ROJ HOZAN

Qamishlo- 23 years have passed since Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan was handed over to Turkey on February 15, 1999. Öcalan has been subjected to aggravated isolation and rights violations since 1999. Researcher Çınar Salih and Mizgin Hesen, head of the Center for Research and Protection of Syrian Women's Rights, spoke to JINHA about the 23-year-old isolation imposed upon Abdullah Öcalan.

“As the Center, we have the right to talk about the legal dimension of the conspiracy. Mr. Öcalan is the leader of the Kurdish Freedom Movement and has made an important effort for all humanity. Many Kurdish movements emerged before Mr. Öcalan, but they didn’t last long and their leaders were executed because they didn’t have an ideological aspect. The Kurdish movement led by him has reached such a stage that caused the enemy to use many methods to destroy the revolutionary will. Foreign states put the February 15 conspiracy into action for their own interests,” Mizgin Hesen told us.

“It is illegal”

Mizgin Hesen also commented on the international conventions as follows:

“Article 4 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 defines the prisoners of war. The article states that jailed persons should not be subjected to rights violations if they are political prisoners or a leader who fights for the freedom of the people. We know that Abdullah Öcalan is the leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement and that he demands the rights of the Kurds and all oppressed peoples all around the world.”

Underlining that the rights of the Kurdish people have been wanted to take from them since the capture of Abdullah Öcalan, Mizgin Hesen said, “Also, the conditions that leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) has been held don’t comply with international law standards. The Kurdish people don’t accept the conditions faced by their leader. We observe that all laws and regulations are against the truth in the person of Leader Apo. The aggravated isolation imposed upon him and the ban on the contact visit with his family and lawyers are unfair practices.”

“It’s time to ensure his freedom,” Mizgin Hesen said and called on human rights organizations to end isolation and rights violation against Abdullah Öcalan and to ensure permanent justice.

“He has been held in isolation for 23 years”

“The conspiracy has been going on since 1999. If we had understood the conspiracy correctly, we would have found a good solution,” researcher Çınar Salih said, “Abdullah Öcalan has been held in aggravated isolation in prison for 23 years. The isolation imposed upon him shows that he has waged a struggle for freedom against international conspirators. Citing a sentence of Abdullah Öcalan that “You should understand me to love me”, Çınar Salih said, “To fail this conspiracy, we must develop the struggle for understanding. We must make the turn to his perspective. We can fail this conspiracy in this way.”