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{{Infobox Person |
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'''Abdullah "Apo" Öcalan''' (born April 4, 1948) is a [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] leader, who in 1978 founded the [[Kurdistan Workers Party]] (PKK).<ref>The New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo, by [[Noam Chomsky]], 1999, p. 59</ref> The PKK is listed as a [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization by [[List of countries and organizations that list the PKK as a terrorist group|a number of states and organizations]], and has been leading an armed campaign inside [[Turkey]] since 1984, with the intent of creating an independent [[Kurdistan|Kurdish state]]. Öcalan has been imprisoned by the Turkish state since 1999 on [[İmralı]] Island in the Turkish [[Sea of Marmara]]. |
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| name = '''Abdullah Öcalan''' |
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| image = Abdullah_%C3%96calan.png |
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| image_size= 235px |
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| caption = |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|04|04|mf=y}} |
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| birth_place = '''[[Kurdistan|Northern Kurdistan]]''' |
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| occupation = |
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| party = '''[[Kurdistan Worker's Party]]''' ('''PKK''') |
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| spouse = |
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}} |
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'''Abdullah "Apo" Öcalan''' (born April 4, 1948) is a [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] leader, who founded the [[Kurdistan Workers Party]] ('''PKK''') in 1978. The [[PKK]] is listed as a [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization by [[List of countries and organizations that list the PKK as a terrorist group|a number of states and organizations]], and has been leading an armed campaign inside [[Turkey]] since 1984, with the intent of creating an independent [[Kurdistan|Kurdish state]]. Öcalan has been imprisoned by the [[Turkey|Turkish State]] since 1999 on [[İmralı]] Island in the Turkish [[Sea of Marmara]]. <ref>[http://www.roj.tv Roj TV]</ref> |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Abdullah Öcalan was born in [[Ömerli, Halfeti|Ömerli]] |
Abdullah Öcalan was born in [[Ömerli, Halfeti|Ömerli]] a village in [[Halfeti]], [[Şanlıurfa Province]], in [[Turkish Kurdistan|Eastern Turkey]]. <ref>[http://www.pukmedia.com PUK Media]</ref> |
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After graduating from a vocational high school in [[Ankara]] ({{lang-tr|Ankara Tapu-Kadastro Meslek Lisesi}}), Öcalan entered the [[Diyarbakir|Amed]] Title Deeds Office. In an unusual turn of events, he was <ref>[http://www.theotheriraq.com Kurdistan: The Other Iraq]</ref>relocated one month later to [[Bakırköy]], [[Istanbul]]. Later, he entered [[Istanbul University|Istanbul Law Faculty]] but transferred after the first year to [[Ankara University]] to study political science. |
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His return to [[Ankara]] (normally impossible given his <ref>[http://www.krg.org Kurdistan Regional Government]</ref>condition students can only transfer between like departments, otherwise the student must retake the university entrance exam. Moreover, Öcalan was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Finance, despite being ineligible due to his age, and the <ref>[http://mesopotamiatv.ca Mesopotamia TV in Canada]</ref>fact that he had participated in political demonstrations. He had also been tried and acquitted by a [[martial law]] court. The public prosecutor had asked for the harshest possible sentence was facilitated by the state in order to divide <ref>[http://www.kncna.org/docs/main.asp Kurdish National Congress of North America]</ref>a militant group, Dev-Genç. President [[Süleyman Demirel]] later regretted this decision, since the '''[[PKK]]''' was to become a much greater threat to the state than Dev-Genç. |
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After graduating from a vocational high school in Ankara ({{lang-tr|Ankara Tapu-Kadastro Meslek Lisesi}}), Öcalan entered the Diyarbakir Title Deeds Office. In an unusual turn of events, he was relocated one month later to [[Bakırköy]], Istanbul. Later, he entered [[Istanbul University|Istanbul Law Faculty]] but transferred after the first year to [[Ankara University]] to study political science.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-513250 |
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By 1973, Öcalan had organized APOCU's, a Maoist group that sought a socialist revolution in [[Turkey]]. In 1978, in the midst of the right- and left-wing conflicts which culminated in the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état]], <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/YezidinKurd Kurdish YouTube Channel]</ref>'''Abdullah Öcalan''' founded the [[PKK]], and launched a war against [[Turkey]] in order to set up an independent [[Kurdistan|Kurdish state]]. |
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|accessdate=2008-12-22 |
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Journalists [[Uğur Mumcu]] and Avni Özgürel allege that Öcalan and his first wife Kesire whom he married on 24 May 1978, are members of the [[National Intelligence Organization]] (MİT). |
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|title=Too many questions, but not enough answers |
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Abdullah Öcalan has an elder brother, [[Osman Ocalan|Osman]], who was a PKK leader until defecting with several others to establish the Patriotic and Democratic Party of Kurdistan. Öcalan is linked to [[Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide]]. |
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|publisher=[[Hürriyet]] |
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|date=1999-06-08 |
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|work=[[Turkish Daily News]] |
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|first=Fehmi |
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|last=Koru |
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|authorlink=Fehmi Koru |
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}}</ref> |
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His return to Ankara (normally impossible given his condition<ref group=notes>Normally, students can only transfer between like departments, otherwise the student must retake the university entrance exam. Moreover, Öcalan was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Finance, despite being ineligible due to his age, and the fact that he had participated in political demonstrations. He had also been tried and acquitted by a [[martial law]] court. The public prosecutor had asked for the harshest possible sentence.</ref>) was facilitated by the state in order to divide a militant group, Dev-Genç. President [[Süleyman Demirel]] later regretted this decision, since the PKK was to become a much greater threat to the state than Dev-Genç.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber.asp?id=13608 |
