The first intervention in the Middle East by global powers led by the United States of America (USA), the hegemonic power of the world system, was the international conspiracy against PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan. The conspiracy, which was put into action through the Middle East calculations of state-level political powers, including the USA, the European Union (EU), Arab countries, Russia and Israel, was aimed at the destruction of Abdullah Ocalan, who refused to cooperate in these plans and took a stance in favor of the people.

 

The destruction plan was put into action with the assassination attack carried out with a ton of explosives on May 6, 1996, near Abdullah Ocalan's house in Damascus. When Abdullah Ocalan, who survived by chance, could not be destroyed, the liquidation plan prepared by the USA, England and Israel and implemented step by step by NATO Gladio was put into effect.

 

The first step of this plan was taken by the USA's political and diplomatic pressure on the Damascus government. Instead of the mountain road, which was his 40-year-old dream, Abdullah Ocalan chose the European road in order to create a peaceful opportunity for human life and freedom and went to Europe on October 9, 1998. As a result of a 130-day "continuous hunt" that started when he stepped into Greece, Abdullah Ocalan was declared "persona non grata" and was crucified, in his own words, and brought to Turkey on February 15, 1999, where he was kidnapped and imprisoned in a specially designed single-person prison on İmralı Island. 

 

CONSPIRACY STEP BY STEP

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held in absolute isolation conditions in İmralı Type F High Security Prison for 25 years, exposed all aspects of the conspiracy in the Athens Defense, which he presented to the Athens High Criminal Court, where he was also tried, and which was later compiled into a book.

 

The developments in the departure of Abdullah Ocalan from Syria, who defined his visit to Europe as "bringing the Kurdish issue to a democratic platform" and evaluated the conspiracy against him as "the beginning of the Third World War", led to the 130-day long hunt after his arrival in Europe. 

 

We compiled the developments, date by date, in bringing it to Turkey.

 

October 1994: The beginning of the intervention in the Middle East and the process leading to the step-by-step weaving of the conspiracy began with US initiatives. Then-US President Bill Clinton visited Syria in October 1994, after 21 years. Although this meeting was dismissed with general statements such as "achieving comprehensive peace in the Middle East", 3 hours of the 4-hour Bill Clinton-Hafez Assad meeting in Damascus was about Abdullah Ocalan, and thus Abdullah Ocalan was targeted as the biggest threat.

 

February 23, 1996: Turkey and Israel reached the level of strategic partnership with a military and training cooperation agreement. Within the scope of this agreement, the circle for Syria was being narrowed by cooperation against Syria.

 

April 9, 1996: The secret meeting held at the White House between Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and US President Bill Clinton was also related to Abdullah Ocalan.

 

May 6, 1996: The first sign of the international conspiracy against Abdullah Ocalan was given with the assassination attack in Damascus. Ton of explosives exploded in the garden next to the house where Abdullah Ocalan was located. Abdullah Ocalan escaped the assassination without being injured. Less than half an hour after the explosion, London-based newspapers announced that Abdullah Ocalan, who survived by chance, had died.

 

May 1997: Turhan Tayan, Minister of Defense of the Necmettin Erbakan government, visited Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria.

 

September 16, 1998: Commander of the Land Forces, General Atilla Ateş, made statements at the Syrian border and demanded the deportation or surrender of Abdullah Ocalan. Following Ateş's statements, an international conspiracy was put into action and pressure began to be put on Syria from many centers.

 

September 17, 1998: Immediately after the Simitis-Clinton agreement, KDP Chair Massoud Barzani was summoned to Ankara and a promise of loyalty to the Ankara process, which also included America and England, was taken from him. Then, they met with YNK Chair Celal Talabani and were sent to Washington. 

On September 17, 1998, the Washington Kurdish Autonomy Agreement was signed between KDP-YNK-USA. The essence of this agreement was the liquidation against the Kurdish freedom struggle and cooperation on Syria. Another agreement reached during the meeting was to reform Iraq on a federal basis.

