15th February: The Black Day
The 15th February has been dubbed ‘the black day’ for the Kurdish freedom struggle since the imprisonment of the leader, ideologue, and pioneer Abdullah Öcalan this day in 1999.
Beginning with his departure from Syria, people began protests under the slogan. “You can not darken my sun.” 60 revolutionaries sacrificed themselves until Öcalan himself asked to end the self-sacrifice. The protests aimed to end his imprisonment and achieved to overturn the death sentence he was given in 1999.
Abdullah Öcalan was kidnapped in Kenia outside the Greek Embassy, after being expelt from Italy, Russia and Greece, while declared “Persona Non Grata” to the rest of european countries. The 15th Februaru become therefore the “BlackDay”for the Kurdish people and the Internationlist freedom movement related with them.
The collaborative work of the CIA (USA), Mossad (Israel), M16 (GB) and MIT (Turkey) led to his imprisonment and isolation in the island-prison of Imrali in Turkey.
Abdullah Öcalan is a pioneer of the revolutionary Kurdish freedom struggle. The principles of Demoratic Condederalism were significantly shaped by his ideas. Born around 1948 in the village in North Kurdistan, he later studied in Ankara. There, he was introduced to socialiast ideas and the 1968 movement, which greatly influenced him.
In witnessing the genocidal policies of the Turkish state, Öcalan recognised the secessity of combating colonialism in Kurdistan and founded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
With the ideas he develop, Öcalan established an alternative to capitalist modernity. Today, he is a symbol of hope for a democratic solution not only in Kurdistan and the Middle East, but also in many other part of the world. Öcalan is now working to transform the “Black Day’ into the ‘Day of Hope and Peace.’
Despite the isolation, he set a unique example of resistance, developing a new paradigma based on democratic confederalism, women’s liberation, and ecology, proposing new perspectives and pathways for revolutionary movements in the 21st century.
Through Unity in diversity, the peoples and societies of Europe, and worldwide must develop an alternative to this system.
“True freedom isn’t given, it’s taken, built and defended every day.”
- Abdullah Öcalan
In isolation, Abdullah Öcalan wrote several books and renewed the paradigm of the Kurdish freedom movement. His new thought based on the principles of democratic confederalism, women’s liberation, and ecology inspired the revolution in NE Syria and gave birth to a strong and hopeful new current of worldwide liberation!
Biji Serok Apo
