Ring of fire: Conspiracy foiled by resistance

 

NEWS CENTRE - DEM Party Foreign Relations Commission Co-Spokesperson Ebru Günay stated that the international conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan was thwarted by the resistance of the Kurdish people and their friends.

 

15 February 1999 is not only a date for the Kurdish people, but also a symbol of a great conspiracy in which international powers intervened. The kidnapping of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan with international co-operation and bringing him to Turkey is remembered as a global operation against the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom. In the 26 years that have passed since then, the isolation policies against Abdullah Öcalan have continued to intensify and have become one of the biggest barriers preventing the democratic solution of the Kurdish question.

 

In this episode, Ebru Günay, Co-Spokesperson of DEM Party's Foreign Affairs Commission, evaluated the political goals of the conspiracy, the deepening of the isolation system and how international law was disregarded.

 

‘Process built on lawlessness’

 

Expressing that Abdullah Öcalan is a leader who develops policies for the benefit of the peoples against the reshaping of the Middle East by the dominant powers, Ebru Günay said ‘"Mr Öcalan's struggle for the peoples and his paradigmatic breakthrough against polarised politics has seriously disrupted the game of the rulers. The ruling powers thought that by removing Mr Öcalan from the Middle East, they could carry out their war policies and anti-people politics as they wished. For this purpose, they continued their isolation policy against Mr Öcalan. The isolation was put into effect as a continuation of the conspiracy in the context of cutting Mr Öcalan's contact with the outside world and preventing his views from reaching the peoples of the Middle East. We cannot consider this situation independent from the international conspiracy. The conspiracy refers to a process in which positive law was violated and which was shaped by lawlessness, from Mr Öcalan's abduction to his being brought to Turkey and his imprisonment."

 

Two factors that frustrated the conspiracy

 

Ebru Günay emphasised that the isolation was carried out by unlawful and piratical methods and drew attention to two factors that enabled the international conspiracy to be foiled. Ebru Günay continued as follows: "One of them is the paradigm developed by Mr Öcalan and the response of this paradigm among the peoples. The other is the Kurdish people and their friends uniting around Mr Öcalan and expanding the line of struggle. From 1999 to the present day, this line of resistance has been the force that has forced a step back against the isolation policies in Imrali Prison. During the period between the release of Mr Öcalan from Damascus on 9 October and the start of the Imrali process on 15 February 1999, the Kurdish people and their friends were in resistance in areas all over the world. In a sense, they formed a ring of fire around Mr Ocalan.

 

 This line of resistance continued throughout the 26-year process. Even within the isolation system in İmralı Island, this struggle has continued. In other words, it was Mr Öcalan's resistance and struggle against this system that gave birth to these two factors. The freedom campaign that has been going on for the last two years has also been one of the main elements that have frustrated the conspiracy process with the dialectical bond of the Kurdish people and their friends. The growth of this resistance and its response among the people has made the struggle for freedom stronger."

 

Violation of universal human rights norms

 

Ebru Günay stated that during Abdullah Öcalan's abduction process, Europe violated international human rights norms by closing the airspace and many similar practices, and ignored all the values that the West defends. Ebru Günay said, "The trial process also proceeded in this unlawful manner. Even the denial of family and lawyer meetings should be considered in this context. Most of the sovereign powers either ignored this process or actively planned and implemented it. However, as a result, universal norms and human rights values were ignored. Turkey had the death penalty at that time. Despite this, European countries closed their airspace to Mr Öcalan and did not accept his asylum applications. These documents were later revealed during the trials in Greece.

 

A fair legal process was not carried out and this situation still continues today. There is a principle in law: If the first steps are not taken correctly, the next steps will be wrong. In 2006, the Council of Europe established a commission to investigate ghost prisons and abductions. However, this commission did not examine İmralı Prison. They ignored the process of bringing Mr Öcalan. The lawlessness that started in 1999 continued during the İmralı process and the trial process. Today, these practices continue with de facto situations."

 

‘Universal law pirated’

 

Ebru Günay stated that the extraction of Abdullah Öcalan from Damascus in 1999 and bringing him to Turkey after he was almost ‘banned from the face of the earth’ was a pre-planned conspiracy and said: "All events such as the abduction of Mr Öcalan from Kenya and bringing him to Turkey and his forced removal from the embassy are indicators of the piratical application of universal law. However, in this process, those responsible were not held accountable and the truth was not disclosed. The public was not informed. The hegemonic relations between these powers aimed to keep the Kurdish question unresolved and to build a Middle East in line with their own interests."

 

‘It is not possible to explain isolation with law’

 

Ebru Günay said that the isolation of a leader means that those who adopt and support the views of that leader are also isolated, and drew attention to the consequences of isolation. Ebru Günay finally said the following: "With the isolation, the insistence on the Kurdish problem has deepened. Isolation is a policy of ignoring and ignoring. The demands, identity and rights of the Kurdish people are rendered invisible. The Kurdish people have been subjected to constant pressure and hardship. The deepening of the wars in the Middle East must be linked to the isolation policies. Isolation has become a form of government in this country. Every time the isolation is deepened, attacks, oppression and massacres against Kurds and their friends have increased. In periods when Mr Öcalan's contact with the outside world increases, a more democratic picture emerges. This shows that the isolation cannot be based on a legal basis. Isolation policies are implemented to prevent the struggle, democratic demands and identity of the Kurdish people. The isolation system in İmralı cannot be evaluated independently of the problems faced by the Kurdish people."

 

Tomorrow: ‘Öcalan needs to be heard for a solution’