No news has been received for 42 months from Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı Island Prison under severe isolation conditions for more than 25 years. Abdullah Öcalan is being held under conditions of absolute incommunicado and torture, and his right to see his lawyers and family members is being usurped. While the Turkish state insists on the İmralı torture system on unlawful grounds, the ‘Freedom for Öcalan – a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign, which was launched globally on 10 October 2023, is receiving support from different social segments day by day.

Dr Massimiliano De Conca, Secretary General of the Federation of Education Workers of the Lombardia (Western) Region of Italy, spoke to ANF about the conditions of isolation in which Abdullah Öcalan is in and the importance of Abdullah Öcalan's paradigm based on a democratic, women's libertarian, ecological society, which has attracted great interest among different segments of Italy in recent years.

‘Isolation is a form of torture and a very serious humanitarian issue’

“The conditions in which Mr Öcalan finds himself is a very serious humanitarian issue, because it is not just a human or racial issue. It is about a lonely man who is worried about isolation, terrorism or other threats. Today, Abdullah Öcalan is locked up in a prison with no contact with the outside world. This is a form of torture. There is such isolation that you begin to think that one man is more frightening than a whole people, because his ideas are very powerful, and the international community seems incapable of responding to an issue that touches on democracy, humanity and justice,” De Conca stated.

‘The silence of the international authorities is a scandal’

Criticising the attitude of international powers towards Abdullah Öcalan's conditions, De Conca stated the following: “It is often said that everyone has the right to an opinion. However, it is unbelievable that a whole community in Europe and even NATO is not taking an honest stance on this issue. In my point of view, this is similar to the situation in the former Yugoslavia, where the lack of action led to tragedy. The silence of the authorities and the international community on the İmralı isolation is a scandal. I think everyone knows that the Erdoğan regime is undemocratic. This applies not only to Kurds, but also to academics and journalists. If you remember, a few years ago all journalists and educators were persecuted for their ideas. These were not only the ideas of the Kurds, but ideas of justice and transparency.

‘Europe pretends that nothing is happening’

“For purely economic and self-interested reasons, Europe pretends that nothing is happening. It claims that Turkey is a democratic country. But we are talking about the ‘democracy’ of dollars, oil and gas! We know that Turkey has gas pipelines and that gas is distributed in Europe. Opposing Erdoğan means compromising something, losing access to this gas. So, for European society, we can sacrifice the principles of co-operation between peoples for a bit of gas.”

‘They are afraid of the alternative system Öcalan offers’

Emphasising that the ideas of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan are of great importance to the peoples of the world, De Conca continued as follows: “Mr Öcalan puts forward ideas in favour of democracy and talks about world peace. He does not advocate terrorism or war, but peaceful coexistence between peoples, transcending religions and politics. His idea is based on co-operation and co-existence. I think it is this idea that frightens the international powers; the possibility of people living together in co-operation rather than competition. The whole capitalist and liberal system could collapse because Öcalan's idea of democratic confederalism is based on co-operation, not competition. This means an end to wars, the rejection of an army for a people and no need to invade other countries. It also questions the concepts of nation and border. Today the international community is afraid of these ideas of Öcalan. They are afraid of the alternative system Öcalan offers.”

‘Öcalan's freedom is important for democracy and humanity in general’

Secretary General De Conca stated that the ‘Freedom for Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ campaign is important and should be supported:

“Öcalan's freedom is important not only for humanitarian reasons, but also for democracy and progress. If we accept the idea that peoples must always be at war and that someone can cross our borders and take over our people, we accept the idea of capitalism and perpetual war.

Öcalan, on the other hand, proposes a different vision based on co-operation and coexistence. Öcalan's freedom is therefore very important today, not only for Kurds and Rojava, but also for democracy and humanity in general. Öcalan invites us to look for an alternative to the capitalist system, to the current system in the process of collapse.

To accept this system is to condemn humanity to self-destruction. Öcalan's idea is very important because it offers us an alternative for the survival and continuity of humanity.”