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|accessdate=2009-01-04 |
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|title=‘Pilot Necati’ sivil istihbaratçıymış |
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|work=[[Taraf]] |
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|first=Nevzat |
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|last=Cicek |
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|date=2008-07-31 |
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|language=Turkish |
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|quote=Abdullah Öcalan’ın İstanbul’dan Ankara’ya gelmesine keşke izin verilmeseydi. O zamanlar Dev-Genç’i bölmek için böyle bir yol izlendi... Kürt gençlerini Marksistler’in elinden kurtarmak ve Dev-Genç’in bölünmesi hedeflendi. Bunda başarılı olundu olunmasına ama Abdullah Öcalan yağdan kıl çeker gibi kaydı gitti. Keşke Tuzluçayır’da öldürülseydi! |
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}}</ref> |
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By 1973, Öcalan had organized APOCU's, a Maoist group that sought a socialist revolution in Turkey.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} In 1978, in the midst of the right- and left-wing conflicts which culminated in the [[1980 Turkish coup d'état]], Abdullah Öcalan founded the [[PKK]], and launched a war against Turkey in order to set up an independent Kurdish state.<ref name=BIRTH /><ref name="cnn-apology">{{cite news|url=http://cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9905/31/ocalan.02/|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20020206141642/http://cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9905/31/ocalan.02/|archivedate=2002-02-06|title=Kurdish leader Ocalan apologizes during trial|author=|publisher=CNN|date=1999-05-31|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> |
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Journalists [[Uğur Mumcu]] and Avni Özgürel allege that Öcalan and his first wife Kesire (not of Kurdish descent), whom he married on 24 May 1978, are members of the [[National Intelligence Organization]] (MİT).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=161191 |
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|accessdate=2008-12-13 |
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|title=Wolf in the fold: agents as journalists |
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|date=2008-12-14 |
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|first=Ercan |
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|last=Yavuz |
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|work=Sunday's Zaman |
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}}</ref> |
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Kesire's father, Ali Yıldırım, was allegedly a MİT member, too. Öcalan's pilot, Necati Kaya, was also a member of the MİT.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2008/07/27/haber,C914C4AAA7BD444986DAC26DCD7BAA69.html |
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|accessdate=2008-12-19 |
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|title=PKK-MİT ilişkisini yazamadan öldürüldü |
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|date=2008-07-27 |
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|first=Zulfikar Ali |
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|last=Aydin |
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|work=Sabah |
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|language=Turkish |
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}}</ref> |
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Abdullah Öcalan has an elder brother, [[Osman Ocalan|Osman]], who was a PKK leader until defecting with several others to establish the Patriotic and Democratic Party of Kurdistan.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.chris-kutschera.com/A/pkk_dissidents.htm |
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|accessdate=2008-12-22 |
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|month=July |
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|year=2005 |
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|authorlink=Chris Kutschera |
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|first=Chris |
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|last=Kutschera |
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|title=PKK dissidents accuse Abdullah Ocalan |
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|work=The Middle East Magazine |
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}}</ref> |
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Öcalan is linked to [[Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide]].<ref name="Öcalan's letter to Kocharian">[http://www.cilicia.com/armo10i_kurdistan.html Öcalan's letter to Kocharian]</ref> |
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== Turkey-PKK conflict == |
== Turkey-PKK conflict == |
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In 1984 the PKK initiated a campaign of armed conflict comprising attacks against government forces in [[Turkey]] in order to create an independent '''[[Kurdistan|Kurdish state]]'''. |
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{{Main|Turkey–Kurdistan Workers Party conflict}} |
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PKK soon acquired a reputation as an effective force for [[Kurdish People|Kurdish]] rights, and also for social justice within the Kurdish communities Its violent methods have caused [[United States]], [[European Union]], [[NATO]], [[Syria]], [[Australia]], [[Turkey]], and [[List of states listing the Kurdistan Workers Party as a terrorist group|some others]] to include the PKK on their lists of terrorist organizations. |
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In 1984 the PKK initiated a campaign of armed conflict comprising attacks against government forces<ref name=MFA>[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)]], [http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/mfa-t-pkk-s.htm The Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK)], [[Federation of American Scientists]]</ref><ref>[http://www.hrw.org/en/news/1998/11/20/letter-italian-prime-minister-massimo-dalema Letter to Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema], [[Human Rights Watch]], November 21, 1998</ref><ref name=SECURITY>[http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/turkey/turktoc.htm Turkey: No security without human rights] Amnesty International, October 1996</ref><ref name=REPORT>[http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/18-2pdfs/new152RodopluTurkey.pdf Special Report: Terrorism in Turkey] Ulkumen Rodophu, Jeffrey Arnold and Gurkan Ersoy, February 6, 2004</ref> in [[Turkey]] in order to create an independent Kurdish state. |
