AMED - 30-year prisoner Fahrettin Sahin, who stated that they had the most difficulty in the conspiracy process in prison, said: "Abdullah Ocalan's freedom must be more on the agenda. Nothing else must be considered other than this."
25 years have passed since PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan was brought to Turkey by international forces on February 15, 1999. The beginning of the conspiracy against Abdullah Ocalan began when he was forced to leave Syria on October 9, 1998. Ocalan was later brought to Turkey with an international conspiracy and put in İmralı Type F High Security Prison.
During this period, "You cannot darken our sun" protests began in prisons against the conspiracy. Mehmet Halit Oral, a prisoner in Mereş, showed his reaction to the conspiracy by setting his own body on fire. On October 9, 1998, Oral set his own body on fire and left a letter with the message "My anger, grudge and revenge are intense." The protests that started and spread in prisons ended upon the call of Abdullah Ocalan.
Fahrettin Sahin, who was in prison during the period of the international conspiracy and was released from Bolu Type F High Security Closed Prison on October 14, 2021, after 30 years and 6 months of imprisonment, explained the conspiracy process and its reflections.
Sahin was arrested injured in the Mîdyad (Midyat) district of Mêrdîn in 1991 and arrested on the grounds of "disrupting the unity and integrity of the state". Sahin went to prison at the age of 24 and was released at the age of 54. Sahin held in Mêrdîn, Amed, Dîlok, Aydın, Nazili, İzmir and Bolu prisons for 30 years.
'THE FEBRUARY 15 PROCESS WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING FOR US'
Pointing out that the most difficult period in prison was the February 15 period, Sahin said: “The Leader (Ocalan) has a great meaning for us. It is not possible for me to explain this adequately right now. The leader was kidnapped and his images were widely published in the bourgeois media for the purpose of psychological warfare. In this situation, what can a person, prisoner, revolutionary, PKK member do and think? Therefore, there was great anger in all of us. At that time, the "You can't darken our sun" protest was initiated by Halil Oral friend in Mereş. He sacrificed himself with this action and it became a resistance in prisons.”
30-year prisoner Fahrettin Sahin
Reminding that all PKK prisoners in prisons wanted to be participate in the "ring of fire" action initiated by Oral, but this was prevented by the statements made afterwards, Sahin said: "If it were not for some interventions of the party, this style of action would have a deep impact on all prisons. Maybe hundreds of people would set their bodies on fire. There were friends who punched the walls, screamed at night, jumped out of bed, and had hallucinations. These emerged as the effects of that difficult process. But of course we always thought this; We are faced with a system that has turned even a morsel of bread or a breath of air into a tool of struggle against us. We were saying; The Leader will also live in these conditions. This was destroying.”
Stating that after such a difficult process, Abdullah Ocalan turned every place into a "area of resistance" and frustrated the captivity imposed on him with his intellectual freedom, Sahin said: "No matter where the Leader is, he will never live in the conditions we live in. He is a completely different figure. Therefore, we came to such a period that we experienced such a situation that they had to respect the Leader. It is necessary to understand this position of the Leader correctly.”
WHY WAS HE CAPTURED?
Noting that international powers wanted to redesign the Middle East in the 1990s, Sahin stated that in doing so, Saddam Hussein, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Hafez Assad and Abdullah Ocalan were wanted to be liquidated by capitalist modernity. Stating that Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak and Hafez Assad were somehow liquidated, Sahin said: “The most important thing is the international conspiracy developed against our Leader since 1999. In other words, they wanted to erase this fundamental power and dynamic from the Middle East arena. When ‘Leader’ is mentioned, Kurdistan comes to mind, and when Kurdistan is mentioned, 4 basic countries that we can call the backbone of the Middle East come to mind; Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.” Sahin noted that Abdullah Ocalan's role is decisive among the Kurds living in these four countries and said Ocalan was also targeted due to his existing role and mission.
'IT WAS NOT WHAT THEY EXPECTED'
Sahin emphasized that the conspiracy was aimed at breaking Abdullah Ocalan's influence on the Kurds and making the Kurdish problem even more unresolvable. Sahin said: "But it did not happen as they expected, a completely different picture emerged. The Leader and the movement went beyond being liquidated and continued the struggle from where they left off, stronger and with a brand new perspective. PKK has never had as much influence in the 4 parts of Kurdistan as it does today. But today, it is in all 4 parts. The movement was not liquidated with the conspiracy, on the contrary, with the new paradigm developed by the Leader, it took root more on the side of Kurdistan, turned into a greater power, and at this stage, no matter which power in the world wants to do something in the Middle East, it has to take the freedom movement into consideration.”
‘THE LEADER HAS BECOME UNIVERSAL'
Pointing out that the conspiracy did not achieve its purpose, Sahin said: “Anyone with conscience will see that this conspiracy did not achieve its purpose. I'm not talking about the revolution in Kurdistan. The Leader created such an atmosphere in Europe that; Just as Bolshevism had an impact on European societies in the 20th century, the Leader’s ideas have the same impact in the 21st century. There is an influx of participants. It is being discussed among peasants in Mexico today. It is being discussed in India, neighborhoods have been established in Africa in the name of the Leader. Even in Kenya, where he was held captive... These are not minor consequences. There is great support in the communities. They wanted to liquidate the Leader with a conspiracy, but they led to the universalization of the Leader. I leave aside the Rojava Revolution and the effects of the struggle in Northern Kurdistan. Just considering the impact the Leader has created in the world, we can see that this conspiracy has exploded in the beginning."
'THE PEOPLE OF NORTHERN KURDISTAN MUST EXPERIENCE A SHOCK’
Sahin also drew attention to the periodic and rotating hunger strikes that continue in prison demanding the physical freedom of Abdullah Ocalan, and warned that if the protests do not become massive outside, the size of the protests will change. Sahin noted that "death fasts" were planned in prisons on February 15, 1999, but this did not take place due to the protests of the public. Sahin said: “Because the people were standing, there was no need for such a thing. The same thing needs to be said today. The people of Northern Kurdistan must definitely experience a shock. What we are talking about is the freedom of the Leader.”
Sahin also pointed out the actions in Europe and said: "Demonstrations in front of the European Parliament, press releases and meetings in front of the European Council... These are not enough. First of all, it is necessary to put pressure on the parliaments of individual countries, it is necessary to create pressure. In fact, Kurdish society, Kurds living in Europe, are prone to this. There is this power, level of organization, decision and will. But we have some problems when it comes to planning this. The freedom of the leadership requires a difficult struggle. This difficult fight must be planned as soon as possible.”
'RESISTING WITH THE PARADIGM OF THE LEADER'
Sahin said: "Perhaps the greatest action is to resist by organizing with the Leader’s paradigm. The society can gain power as long as it is organized with Ocalan's paradigm. Organize the paradigm among the society, establish communes and assemblies, the people will resist on their own. This is the biggest contribution that can be made to the hunger strike initiative. Abdullah Ocalan's physical freedom must be on the agenda more. Apart from this, no Kurd must think about anything else. Because as long as the Leader exists, we will exist, we will be a society, we will have culture and history.”
MA / Rukiye Adıgüzel