 

September 30, 1998: Military options for Syria were discussed at the National Security Council (MGK) meeting chaired by President Süleyman Demirel. Demirel threatened military intervention in Syria on October 1. October 3, 1998: NATO launched a comprehensive military exercise in Iskenderun, on the Syrian border. 2,500 US soldiers and personnel also participated in the exercise. This development was interpreted as preparations for a war against Syria. On the occasion of this exercise, American navy warships and advanced missiles were shifted to the Syrian border in the Eastern Mediterranean. At the same time, Israel also deployed military forces on the Golan Heights. In parallel with this, the statements of Land Forces Commander Atilla Ateş and President Demirel targeting Syria and Abdullah Ocalan came.

 

Following these statements, troops were moved to the 618-kilometer Syrian border, extending from Hatay to Şirnex's Cizîr (Cizre) district, and an orange alert, which is a transition to red alert, was given to Amed and Meletî air bases. On the other hand, the USA took a diplomatic initiative with Egypt and Saudi Arabia and asked for pressure to be put on Syria. Thus, the US-Turkey-Israel triple clamp has reached a point where it puts pressure on Syria.

 

EXIT FROM SYRIA

 

Before October 9, 1998: USA-NATO-Israel and Turkey increased the military, political and diplomatic siege on Syria. This pressure reached its peak on October 9, 1998. Syria found it in its interests to bow to these pressures and agree on the PKK issue and forced Abdullah Ocalan to leave the country. Abdullah Ocalan explained this situation in his defense of Athens by saying, "Syrian officials were asking me to leave the country as soon as possible, saying 'Don't stop, go!'"

 

RIDICULOUS PURSUIT

 

October 9, 1998: Abdullah Ocalan departed from Damascus Airport to Athens on a Syrian passenger plane. When the plane landed at Athens Hellinikon Airport, former Greek Minister of Transport and PASOK Deputy Kostas Baduvas, who personally invited Abdullah Ocalan, informed him that everything was prepared in advance and promised to welcome him, was not around. Instead of Baduvas, Savvas Kalenteridis and senior intelligence official Stavrakakis appeared before Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan explains this situation as follows: "Britain, in the person of Baduvas, played a role in my being pulled out of Syria and into the trap of Greece. The invitation of Baduvas, who was raised in England, was put into action as the first step of the USA-Britain-Simitis conspiracy. From now on, wherever I went, relentless pursuit and control would continue by NATO and the USA.” It was decided that Abdullah Ocalan, who applied for asylum, would "leave Greece immediately" before his request was sent to the court. Abdullah Ocalan was taken to Moscow on the same day (October 9) with a special plane prepared by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

FOOT IN MOSCOW

 

October 9, 1998: Abdullah Ocalan, who went to Russia, stated that he was welcomed by Numan Uçar and Russian security personnel and said: "I was first taken to the house of the President of the Liberal Democratic Party, Jirinowski, and then to a chalet. I gave my application for political asylum to the officers next to me.” By this words he was explaining how he received in Moscow, where he stayed for 33 days.

 

October 11, 1998: After Abdullah Ocalan left Syria, intelligence information including crossing points was delivered to Ankara. Then Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Mesut Yılmaz, held a press conference on the subject on October 11, 1998 and said: "As of today, we have learned that Ocalan is in Russia, with the information provided by the intelligence organization of an allied country."

Thereupon, Abdullah Ocalan requested political asylum in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament.

 

November 4, 1998: Duma accepted Abdullah Ocalan's asylum request with 298 votes to 1. The first reaction to this decision of the Duma came from the USA. US State Department Spokesperson James Rubin said in his statement that no one should seek asylum in Abdullah Ocalan.

 

Russian Prime Minister Primakov, who did not recognize the Duma decision about Abdullah Ocalan, gave 9 days and asked Abdullah Ocalan to leave Russia. 

 

EXTRAORDINARY PRESSURE ON ITALY

 

November 12, 1998: Abdullah Ocalan, who crossed from Russia to Italy-Rome with the intervention of Italian Reestablishment Communist Party (PRC) Deputy Ramon Mantovani, was arrested as soon as he landed at Italy Airport. After his arrest, Abdullah Ocalan applied for asylum in Rome.

