call on all political and social organisations to demand the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and the rights of the Kurdish people, demanding respect for his democratic and political rights.”

Feminist Claudia Korol:  “I am a member of Abya Yala Feminists, a network organised at the continental level in the territory known as the Americas, which we call Abya Yala. The meaning of our continent, known as Abya Yala, means free flowing blood in the indigenous language.

We share the great value that receiving news from the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan represents for us and therefore demand that this should not be limited to a meeting and that the isolation should be completely lifted. We demand that Abdullah Öcalan's absolute freedom, which guarantees all citizenship rights, be ensured and that the necessary conditions are created for him to further his leadership role and to develop a peaceful and just solution for Kurdistan and the Middle East. We therefore call on the popular organisations, civil society associations and political parties of the human rights movements in Latin America to join the campaign to collect signatures for the campaign for ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’. It is also essential for the women of this continent to secure the peace that will stop the violence against the Kurdish people and for Kurdish women to be able to effectively continue their revolution, the revolution for women and freedom.”

Human Rights Advocate Carlos Lorgipanitsi: “I am a member of the Kachiti Fugman militant composition and also a member of the Argentine Encuentro Memoria, Verdad y Justicia (Truth and Justice Memory). I demand that Abdullah Öcalan's rights be guaranteed and that his isolation be lifted in order for him to play a role in the search for a peaceful and just solution for Kurdistan and the Middle East, especially at a time of so much chaos. I would like to appeal to civil society organisations, political parties, social organisations and human rights organisations in Latin America to join the campaign by collecting signatures under the slogan ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish question’.”

The letter of the campaign reads as follows:

On 9 October, it has been 26 years since Öcalan was expelled from Syria, followed by his abduction and subsequent imprisonment in solitary confinement on the island prison of Imrali (Turkey) where he has been deprived of his rights and subjected to ill-treatment and torture. On several occasions, he has been held for long periods of time in total isolation from the outside world. On 23 October 2024, a visit took place with Ömer Öcalan, deputy of the DEM party and Öcalan's nephew, after more than 43 months of total incommunicado detention.

The unresolved Kurdish question in Turkey has been creating conflict and political instability in the region, violations of civil and political rights, costing thousands of lives, occupation, racism, oppression of women, religious intolerance, economic exploitation and environmental destruction. In this context, Abdullah Öcalan has always been a key actor for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question, as evidenced by his many political contributions in this direction and the peace processes he has led on several occasions, the first one being in 1993.

The conditions in which Öcalan has been held since the beginning of his imprisonment violate rights conventions and agreements against torture. The visit on 23 October 2024 is no guarantee for the end of the inhuman isolation to which Abdullah Öcalan is subjected or for the fulfilment of his rights.

We therefore demand that the necessary measures be taken as a matter of urgency:

- Abdullah Öcalan's rights must be guaranteed and protected and cease to be a bargaining chip and blackmail in the service of the situation in Turkey and the interests of the various political powers.

- Abdullah Öcalan must be allowed to meet and communicate with his lawyers and family on a regular basis as required by law.

- Abdullah Öcalan must be guaranteed the right to hope, as determined by the European Court of Human Rights on 18 March 2014, and be released on conditions that allow him to play a role in the search for a just and democratic political solution to the Kurdish question.

The link to the online petition is: