Peace in Kurdistan marked the anniversary of the abduction of Abdullah Öcalan by repeating its call for the immediate release of the Kurdish leader.

In a statement, Peace in Kurdistan said: "It is now 24 years since the abduction of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, and that action remains a stain on the world that will never be forgotten. The squalid circumstances that led up to his detention have undermined the whole international political order, discredited the system of justice and called into question those institutions that were established to defend the rights of political prisoners.

Turkey was not acting alone in the planning and tracking that led to Öcalan’s abduction on 9 October 1998. It was patently a special operation conducted in collusion with international intelligence agencies. The plan was to extinguish the Kurdish movement for all time by incapacitating its leadership. This, so it was reasoned, would be achieved by removing its leading thinker from the scene, humiliating him as a human being and discrediting his ideas. All this can be seen to have failed."

The statement continued: "Öcalan’s incarceration has signally not reduced his influence. Support for Öcalan and his ideas has not been expunged; it has grown immeasurably.

A sense of burning injustice motivates the Kurdish movement which has successfully channelled popular anger into constructive political action. Their movement has grown massively over the past 24 years. Support for politicians who adopt pro-Kurdish political positions has increased, despite the savage repression imposed by the Turkish authorities.

Awareness of Öcalan’s peace message has widened and attachment to the cause of Kurdish freedom that Öcalan’s fought so hard to achieve remains a growing political force. Öcalan’s visionary ideas inspire younger generations of Kurdish men and women into political activism in defence of their communities. Freedom is within their grasp and remaining passive is not an option. That much and more has been taught them by Öcalan."

Peace in Kurdistan underlined that "despite the subsequent show trial, the attempts at public humiliation, the efforts to discredit Abdullah Öcalan’s ideas and efforts to dismantle his organisation, he is today a formidable force in contemporary politics. His ideas concerning new democratic institutions, ecological society, the empowerment of women and political representation, among others, are widely viewed as offering viable solutions to the problems confronting modern societies and as having applicability and relevance to communities far beyond Kurdistan and the Middle East.

In fact, Öcalan’s ideas have transcended borders and inspired groups of people all over the world. New generations have grown up in the nearly half century since Öcalan was removed from the political scene and meant to be silenced forever. These young men and women have drawn inspiration from his writings and example, as had past generations and Öcalan’s contemporaries. In these important respects, the special operation that was meant to destroy Abdullah Ocalan and eliminate the movement that he founded has demonstrably not succeeded at all."

The statement added that "the abduction was a direct attack on the entire Kurdish movement and the whole people. It is described by Kurds as an “international conspiracy”. It was undoubtedly a conspiracy against the people by a tiny group of individuals exercising unrestrained power and acting opaquely. They were very short-sighted in these actions. A whole people cannot be eliminated from history and the Kurds have justice on their side. 

The Kurdish people have shown that they will never be silenced despite all the repressive measures inflicted on them as individuals, on their organisation and on their leaders. The political and philosophical ideas that Öcalan articulated have been developed and adapted by his followers to meet new conditions.

Öcalan remains a political prisoner and has stayed the course as a peace maker. He offers real practical solutions to the crises that currently face Turkey and the wider Middle East, which are immersed in a crisis of political representation, as well as a profound social and economic crisis."

The statement continued: "In the conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurds, the casualties mount with no end seemingly in sight. Öcalan and his ideas are needed now more than ever. It is time that he was freed.

Each martyr to the cause is another human tragedy, but their example provides another reason to end the conflict, which can only be concluded by a just settlement that takes full account of the remedies proposed by Öcalan.

It is in the interest of peace that Öcalan should be released, apart from also being a simple matter of justice. His continued imprisonment is an affront to any sense of justice and a deep stain on Western democracy, and the continued silence of political leaders about his mistreatment is an indictment of all those who claim to espouse “freedom and democracy”. 

On the anniversary of his abduction and the start of his 24-year incarceration, Peace in Kurdistan reiterates once again its call for Öcalan to be freed. He is a political prisoner unjustly detained and convicted in a sham show trial. We demand justice for Öcalan and all political prisoners."