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PKK soon acquired a reputation as an effective force for Kurdish rights, and also for social justice within the Kurdish communities{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}. Its violent methods have caused [[United States]], [[European Union]], [[NATO]], [[Syria]], [[Australia]], [[Turkey]], and [[List of states listing the Kurdistan Workers Party as a terrorist group|some others]] to include the PKK on their lists of terrorist organizations.<ref name=FTO>[http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/9014.htm Foreign Terrorist Organizations] [[U.S. Department of State]], March 27, 2002</ref><ref name=TERROR>[http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/mfa-t-pkk.htm PKK & TERRORISM: A Report on the PKK and Terrorism]</ref><ref name=EU&S>[http://web.archive.org/web/20020209094227/http://www.ict.org.il/articles/syria-turkey.htm Turco-Syrian Treaty], October 20, 1998</ref> |
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==Capture and trial== |
==Capture and trial== |
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[[Image:Cypruspassportofocalan.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Turkish Government alleged that Öcalan was using a [[Cyprus|Cypriot]] [[passport]] and released this photo as evidence. The claim was rejected as propaganda by the Republic of Cyprus |
[[Image:Cypruspassportofocalan.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Turkish Government alleged that Öcalan was using a [[Cyprus|Cypriot]] [[passport]] and released this photo as evidence. The claim was rejected as propaganda by the Republic of Cyprus]]. |
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[[Image:Pkk supporters london april 2003.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Öcalan supporters in London, April 2003]] |
[[Image:Pkk supporters london april 2003 (square).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Öcalan supporters in London, April 2003]] |
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Until 1998 Öcalan was based in Syria. As the situation deteriorated in Turkey, the Turkish government openly threatened Syria over its support for the PKK. As a result of this, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, but did not turn him over to the Turkish authorities. |
Until 1998 Öcalan was based in [[Syrian Kurdistan|Syria]]. As the situation deteriorated in [[Turkey]][, the Turkish government openly threatened Syria over its support for the [[PKK]]. As a result of this, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, but did not turn him over to the Turkish authorities. |
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Öcalan went to [[Russia]] first and from there moved to various countries, including [[Italy]] and [[Greece]]. In 1998 the Turkish government requested the extradition of Öcalan from Italy. He was at that time defended by the high-profile German attorney, [[Britta Böhler]], who argued that he fought a legitimate struggle against the oppression of ethnic [[Kurds]]. He was <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_6AohCks2w Abdullah Ocalan]</ref>captured in [[Kenya]] on February 15, 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to [[Nairobi]] international airport, in an operation by the [[National Intelligence Organization|Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı]] with debatable help of [[CIA]]. |
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[[Image:PKK Members Kurdistan.jpg|thumb|left|200px|'''[[PKK]]''' Guerillas in '''Qandil Mountain''' ('''[[South Kurdistan|Southern Kurdistan]]''')]] |
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Öcalan went to [[Russia]] first and from there moved to various countries, including [[Italy]] and [[Greece]]. In 1998 the Turkish government requested the extradition of Öcalan from Italy. He was at that time defended by the high-profile German attorney, [[Britta Böhler]], who argued that he fought a legitimate struggle against the oppression of ethnic Kurds. He was captured in [[Kenya]] on February 15, 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to [[Nairobi]] international airport, in an operation by the [[National Intelligence Organization|Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı]] with debatable help of [[CIA]].<ref name="nytimes-capture">{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E3D8143DF933A15751C0A96F958260|title=U.S. Helped Turkey Find and Capture Kurd Rebel|work=[[New York Times]]|author=Weiner, Tim |date=1999-02-20|accessdate=2007-12-15}}</ref> The Greek consul who harbored him, George Costoulas, said that his life was in danger after the operation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sabah.com.tr/2007/07/17/haber,025EFB746B684ED8B16B1759BE71DE6F.html |
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Speaking to [[Can Dündar]] on [[NTV Turkey]], Deputy Undersecretary of the [[Turkish]] [[National Intelligence Agency]], Cevat Öneş, said that Öcalan impeded American aspirations of establishing a separate '''[[Kurdistan|Kurdish state]]''' so he was handed to the Turkish authorities, who then flew him back to Turkey for trial. His capture led thousands of protesting [[Kurds]] to seize Greek embassies around the world. |
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|accessdate=2008-12-18 |
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After his capture Öcalan was held under solitary confinement as the only prisoner on the [[İmralı]] Island in the [[Turkish]] [[Sea of Marmara]]. Despite the fact that the other prisoners formerly at [[İmralı]] were transferred to other prisons, there were still over 1,000 [[Turkish]] military personnel stationed there guarding him. He was sentenced to death, but this sentence was commuted to life-long aggravated imprisonment when the [[death penalty]] was abolished in [[Turkey]] in August 2002. |
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|title=Türkiye Öcalan için Kenya'ya para verdi |
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|date=2007-07-17 |
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|work=Sabah |
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|language=Turkish |
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|first=Ferhat |
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|last=Ünlü |
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}}</ref> |
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Speaking to [[Can Dündar]] on [[NTV Turkey]], Deputy Undersecretary of the Turkish [[National Intelligence Agency]], Cevat Öneş, said that Öcalan impeded American aspirations of establishing a separate Kurdish state so he was handed to the Turkish authorities, who then flew him back to Turkey for trial.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://haber.vatanim.com.tr/haberdetay.asp?detay=Kurt_sorununun_cozumu_teroru_bitirir_203724_1&Newsid=203724 |