 

Abdullah Ocalan explained the process he experienced in Italy as follows: “The Italian government was insecure and did not have the power to be decisive. It was treated like a criminal. They took my fingerprints and took my photos. When I claimed my health conditions, they took me to a place where medical interventions could be performed. Meanwhile, I made a written application to the official authorities regarding my request for political asylum. Despite all the negativities and difficulties, Italy took official actions, unlike other countries (Greece and Russia). It was the first and last country to process my asylum request at the government level. Thus, my stay was based on legal assurance. However, in the face of extraordinary pressure on Italy initiated by the USA and later included by the Council of the European Union, the decision on my request for political asylum was delayed.”

 

November 21, 1998: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had a long meeting with then NATO Secretary General Javier Solana to prevent Abdullah Ocalan from being admitted to any country.

 

DECLARED 'PERSONA NON GRATA’

 

November 24, 1998: US President Bill Clinton called Italian President D'Alema on the phone twice and said, "Avoid a historical mistake!". While US State Department Spokesperson James Rubin said, "Ocalan must be extradited to Turkey as soon as possible," the pressure on Italy continued at the European Council level.

 

Explaining that the D'Aleme government put psychological pressure on him to leave the country, Abdullah Ocalan explained the process he experienced there as follows: "The pressures were even more severe than here (Imralı). The Prime Minister also knew what was done. As a result, I had to declare that I could leave the country's borders if a guarantee was given. Thereupon, the government started attempts to find another country in Europe. Meanwhile, the German Federal Government changed the previous arrest warrant against me, which included the obligation of extradition, into an arrest warrant that "does not aim to extradite". Thus, by eliminating the possibility of my being extradited to Germany, another unlawful act taken for political purposes was demonstrated. France made a proposal to Senegal, informing their country that they would not accept it during the negotiations. This suggestion was deemed unserious, and Austrian and Finnish options were discussed. The Finnish Foreign Affairs officials set the condition "if Germany accepts". Since Germany did not accept, Finnish attempts were unsuccessful. Austria also declared that their country could not handle me. The doors of all European countries, especially Italy, Germany and France, were practically closed to me. I was declared 'persona non grata' in Europe."

 

January 16, 1999: Abdullah Ocalan left Italy and arrived in Moscow. PKK Leader Ocalan explained this situation as follows: "Italy's offer, 'Take Ocalan back, let's open the 8 billion dollar loan, which is the first part of the 1998 aid blocked by the IMF', was accepted by Russia." 

Abdullah Ocalan, who went to Russia for the second time, said that they were put in a room and not even let out, and evaluated this situation as being put in an "iron cage".

 

PREPARATION OF THE CROSS AND THE COFFIN

 

January 17, 1999: Russian security officers told Abdullah Ocalan that the government did not want him to stay there and that this instruction was given by Primakov.

 

January 18, 1999: While Russian Ambassador to Ankara Aleksandr Lebedev promised Turkey that "Ocalan will be deported as soon as he is caught", Bulent Ecevit confirmed this situation with his statement to the press on the same day. Abdullah Ocalan evaluated this process as "preparation of the cross or coffin".

 

January 20, 1999: PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan was taken to a village house in Bishkek, the capital of Tajikistan, against his will. PKK Leader explained this situation as follows: “This was a forced abduction. I was held in complete isolation here for 8 days."

 

MOSCOW AFTER BISHKEK

 

January 28, 1999: Abdullah Ocalan was taken back to Moscow on a prepared plane. Abdullah Ocalan, who was threatened by Russian special units here, was tried to be taken back to Damascus. However, Abdullah Ocalan rejected this offer. As the situation became dangerous, Abdullah Ocalan informed Admiral Naksakis that life safety was in danger.

 

January 29, 1999: Abdullah Ocalan, on the private plane brought by retired General Naksakis, landed directly in Athens for the second time, being suspicious of the offers of Russian officials traveling in Leningrad to land in Bucharest.

 

SECOND ARRIVAL TO GREECE

 

January 30, 1999: Greek Foreign Minister Teodoros Pangalos sent a message to Abdullah Ocalan via Naksakis as follows, “Welcome to our country. We want to meet with you. Necessary legal action will be taken. There will be no different approach. In this respect, we want to discuss your situation concretely.” 

Abdullah Ocalan, who accepted the meeting, met Stavrakakis and Kalenteridis again instead of Pangalos.

