The ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign, which was launched by friends of the Kurdish people on 10 October 2023, has reached millions of people all over the world.

The Yazidi community also joined the campaign on 21 October 2023 with the slogan ‘Freedom for Leader Öcalan, Autonomy for Shengal’.

The Yazidi and Arab community living in Shengal organised many actions and events across Iraq and Shengal under the leadership of the Shengal Autonomous Administration and the Yazidi Free Women's Movement (TAJÊ).

Shengal Autonomous Administration and TAJÊ made a joint statement at Martyr Dilgeş and Martyr Berxwedan Cemetery on the occasion of the second anniversary of their campaign. The statement was read by Suham Şengali, member of TAJÊ Foreign Relations Committee, and Xwedêda Elyas, Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration of Shengal.

“Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) has been leading the peoples' resistance in Imrali Prison for 25 years. During this period of time, countless events and actions have been organised for his freedom. However, the ‘Freedom for Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign launched last year is quite different from other campaigns. This campaign will continue in line with its aim until the physical freedom of Leader Apo is achieved. All actions and activities for the freedom of the peoples and democracy are also linked to this campaign. In other words, the freedom of Leader Öcalan and the struggle for autonomy and freedom are not independent of each other,” said the statement. 

Remarking that the campaign received support from all over the world, the statement continued: “With this campaign, the ideas and philosophy of Leader Abdullah Öcalan have spread more than ever in the world. With the recognition of Leader Öcalan's ideas, the hope and faith of humanity has once again flourished. Enthusiasm, morale and hope increased wherever the campaign reached. Artists, intellectuals, politicians, philosophers, writers and academics all over the world were revitalised by Öcalan's ideas. The whole world rallied around this campaign. The world could not unite in the Ukraine-Russia war or the Hamas-Israel war, but the whole world became one voice for the freedom of Leader Abullah Öcalan. This reveals that the world, divided by wars, conflicts, religious and sectarian wars that started due to the policies pursued by the governments, has found unity in the idea of the freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan.” 

The statement pointed out that the wars in the Middle East in the last year have once again proved Leader Apo's assessments right and added: “Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been stating for decades that the problems in the Middle East cannot be resolved by war. The events of last year also confirm this. That is why the peoples of the Middle East are turning to the ideas of Leader Öcalan more than ever. Everyone says that the isolation of Öcalan deepens the war in the Middle East and that his freedom will pave the way for the solution of the problems in the region. This was one of the important results of the campaign.”

The campaign has also exposed the true face of the state and the ruling system, said the statement and continued:  “It has been revealed that the European states, which present themselves as the representatives of freedom and democracy, have nothing to do with freedom and democracy. The move has revealed that the Imrali system is an international system, that those who cause the isolation to continue and deprive Leader Abdullah Öcalan of his physical freedom are the same ones who swear every day in the name of freedom and democracy. This move again showed that these states are against the freedom of peoples and democracy.”

Emphasising that hope and the claim of freedom are stronger than ever with the campaign, the statement continued: “The main goal is to ensure the physical freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan and to recognise the autonomy of Shengal. Although steps have been taken towards these goals, we have not yet fully achieved them. This is also a matter of self-criticism for us. For this reason, we must correct our deficiencies, strengthen our actions and accelerate our work in order to achieve victory in the second year of the campaign. We must reach out to everyone in every house in Shengal and introduce the ideas of Leader Öcalan.

In the second year of the campaign, we will bring the ideas of Leader Abdullah Öcalan to the agenda more in the Nineveh Plain and at the Iraqi level. We will try to turn the campaign into a step towards freedom and democracy, especially in Iraq. Iraq cannot get rid of the war and crisis it is in. For this reason, we say that the ideas of Leader Abdullah Öcalan are the solution for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi state as well.”

Stating that the campaign is also a response to the war policy in the region, the statement said: “We firmly believe that 2025 will be the year of freedom of Leader Abdullah Öcalan. If we raise our hope, belief and struggle, the freedom of Leader Öcalan and the autonomy of Shengal are not far away. As the Shengal Autonomous Administration, we will strengthen our work in the second year of the campaign. We call on the people of Shengal, all the peoples of the Nineveh Plain and the democratic forces of Iraq to embrace the campaign more than ever.”