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|accessdate=2008-10-15 |
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|title=Öcalan bağımsız devlete engeldi |
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|date=2008-10-15 |
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|work=[[Vatan]] |
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|quote=Öcalan yakalandığında ABD, bağımsız bir devlet kurma isteğindeydi. Öcalan, konumu itibariyle, araç olma işlevi bakımından buna engel bir isimdi. ABD bölgede yeni bir Kürt devleti kurabilmek için Öcalan’ı Türkiye’ye teslim etti. |
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|language=Turkish |
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}}</ref> His capture led thousands of protesting Kurds to seize Greek embassies around the world.<ref name=PROTESTS>[http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9902/17/ocalan.protest.01/ Kurds seize embassies, wage violent protests across Europe] CNN.com, February 17, 1999</ref><ref name=PROTESTS-ATHENS>[[Yannis Kontos]], [http://www.akakurdistan.com/kurds/stories/kontos/ Kurd Akar Sehard Azir, 33, sets himself on fire during a demonstration outside the Greek parliament in central Athens,Greece on Monday, February 15, 1999]. ''Photostory'', July, 1999</ref> During the flight from Kenya to Turkey, a video recorded by [[Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı]] officers. Ocalan stated that his mother is Turkish origin also and he is ready to serve government in any way.<ref name="video">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU3TOMoBmnw Apo'nun yakalanisi] Youtube.com, March 03, 2009</ref> |
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After his capture Öcalan was held under solitary confinement as the only prisoner on the [[İmralı]] Island in the Turkish [[Sea of Marmara]]. Despite the fact that the other prisoners formerly at [[İmralı]] were transferred to other prisons, there were still over 1,000 Turkish military personnel stationed there guarding him. He was sentenced to death, but this sentence was commuted to life-long aggravated imprisonment when the [[death penalty]] was abolished in Turkey in August 2002.<ref name="bbcnews-verdict">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/380845.stm|title=Text of the Ocalan verdict|author=|work=[[BBC News]]|date=29 June 1999|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> No one has been executed in Turkey since 1984.<ref name="cnn-excecutiondelay">{{cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/01/12/ocalan.01/|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060526031932/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/01/12/ocalan.01/|archivedate=2006-05-26|title=Turkey delays execution of Kurdish rebel leader Ocalan|publisher=CNN|date=January 12, 2000|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> The [[Kurdish Human Rights Project]] (KHRP) may have aided this case's decision.<ref name="KHRP">{{cite web|url=http://www.khrp.org|title=Kurdish Human Rights Project}}</ref>{{Nonspecific|date=October 2008}} |
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In November 2009 the Turkish authorities announced that he would be moving to a new prison on the island and that they were ending his solitary confinement by transferring several other PKK prisoners to İmralı, and that Öcalan would be able to see them for ten hours a week. They began building the new prison after the Council of Europe's [[Committee for the Prevention of Torture]] visited the island and objected to the conditions in which he was being held. |
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<ref>{{cite news |
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|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Company-at-last-for-Kurdish.5833050.jp |
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|accessdate=2009-11-27 |
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|title=Company at last for Kurdish inmate alone for ten years |
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|date=2009-11-18 |
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|work=The Scotsman |
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|language=English |
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|first=Ibon |
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|last=Villelabeitia |
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}}</ref> |
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<ref>{{cite news |
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|url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2009/11/10/feature-02 |
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|accessdate=2009-11-27 |
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|title=CoTurkey building new prison for PKK members |
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|date=2009-11-10 |
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|work=Southeast European Times |
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|language=English |
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|first=Esra |
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|last=Erduran |
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}}</ref> |
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In 2005, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] ruled that Turkey had violated articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights by granting Öcalan no effective remedy to appeal his arrest and sentencing him to death without a fair trial.<ref>[http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=773602&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649 ECHR Grand Chamber judgment in case 46221/99]</ref> |
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In November 2009 the [[Turkish]] authorities announced that he would be moving to a new prison on the island and that they were ending his solitary confinement by transferring several other [[PKK]] prisoners to İmralı, and that Öcalan would be able to see them for ten hours a week. They began building the new prison after the Council of Europe's [[Committee for the Prevention of Torture]] visited the island and objected to the conditions in which he was being held. |
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In 2005, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] ruled that [[Turkey]] had violated articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights by granting Öcalan no effective remedy to appeal his arrest and sentencing him to death without a fair trial. |
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== Proposal for political solution == |
== Proposal for political solution == |
