There has been no communication with the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, held under isolation in the Imrali Island Prison for the last 19 years, since September 10, 2016. Kurds are concerned. KONGRA-GEL Co-chair Remzi Kartal said Abdullah Öcalan brought the Kurdish people left in the darkness into the light, and that is why the Turkish state approaches him with feelings of revenge and added: “These policies of the state can only be overcome by the resistance struggle of the Kurdish people.”

“THE STATE IS AFRAID OF LEADER APO”

KONGRA-GEL Co-chair Remzi Kartal stated that the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held under isolation for the last 19 years and added: “Leader Apo is not allowed to meet with anybody, including his lawyers for the last 7 years and his family for the last year. We have serious concerns regarding this issue. We must state this clearly that the Turkish state’s vile and massacrist policies against our people are imposed upon Leader Apo as well. Everybody should know this. We as a movement and a people are concerned for the life and wellbeing of Leader Apo.” Kartal also said that the Kurdish institutions and Öcalan’s lawyers have appealed to the CPT and international institutions countless times but were not able to get any information on the issue.

KONGRA-GEL Co-chair Kartal said the Turkish state targets Kurdish gains throughout the world and added: “The isolation imposed upon Leader Apo is related to the Turkish state’s policies against the Kurdish people. The Turkish state imposes these policies not only in Northern Kurdistan, but in all 4 parts. They want to break this will tied to the freedom movement. And to that end, they carry out a vile massacre. All the Kurdish representatives elected through political and democratic methods have been imprisoned. And under such conditions, they want to get ahead of the process that continues in favor of the Kurds in the Middle East in the person of Rojava. Turkey seeks to end the worldwide positive image of the Kurdish freedom movement. In parallel, they want to increase the isolation imposed upon Leader Apo. Because the state is afraid of Leader Apo’s ideas. Whatever the current conditions may be, Leader Apo devises plans and projects according to the needs of theday. Sometimes one word out of his mouth can have great effect on the process.”

LET’S INCREASE THE RESISTANCE THROUGH STRUGGLE

“The Kurdish identity was banned. Everything was under pressure. Leader Apo brought the Kurdish people out of the darkness and into the light. The Turkish state wants to take revenge from Leader Apo because he put the Kurdish people on the map,” said Kartal and stated that Öcalan is not a normal convict but a captive prisoner in the hands of the Turkish state.

Kartal said: “Öcalan is not a normal convict. That is why the Turkish state refuses to enact even their own laws in the case of Leader Apo. If he was a normal convict, he would have the opportunity to meet with his lawyers and his family. Leader Apo is held in the Imrali Island Prison with the special law passed just for him. The isolation imposed upon Leader Apo is the state waging psychological war on the Kurdish people.”

Kartal stated that the isolation imposed upon Öcalan can only be broken through the struggle and added: “Leader Apo’s freedom depends on the struggle. By increasing the struggle and resistance of our people, they will have to sit down with Leader Apo. Like during the AKP rule in 2012, the state was desperate and had to sit down and talk with Leader Apo through the great resistance by the people in the cities and the guerilla in the mountains and prisons.”

The KONGRA-GEL Co-chair Kartal said pressure against the Turkish state should be increased and continued: “The Kurdish people’s resistance and the guerilla’s struggle on this issue is strategic. If this resistance grows, the world states who have their own conflicts with Erdoğan will pressure the Turkish state in line with their own interests. The state would be desperate in the face of domestic and foreign pressure and would have to negotiate with Leader Apo.”

LET’S GROW THE FREEDOM FOR ÖCALAN CAMPAIGN

Kartal said the isolation imposed upon Öcalan and the massacrist policies imposed upon the Kurdish people are historical and added: “The policies against the Kurdish people are not only expressed through Erdoğan. They are the century-old state policies. The end-and-deny policies are on the agenda once more. So our people should raise their voice against them. Today the Turkish state has been stuck in a corner and isolated due to their policies in the Middle East, and we as a people can transform this into a solution process through struggle.”

Kartal mentioned the “Freedom For Öcalan” campaign launched by the KCDK-E and made the following call for the Kurdish people: “Defending Leader Apo is our strategy as a movement and as a people. For that, let’s grow the campaign launched by the KCDK-E. Let’s spread it throughout Europe and the world. Our people should develop different and colorful demonstrations, and we should put the freedom of Leader Apo on the world’s agenda through our allies and international institutions. The ideas of Leader Apo are paving the way for a new life in the Middle East today. In such a period in time, this campaign would garner great support. And that is a good development for the freedom of Leader Apo.”