 

Abdullah Ocalan: “I was trapped. They sent the highest-level intelligence team to the house they invited for a meeting. He said in a threatening tone, 'We will give you until 04:00 in the morning. Otherwise, we will do what we know by force. They took me somewhere by force. I requested asylum once again. However, Stavrakakis did not formalize my request and stated that it would not be accepted. Illegality had become the rule. I was told that I would be sent abroad, but I was not told where I would be sent."

 

OIL NEGOTIATIONS IN DAVOS

 

January 30, 1999: At the World Economic Forum meeting held in Davos, the situation of Abdullah Ocalan was put on the bargaining table between Russian Prime Minister Primakov and US oil companies. In Russia's economic newspaper Kommersant, with its news on "Oil bargaining against APO", it was stated that with the Davos agreement, Kazakh oil would be transferred to Russia; It wrote that Azeri oil will be distributed through Turkey. 

 

EXTRAORDINARY ALARM IN MINSK

 

January 31: Landed at Minsk airport with the initiative of Greece and the prepared plane. On the day Abdullah Ocalan landed at Minsk Airport, a secret decision was taken in Switzerland, and all international airports in Europe were put on alert with a high-level decision not to give landing permission to any plane in which Abdullah Ocalan would be present.

 

THE DUTCH PLANE DID NOT ARRIVE

 

Abdullah Ocalan did not leave the Greek plane because the Dutch plane did not arrive at Minsk Airport on the same day. Since he did not get off the plane despite all the insistence, the plane returned to Athens around 04:00 am in the morning between January 31 and February 1. Due to the control carried out by NATO forces, the plane carrying Abdullah Ocalan was not allowed to land at another airport, even for fuel.

 

EXTRAORDINARY MEETING IN ANKARA

 

February 1, 1999: Pangalos called US Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns and informed him that Abdullah Ocalan, who was held in isolation on Corfu Island in Greece. Later, Abdullah Ocalan was given a guarantee that he would go to South Africa and that his life would be safe.

 

Referring to the negotiated negotiations between international powers while he was held on the island of Corfu, Abdullah Ocalan explained this process as follows: “(..) US State Department Spokesperson James Rubin said, 'Ocalan's plane may have landed in Greece, but he is not there right now. He admits that things are going as planned, saying, "The Greek government, like other governments, does not allow Ocalan to stay there." 

 

Again, according to the Turkish press, on that critical day (February 1), extraordinary meetings were taking place at the Prime Ministry's residence in Ankara. At the residence, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit was meeting with Lieutenant General Yaşar Büyükanıt, Chief of Operations of the General Staff and Military Advisor to the Prime Ministry, who was also the coordinator of operational activities related to me. While the US, Turkish and Greek officials knew where I would be taken, I and my companions did not even know where we would be taken at the intelligence center in Corfu, where we were held in isolation.”

 

GOING TO NAIROBI AT USA REQUEST

 

February 2, 1999: Abdullah Ocalan set off from the airport in Corfu with a private plane at 05.30 am on February 2, instead of South Africa. US Ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns asked Simitis and Pangalos to be taken to Kenya. This secret plane, which is said to have come from Switzerland and is most likely arranged by NATO Gladio or the CIA, landed at Nairobi Airport at around 11:00 am on February 2 (1999) Abdullah Ocalan was welcomed by Kenyan Ambassador Kostoulas. The exact same ambassador made the customs clearance.

 

NATO TOOK CONTROL

 

Kostoulas, who has served within NATO for 20 years, said: “I have been the head of the unit that has been constantly investigating you for 20 years in NATO. Stating that he said the words, "While I was looking for you in the sky, I found you on the ground" at the airport, Abdullah Ocalan said: "It turned out that I was taken under control by NATO's special operations unit in this process. It would turn out that my being dragged to Kenya by these people was based on conscious planning, everything was pre-arranged, Turkey was assigned to take delivery at Kenya Airport and the USA was leading all these processes."