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Contradicting his pre-capture policy of the use of power, Öcalan has, since his arrest in 1999, campaigned for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict inside the borders of [[Turkish Kurdistan|Turkey]]. in which he asks for a border free confederation between the '''[[Turkish Kurdistan|Kurdish regions of Turkey]]''' (called "Northern Kurdistan" by Kurdish nationalists. Since his incarceration he has significantly changed his ideology, reading [[Western world|Western]] [[social theorist]]s like [[Murray Bookchin]], [[Immanuel Wallerstein]], [[Fernand Braudel]] on the history of pre-capitalist [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Abrahamic religions]]. |
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[[Image:PKK.svg|thumb|right|180px|Current '''[[PKK]]''' flag]] |
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Contradicting his pre-capture policy of the use of power, Öcalan has, since his arrest in 1999, campaigned for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict inside the borders of Turkey.<ref name=PEACEFUL>[http://www.freedom-for-ocalan.com/english/download/REPORT%20AND%20RECOMMENDATIONS%20ON%20THE%20KURDISH%20QUESTION%20IN%20TURKEY,%20%20BY%20THE%20INTERNATIONAL%20%20DELEGATION%20OF%20HUMAN%20RIGHTS%20LAWYERS_%20JANUARY%202005.pdf REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE KURDISH QUESTION IN TURKEY] by the international delegation of human rights lawyers, January 1997</ref><ref name=DIPLOMACY>[http://www.etext.org/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit/Kurdistan/PKK.ERNK.ARGK/ocalan-interview-january-1999.txt Interview with Abdullah Ocalan "Our First Priority Is Diplomacy"] ''Middle East Insight'' magazine, January 1999</ref><ref name=MYTH>[http://chris-kutschera.com/A/Ocalan%20myth.htm Kurdistan Turkey: Abdullah Ocalan, The End of a Myth?] ''The Middle East'' magazine, February 2000</ref><ref name=PLAN>[http://www.xs4all.nl/~kicadam/pers/oud/propose.html Abdullah Öcalan proposes 7-point peace plan] Kurdistan Informatie Centrum Nederland</ref><ref name=TEK>van Bruinessen, Martin. [http://www.let.uu.nl/~martin.vanbruinessen/personal/publications/Kurds_after_capture_Ocalan.pdf Turkey, Europe and the Kurds after the capture of Abdullah Öcalan] 1999</ref> Öcalan called for the foundation of a "Truth and Justice Commission" by Kurdish institutions in order to investigate "[[war crime]]s" committed by PKK and Turkish security forces and a parallel structure began functioning in May 2006.<ref name=CONFEDERALISM>[http://www.kurdistan-post.org/News-file-article-sid-10965.html Öldürülen imam ve 10 korucunun itibarı iade edildi], ''ANF News Agency'', May 30, 2006.</ref> In March 2005, Abdullah Öcalan released the ''Declaration of Democratic Confederalism in Kurdistan''<ref name=KONFEDERALIZM>{{cite news|url=http://webarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/2005/04/04/622724.asp |
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Öcalan had his lawyer, Ibrahim Bilmez, release a statement 28 September 2006, calling on the PKK to declare a ceasefire and seek peace with Turkey. Öcalan's statement said, "The PKK should not use weapons unless it is attacked with the aim of annihilation," and that it is "very important to build a democratic union between [[Turks]] and ''[[Kurds]]'''. With this process, the way to democratic dialogue will be also opened". |
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|accessdate=2009-01-09 |
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|title=PKK ilk adına döndü |
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|work=[[Hürriyet]] |
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|date=2009-01-09 |
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|language=Turkish |
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}}</ref> in which he asks for a border free confederation between the Kurdish regions of Turkey (called "Northwest Kurdistan" by Kurdish nationalists<ref name=KL>[http://www.kurdishlibrary.org/Kurdish_Library/SvenskaKB/Organisations_SWE/PKK95_Program_Tur.html PKK Program (1995)] Kurdish Library, January 24, 1995</ref>), Syria ("Small part of South Kurdistan"), Iraq ("South Kurdistan"), and Iran ("East Kurdistan"). In this zone, three bodies of law would be implemented: EU law, Turkish/Syrian/Iraqi/Iranian law and Kurdish law. This perspective was included in PKK programme following the "Refoundation Congress" in April 2005.<ref name=REFOUNDATION>[http://www.pkk-info.com/tr/eskisite/pkktarihi/PKK.ilk.bildirgesi.html PKK Yeniden İnşa Bildirgesi] PKK web site, April 20, 2005</ref> |
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Since his incarceration he has significantly changed his ideology, reading [[Western world|Western]] [[social theorist]]s like [[Murray Bookchin]], [[Immanuel Wallerstein]], [[Fernand Braudel]],<ref name=DES>[http://www.pwdnerin.com/modules.php?name=Content7&pa=showpage&pid=97 Tarihli Görüşme Notları] PWD-Kurdistan, March 16, 2005</ref> fashioned his ideal society as "Democratic Confederalism" and refers to [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] as "a prophet".<ref name=PROPHET>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070928091938/http://www.firatnews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9119 Öcalan: Diyarbakır olayları boşanmanın ilanıdır] ANF News Agency, May 20, 2006</ref> He also wrote books<ref name=BOOKS>{{cite web|url=http://www.abdullah-ocalan.com/index1.htm|title=abdullah-ocalan.com}}</ref> and articles<ref name=MEZOPOTAMYA>{{cite web|url=http://www.denge-mezopotamya.com/besataybet/news_detail.asp?newsid=-769564977&pg=1|title=Rayedarên tirk mafên Rêberê KCK'ê Abdullah Ocalan gasp dikin |
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|publisher=|author=|date=|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> on the history of pre-capitalist [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Abrahamic religions]]. |
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Öcalan had his lawyer, Ibrahim Bilmez,<ref name=LAWYER>[http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-34/1159461581252960.xml&storylist=international Kurdish leader calls for cease-fire] NewsFlash</ref> release a statement 28 September 2006, calling on the PKK to declare a ceasefire and seek peace with Turkey. Öcalan's statement said, "The PKK should not use weapons unless it is attacked with the aim of annihilation," and that it is "very important to build a democratic union between Turks and Kurds. With this process, the way to democratic dialogue will be also opened".<ref name=CEASE>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5389746.stm Kurdish rebel boss in truce plea], ''[[BBC News]]''</ref> |
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==Current situation== |
==Current situation== |
