According to Yeni Özgür Politika, the 550,000-member Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), to which 40 trade unions and 20 trade union councils are affiliated, is preparing to make a statement on the occasion of the second anniversary of the international campaign ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ that was launched globally on 10 October 2023.

Within the scope of the campaign, artistic, cultural, ecological, women-centred and political activities such as press conferences, cultural events, conferences, panel discussions and demonstrations will be organised in the streets, parliaments and municipalities between 1-10 October. Preparations for the campaign are underway in many countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, England, Scotland, Sweden, Greece, Slovenia, Slovenia, Colombia and Cyprus.

Numerous events to be organised between 1-12 October

In Britain, one of the countries where the campaign is ongoing, large-scale events will take place between 1-12 October. The Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) will hold a press conference at the union building on 2 October. In the press conference, STUC will share with the public the letter written to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy regarding the absolute isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdish question.

In addition, organisations from all parts of Kurdistan will hold a press conference to declare a common will and declaration regarding the campaign. In cities such as Liverpool, Bristol, Brighton, Sheffield, Exeter and Edinburgh, actions and events will be organised under the leadership of Kurdish People's Assemblies. The Revolutionary Youth Movement is planning to organise a march and a cycling tour.

Mike Arnott noted that in December 2023, Dundee STUC, together with other trade union organisations, called on the then UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to lobby the Council of Europe for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. Arnott said that at the STUC's last congress in April 2024, a series of political resolutions were passed calling on the UK Government to halt arms sales to Turkey, to pressure Turkey through diplomatic and NATO channels to stop its bombings and attacks on Iraq and northern and eastern Syria, and to release Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

'Abdullah Öcalan's freedom is essential'

Calling on Turkey to start negotiations to resolve its conflict with the Kurdish freedom movement, Arnott said: “Abdullah Öcalan's freedom is essential for any future negotiations with Turkey to lead to progress for the Kurdish people. For progress to be realised, he must be free.”

Arnott emphasised that he finds Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's writings on the paradigm of Democratic Confederalism, women's liberation and ecology inspiring, saying: “Personally, I find his writings on Democratic Confederalism, the role of women and the importance of ecology inspiring. For me, his ideas have a broader significance beyond the Kurdish question. They open the door to potential solutions to political problems in the wider region and even on a global scale. His prison writings stand alongside Gramsci's in their guidance on how we can not only change the way we work, but how capitalism itself can be challenged.”

A matter of existence or non-existence for the peoples of Kurdistan

Agit Karataş, member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Kurdish People's Assembly in the UK, said: “We are entering a period of struggle in which it is a matter of existence or non-existence for the peoples of Kurdistan in the person of Abdullah Öcalan to bring the pressure on international institutions to its peak. On the anniversary of the global campaign for the Freedom of Abdullah Öcalan between 1-10 October in Europe and around the world, we invite all peoples of Kurdistan and friends to get involved in the upcoming struggle process.”