 

MEETING WITH CIA AND MIT ON THE SAME DAY

 

February 4, 1999: In the evening, a CIA officer asked for a meeting with Turkey's MIT Undersecretary Senkal Atasagun about an issue. Three Americans, the CIA's Station Chief and two counter-terrorism experts, went to Atasagun's house and offered support and a joint operation to the Turkish authorities, upon the order of American President Clinton, to capture Abdullah Ocalan. Turkey also accepted this proposal. At the same time, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, in his statement to journalist Sedat Ergin after the kidnapping of Abdullah Ocalan, said: "On February 4, we received news that Ocalan could be taken from Africa. Therefore, this mechanism was activated." 

Thereupon, President Suleyman Demirel convened the state summit at Çankaya Mansion at midnight.

 

IMRALI PRISON HAS BEEN RECONSTRUCTED

 

On the same date, Imralı semi-open prison was evacuated and handed over to the General Staff. The surroundings of the island were declared a military zone, and under the name of renovation, the İmralı Prison, which will accommodate only one person, began to be rebuilt.

 

PRINTING EVERY DAY IN KENYA

 

4-15 February 1999: Abdullah Ocalan was pressured to leave Kostoulas' house in Kenya. A passport was not brought to Abdullah Ocalan, who was told that "a passport will be given after 5-6 days of work and that it would be issued on February 12.” PKK Leader Ocalan evaluated this situation as "Distraction".

 

TURKISH PLANE LANDED IN UGANDA

 

February 8, 1999: Ambassador Kostoulas sent his deputy, Yorgos Diakofotakis, at the request of Kathourima, Secretary General of the Kenyan Foreign Affairs Directorate. Turkish Chief of Police Necati Bilican, in a statement to Der Spiegel magazine, said that Abdullah Ocalan was being followed step by step and said: "We will catch him."

 

February 10, 1999: The Turkish plane taking off from Istanbul landed at Uganda's Entebbe Airport around 16:00 local time. It turned out that this plane, manufactured by French Dassault, belonged to Turkish businessman Cavit Caglar. The team of 9 people went to Kampala, the capital of Kenya's northern neighbor Uganda, and settled in the Entebbe Lake Victoria Hotel for five days, waiting for news from Kenya.

 

FORCED REMOVE IS ACTIVE

 

On the same day (February 10, 1999), Ambassador Kostoulas and businessman Yorgos Panos came to the Kenyan Embassy residence and tried to persuade Abdullah Ocalan to leave the embassy once again under the name of the Seychelles plan. On the morning of February 13, 1999, when Abdullah Ocalan insisted on not leaving the embassy residence, an attempt was made to force him out.

 

ILLEGAL KIDNAPPING IN KENYA

 

February 15, 1999: While Kenya demanded that he leave the border on February 15, Abdullah Ocalan left the building on the condition that he go to the Netherlands. Abdullah Ocalan was pirated from Nairobi Airport on the evening of February 15, by a joint operation of international intelligence organizations. Appearing before the cameras on February 16, then Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit announced that Abdullah Ocalan was brought to Turkey.

 

THE PROCESS OF CRUCIFICATION

 

Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held in absolute isolation conditions on Imralı Island for the past 26 years since he was brought to Turkey on February 15, 1999, summarized his 130-day long hunt in the Defense of Athens as follows: “The first nail was hammered in Moscow; I experienced the snake coldness of betrayal. The second nail was hammered in Rome; I did not give up honor against the subtle games of capitalism. The third nail was hammered in Athens; I was literally speechless and paralyzed by the betrayal of an unprecedented friendship! The fourth nail was hammered in Nairobi; I was handed over to Turkey, where I was wanted under the death penalty. As a result of the 'cross (four nails) conspiracy', I was put in the Imralı single-person island prison in the Sea of Marmara - the Hades cemetery - and was expected to die on the cross (execution). Therefore, I am a prisoner of an international conspiracy, not of Turkey.”

 

INVITATION TO HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY

 

Abdullah Ocalan, who emphasized in the Defense of Athens that the only way to thwart the conspiracy was to develop the democratic unity of the people despite all attempts to antagonize them, addressed the country's intellectuals as follows: "Let's stop democracy, which is monopolized by the capitalist hegemony by giving it the role of a mask, from being a game; Let us establish it on the principles of honorable life and honorable unity. I did my part for peace based on a democratic solution, and I invite you to fulfill your historical responsibility. Only on this basis can we save ourselves from being a tool for international games..."

 

MA / Müjdat Can