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In April 2009, the lawyer for [[Nelson Mandela]] visited [[Turkey]] and spoke publicly of Nelson Mandela's support for the [[Kurdish people]]'s Freedom Struggle. Essa Moosa, visiting Turkey on official business, denounced the criminalisation of the [[Kurdish People|Kurdish]] Freedom Struggle and compared '''Abdullah Ocalan''' to Nelson Mandela. Expressing Nelson Mandela's support for the [[Kurdish People|Kurdish]] Freedom Struggle he said,"Both Mandela and Öcalan have struggled for their people!" He added that they had been arrested in similar circumstances and held on island prisons and noted that the Kurdish leader was even more isolated than Nelson Mandela had been. |
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In 2007, lawyers acting for Öcalan, claimed to have produced results from laboratory tests on his hair which appeared to show high levels of toxic metals. The Turkish government has sent a medical team to the imprisoned Kurdish separatist leader amid these claims and the tests found no indication of toxins or abnormalities. on March 6, 2008 the [[Committee for the Prevention of Torture]] declared that they didn't find any proof for an intoxication of '''Abdullah Öcalan'''. |
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In April 2009, the lawyer for [[Nelson Mandela]] visited Turkey and spoke publicly of Nelson Mandela's support for the Kurdish people's Freedom Struggle. Essa Moosa, visiting Turkey on official business, denounced the criminalisation of the Kurdish Freedom Struggle and compared Abdullah Ocalan to Nelson Mandela. Expressing Nelson Mandela's support for the Kurdish Freedom Struggle he said,"Both Mandela and Öcalan have struggled for their people!" He added that they had been arrested in similar circumstances and held on island prisons and noted that the Kurdish leader was even more isolated than Nelson Mandela had been. <ref>[http://www.zimbio.com/World+Politics/articles/3684/Mandela+Ocalan+Both+Jailed+Fighting+Freedom Mandela and Ocalan. Both Jailed for Fighting for the Freedom of their People!]</ref> |
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In December 2008, Öcalan sued Greece for 20,100 Euros in compensation for their negligence is his getting captured; his indictment specifically stated that Athens had assured him of protection. The Greek government previously rejected Turkey's criticism on support of Öcalan. Turkey also blamed Greece for supporting PKK insurgents. Greece claimed that it acted humanely and denies it has helped the rebels. Greece later granted asylum to two of Öcalan's aides. |
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In 2007, lawyers acting for Öcalan, claimed to have produced results from laboratory tests on his hair which appeared to show high levels of toxic metals. The Turkish government has sent a medical team to the imprisoned Kurdish separatist leader amid these claims and the tests found no indication of toxins or abnormalities.<ref>[http://www.haberx.com/n/1003510/adli-tip-ocalandan-zehir-cikmadi.htm A medical report says "no toxins"], ''HaberX'.</ref><ref name="bbcnews-medics">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6422351.stm|title=Turkish medics to examine Ocalan|work=[[BBC News]]|author=Rainsford, Sarah |date=6 March 2007|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> However, according to CPIT, some elements of toxins have been found but they have been attributed to the climate conditions of the Imrali Island which Ocalan is captivated. A ministry statement suggested the lawyers were trying to revive international interest in their client after the Council of Europe ruled the previous month that the rebel leader was not entitled to a retrial.<ref name="bbcnews-poinsoning">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6410273.stm|title=Inquiry into Ocalan 'poisoning'|work=[[BBC News]]|author=Rainsford, Sarah |date=1 March 2007|accessdate=2008-01-11}}</ref> |
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At 6. March 2008 the [[Committee for the Prevention of Torture]] declared that they didn't find any proof for an intoxication of Abdullah Öcalan.<ref name="CPT Declaration">{{cite web|url=http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/tur/2008-13-inf-addendum-eng.pdf|format=PDF|title=Addendum to the report on the visit to Turkey carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)|publisher=[[Committee for the Prevention of Torture|CPT]]|author=|date=6 March 2008|accessdate=2008-03-06}}</ref> |
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In 2008, prosecutors investigating on the nationalist [[Ergenekon network]], accused of terrorism and of conspiracy to destabilize the nation, were interested in Öcalan's contacts while in prison. Öcalan himself asked to be heard as a witness in this case.<ref name=Zaman_13>[http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=150071 Ergenekon indictment reopens gendarmerie major’s murder case], ''[[Today's Zaman]]'', 13 August 2008</ref> A retired intelligence officer, Bülent Orakoğlu, went so far as to accuse him of membership in the network.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zaman.com.tr/haber.do?haberno=648841&title=bpkknin-elebasisi-ergenekon-uyesiydib |
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|accessdate=2008-10-10 |
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|title=PKK'nın elebaşısı Ergenekon üyesiydi |
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|date=2008-10-10 |
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|work=Zaman |
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|language=Turkish |
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|first=Emre |
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|last=Soncan |
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}}</ref> |
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In December 2008, Öcalan sued Greece for 20,100 Euros in compensation for their negligence is his getting captured; his indictment specifically stated that Athens had assured him of protection. The Greek government previously rejected Turkey's criticism on support of Öcalan. Turkey also blamed Greece for supporting PKK insurgents. Greece claimed that it acted humanely and denies it has helped the rebels. Greece later granted asylum to two of Öcalan's aides.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/world/10511159.asp?gid=244 |
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|accessdate=2008-12-05 |
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|title=Terrorist PKK leader Ocalan sues Greece over Turkish capture |
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|date=2008-12-05 |
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|work=Hurriyet English |
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}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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*[[PJAK]], Iranian Kurdish militant group inspired by the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan |
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{{wikiquotepar|Abdullah Öcalan}} |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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Abdullah Ocalan is the author of more than 40 books, four of which were written in prison. Many of the notes taken from his weekly meetings with his lawyers have been edited and published, notably: |
