The Imrali Prison was declared a restricted military zone on 17 February 1999, following the capture of Abdullah Öcalan. Imrali, which Öcalan described as a 'coffin,' became synonymous with isolation, torture, and what he defined as a system of genocide. The single-person prison cell was gradually transformed into what he called a 'genocidal system' through years of isolation and solitary confinement.

On 16 February 1999, the Kurdish people and their supporters woke up with immense anger and a deep sense of vengeance. They could not believe that Abdullah Öcalan had been captured and brought to Imralı Island. Mr. Öcalan—the architect of the Kurdish Revolution, the creator of the women's liberation ideology, and the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—had been abducted from Kenya and handed over to the Turkish state. As the images of his handover were broadcast on television, Kurds and their allies flooded the streets and city squares. Acts of self-sacrifice, civil disobedience actions, and public statements followed one after another. After the first two days of the international conspiracy, the Presidential Council of the PKK released its first statement, saying: “The message of our party and our people is very clear: A PKK without Apo and a Kurdish solution without the PKK will never happen under any circumstances. The PKK, all of its affiliated organizations, and our patriotic people have one sole spokesperson, one political leader, and the sole legitimate interlocutor for resolving the Kurdish question—and that is Chairman Abdullah Öcalan. Every part of our organization and our people stand fully devoted under his leadership. Anyone seeking a relationship with our party or our people must do so through Chairman Öcalan. Anyone who wishes to resolve the Kurdish issue must work with Chairman Öcalan. There is no other solution, no other interlocutor—and looking for one elsewhere is pointless. Every member of our party, our army, and our movement, and every patriotic Kurd is firmly committed to this reality. Until a solution based on this truth is realized, they will live and act solely as self-sacrificing militants, fulfilling their duty as self-sacrificing militants.”

The execution was left to the Turks

In his fifth defense text, Mr. Öcalan offers a detailed assessment of the Imralı process, stating the following: “There can be no clearer evidence that the operation was carried out entirely under the political responsibility of the United States and the European Union (EU), through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Gladio structure, than these three indicators: the statements of General Galtieri, special advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton; the approach of the female official from the EU Political Commission; and the role played by Engin Alan, head of the Turkish Special Forces Command. The process was deliberately misrepresented to the public. A false image was persistently created—as if the Turkish government had taken the initiative and achieved the result. Even Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit’s statement that he did not understand why I had been captured and handed over to Turkey stands as significant evidence supporting my claim.

The deepening of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict

A system was invented specifically for me—backed by the United States, controlled by the EU, and designed by the United Kingdom (UK). Its execution, however, was left to the Turks. In order to be able to analyze the Imralı process, I needed to develop a consciousness capable of recognizing the current conflicts of interest, which were grounded in a long historical context. One of the most critical aspects of the hegemonic system’s conspiratorial calculations was not to become a tool of the “divide and rule” strategies that had been masterfully planned and implemented in the region over the past two centuries. Above all, I had to avoid being used in ways that would serve these powers—especially in the deepening of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The strategic unity that had held strong since the Battle of Manzikert was deliberately shattered—most significantly through the policies of denial and annihilation that had been implemented since 1925.

When this process of denying and eliminating one of the founding elements of the Republic is examined closely and interpreted through the lens of historical philosophy, it becomes clear that the real target was this strategic unity. One of the most decisive steps in the conspiracy was the pressure imposed on Mustafa Kemal by the British and their domestic collaborators. In traditional Turkish political thought and philosophy of governance, there was no such thing as hostility toward Kurds or a drive to assimilate them. This hostility was deliberately manufactured for specific political aims. The rebellions and the events that followed confirmed this truth. This issue, which drew my attention intensely on Imralı and which I later focused on in depth, led to a fundamental transformation in my political philosophy.”

Another statement from the Presidential Council

Mr. Öcalan was calling for the door to be opened to a process of peace and dialogue, and at the same time he insisted: “The Kurdish people must be granted their freedoms, and a way must be found for coexistence.’’ During that historic period, the Presidential Council of the PKK issued another statement. The statement read: “Every statement and word made by Öcalan in direct relation to the people and the party is a command to us—an instruction. As long as it remains connected to our party and our people, every analysis and directive issued by Mr. Öcalan will be fulfilled as an order. If Öcalan is cut off from the party and the people, then no statement made in the name of Chairman Öcalan will bind us or Öcalan—nor will it ever. We will not accept such a situation.”

A ring of fire from their bodies

The Kurdish people and their supporters reacted with immense fury to the international conspiracy. Those who set their bodies on fire lit up a Kurdistan that others tried to cast into darkness—and left behind a powerful legacy of self-sacrificing militancy for those who followed. In protest of the capture of Mr. Öcalan and the extreme isolation imposed on him, more than one hundred members of the PKK and revolutionary patriots set themselves on fire, declaring: 'You cannot darken our sun (Abdullah Öcalan).' On 8 October, during a meeting with his fellow prisoners, PKK member Mehmet Halit Oral asked: “There is a massive attack on Mr. Öcalan. Something must be done. I am deeply focused on this—something must be done, but what?” That same night, he decided to act. The 'You cannot darken our sun' actions began when Mehmet Halit Oral, held in a prison in Maraş, set his body on fire on the night of 9 October 1998. The ring of fire quickly spread across Kurdistan, Turkey, and the world. By 15 February 1999, more than one hundred people had set themselves on fire—not only in all four parts of Kurdistan, but also in the major cities of Turkey, across Europe, and as far as Russia and the Caucasus.

These actions must come to an end

On 19 November 1998, Mr. Öcalan issued a public statement in which he said: “In recent days, self-immolation actions have continued. Most recently, eight people in prisons, two in Russia (one of whom became a martyr), one in Germany, and today, a very dear comrade in Rome has set their body on fire. In light of this act, especially in Rome—a place where our people have been embraced with warmth and solidarity—I once again call for an immediate and absolute end to these actions in which individuals take their own lives through self-immolation. I greet with all my heart the commitment and bravery shown in these actions. But I must make it clear as an instruction: those who are truly devoted to us must no longer resort to such acts of setting themselves on fire. These actions must come to an end immediately. I am well in every respect, and your determination only deepens our enthusiasm and strengthens our belief that freedom is near. With this in mind, I greet all of you with sincerity and send my love, in the hope that this tendency toward ending one’s own life will come to a complete and final halt.”

The conspiracy has been defeated

Mr. Öcalan shared the following reflections years ago regarding the outcome of the international conspiracy (15 February 1999, the day on which Abdullah Öcalan was abducted in Kenya): “From here, I can now deliver the good news to our people: the conspiracy has been defeated. This has been understood with certainty. It was achieved through my patient stance here and through the collective efforts of our people. We can now say this openly to our people: we succeeded in defeating the conspiracy. Despite all the attempts at conspiracy and liquidation, in the end our movement and our people emerged even stronger. It was the resistance shown by our people that rendered the conspiracy ineffective. For that reason, I once again express my gratitude to our people. The goal of the conspiracy was my elimination. Had they succeeded, it would have led to a state of chaos and a bloody period.”

To be continued…