Abdullah Ocalan is the author of more than 40 books, four of which were written in prison. Many of the notes taken from his weekly meetings with his lawyers have been edited and published, notably: |
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* ''Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilisation'' (2007) ISBN 0745326161 |
* ''Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilisation'' (2007) ISBN 0745326161 |
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* ''Defending a civilisation'' |
* ''Defending a civilisation'' |
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* ''Sumer rahip devletlerinden demokratik uygarliga'' volumes 1 and 2 |
* ''Sumer rahip devletlerinden demokratik uygarliga'' volumes 1 and 2 |
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*[http://www.geocities.com/kurdifi/ocelan.html Translation of his 1999 defense in court] |
*[http://www.geocities.com/kurdifi/ocelan.html Translation of his 1999 defense in court] |
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==Further reading== |
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* Özcan, Ali Kemal (2005). ''Turkey's Kurds: A Theoretical Analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan''. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415366-87-9. |
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== Footnotes == |
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==See also== |
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*[[PJAK]], Kurdish militant group inspired by the philosophy of '''Abdullah Öcalan''' in [[Iranian Kurdistan|Iran]] |
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{{reflist|group=notes}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Kurdistan]] |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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[[Category:Yazidi]] |
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== Further reading == |
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* Özcan, Ali Kemal (2005). ''Turkey's Kurds: A Theoretical Analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan''. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415366-87-9. |
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==External links== |
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*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/280453.stm Special report: The Ocalan file], ''[[BBC News]]'', November 26, 1999. |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocalan, Abdullah}} |
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[[Category:LGBT]] |
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[[Category:Kurdish Jews]] |
[[Category:Kurdish Jews]] |
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[[Category:Terrorism]] |
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[[Category:Kurdish politicians]] |
[[Category:Kurdish politicians]] |
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[[Category:1948 births]] |
[[Category:1948 births]] |
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[[Category:European Court of Human Rights cases decided by the Grand Chamber]] |
[[Category:European Court of Human Rights cases decided by the Grand Chamber]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:People imprisoned on charges of terrorism]] |
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[[Category:Secession in Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Terrorism in Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Turkey]] |
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[[ar:عبد الله أوجلان]] |
[[ar:عبد الله أوجلان]] |
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[[bg:Абдула Йоджалан]] |
[[bg:Абдула Йоджалан]] |
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Revision as of 03:40, 8 April 2010
Abdullah Öcalan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 4, 1948 |
| Political party | Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) |
Abdullah "Apo" Öcalan (born April 4, 1948) is a Kurdish leader, who founded the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1978. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by a number of states and organizations, and has been leading an armed campaign inside Turkey since 1984, with the intent of creating an independent Kurdish state. Öcalan has been imprisoned by the Turkish State since 1999 on İmralı Island in the Turkish Sea of Marmara. [1]
Biography
Abdullah Öcalan was born in Ömerli a village in Halfeti, Şanlıurfa Province, in Eastern Turkey. [2] After graduating from a vocational high school in Ankara (Turkish: Ankara Tapu-Kadastro Meslek Lisesi), Öcalan entered the Amed Title Deeds Office. In an unusual turn of events, he was [3]relocated one month later to Bakırköy, Istanbul. Later, he entered Istanbul Law Faculty but transferred after the first year to Ankara University to study political science. His return to Ankara (normally impossible given his [4]condition students can only transfer between like departments, otherwise the student must retake the university entrance exam. Moreover, Öcalan was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Finance, despite being ineligible due to his age, and the [5]fact that he had participated in political demonstrations. He had also been tried and acquitted by a martial law court. The public prosecutor had asked for the harshest possible sentence was facilitated by the state in order to divide [6]a militant group, Dev-Genç. President Süleyman Demirel later regretted this decision, since the PKK was to become a much greater threat to the state than Dev-Genç. By 1973, Öcalan had organized APOCU's, a Maoist group that sought a socialist revolution in Turkey. In 1978, in the midst of the right- and left-wing conflicts which culminated in the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, [7]Abdullah Öcalan founded the PKK, and launched a war against Turkey in order to set up an independent Kurdish state. Journalists Uğur Mumcu and Avni Özgürel allege that Öcalan and his first wife Kesire whom he married on 24 May 1978, are members of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Abdullah Öcalan has an elder brother, Osman, who was a PKK leader until defecting with several others to establish the Patriotic and Democratic Party of Kurdistan. Öcalan is linked to Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Turkey-PKK conflict
In 1984 the PKK initiated a campaign of armed conflict comprising attacks against government forces in Turkey in order to create an independent Kurdish state. PKK soon acquired a reputation as an effective force for Kurdish rights, and also for social justice within the Kurdish communities Its violent methods have caused United States, European Union, NATO, Syria, Australia, Turkey, and some others to include the PKK on their lists of terrorist organizations.
Capture and trial
.
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Until 1998 Öcalan was based in Syria. As the situation deteriorated in Turkey[, the Turkish government openly threatened Syria over its support for the PKK. As a result of this, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, but did not turn him over to the Turkish authorities. Öcalan went to Russia first and from there moved to various countries, including Italy and Greece. In 1998 the Turkish government requested the extradition of Öcalan from Italy. He was at that time defended by the high-profile German attorney, Britta Böhler, who argued that he fought a legitimate struggle against the oppression of ethnic Kurds. He was [8]captured in Kenya on February 15, 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to Nairobi international airport, in an operation by the Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı with debatable help of CIA.
Speaking to Can Dündar on NTV Turkey, Deputy Undersecretary of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency, Cevat Öneş, said that Öcalan impeded American aspirations of establishing a separate Kurdish state so he was handed to the Turkish authorities, who then flew him back to Turkey for trial. His capture led thousands of protesting Kurds to seize Greek embassies around the world. After his capture Öcalan was held under solitary confinement as the only prisoner on the İmralı Island in the Turkish Sea of Marmara. Despite the fact that the other prisoners formerly at İmralı were transferred to other prisons, there were still over 1,000 Turkish military personnel stationed there guarding him. He was sentenced to death, but this sentence was commuted to life-long aggravated imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished in Turkey in August 2002.
In November 2009 the Turkish authorities announced that he would be moving to a new prison on the island and that they were ending his solitary confinement by transferring several other PKK prisoners to İmralı, and that Öcalan would be able to see them for ten hours a week. They began building the new prison after the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture visited the island and objected to the conditions in which he was being held. In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Turkey had violated articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights by granting Öcalan no effective remedy to appeal his arrest and sentencing him to death without a fair trial.
Proposal for political solution
Contradicting his pre-capture policy of the use of power, Öcalan has, since his arrest in 1999, campaigned for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict inside the borders of Turkey. in which he asks for a border free confederation between the Kurdish regions of Turkey (called "Northern Kurdistan" by Kurdish nationalists. Since his incarceration he has significantly changed his ideology, reading Western social theorists like Murray Bookchin, Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel on the history of pre-capitalist Mesopotamia and Abrahamic religions.
Öcalan had his lawyer, Ibrahim Bilmez, release a statement 28 September 2006, calling on the PKK to declare a ceasefire and seek peace with Turkey. Öcalan's statement said, "The PKK should not use weapons unless it is attacked with the aim of annihilation," and that it is "very important to build a democratic union between Turks and Kurds'. With this process, the way to democratic dialogue will be also opened".
Current situation
In April 2009, the lawyer for Nelson Mandela visited Turkey and spoke publicly of Nelson Mandela's support for the Kurdish people's Freedom Struggle. Essa Moosa, visiting Turkey on official business, denounced the criminalisation of the Kurdish Freedom Struggle and compared Abdullah Ocalan to Nelson Mandela. Expressing Nelson Mandela's support for the Kurdish Freedom Struggle he said,"Both Mandela and Öcalan have struggled for their people!" He added that they had been arrested in similar circumstances and held on island prisons and noted that the Kurdish leader was even more isolated than Nelson Mandela had been. In 2007, lawyers acting for Öcalan, claimed to have produced results from laboratory tests on his hair which appeared to show high levels of toxic metals. The Turkish government has sent a medical team to the imprisoned Kurdish separatist leader amid these claims and the tests found no indication of toxins or abnormalities. on March 6, 2008 the Committee for the Prevention of Torture declared that they didn't find any proof for an intoxication of Abdullah Öcalan. In December 2008, Öcalan sued Greece for 20,100 Euros in compensation for their negligence is his getting captured; his indictment specifically stated that Athens had assured him of protection. The Greek government previously rejected Turkey's criticism on support of Öcalan. Turkey also blamed Greece for supporting PKK insurgents. Greece claimed that it acted humanely and denies it has helped the rebels. Greece later granted asylum to two of Öcalan's aides.
Bibliography
Abdullah Ocalan is the author of more than 40 books, four of which were written in prison. Many of the notes taken from his weekly meetings with his lawyers have been edited and published, notably:
- Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilisation (2007) ISBN 0745326161
- Defending a civilisation
- Sumer rahip devletlerinden demokratik uygarliga volumes 1 and 2
- Translation of his 1999 defense in court
Further reading
- Özcan, Ali Kemal (2005). Turkey's Kurds: A Theoretical Analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415366-87-9.