Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Ocalan faced a conspiracy of international powers in Syria, where he had gone before the military coup of 12 September 1980, and was forced to leave for Europe on 9 October 1998. Öcalan, who was declared "persona non grata" in the European countries he visited after leaving Syria, was brought to Turkey on 15 February 1999. 

 

Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı F-Type High Security Closed Prison since the day he was brought to Turkey, had a great impact on a wide circle of people during his stay in Syria. Kurds and their friends who met and organised around Öcalan's ideas built an autonomous structure after the civil war that broke out in the country in 2011. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has been building a new life in the light of Öcalan’s paradigm for 14 years. 

 

Salih Muslim, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), who was one of the people who contacted Ocalan in Syria in 1982-83, evaluated the conspiracy process and the events that followed.  

 

THE IMPACT OF ÖCALAN

 

Muslim said that Kurdish politics was in a disorganised state before Abdullah Öcalan's arrival in Syria. Noting that the parties established after 1950 could not organise and lead the people, he said: "They disintegrated and dispersed in the face of attacks."

 

Muslim said that Abdullah Ocalan came to Syria during such a period and added that Ocalan and his entourage also organised in countries such as Syria and Lebanon. He said that Ocalan was known as Heval (Comrade) Elî until 1982-83. Muslim said: “The people began to recognise and trust Abdullah Öcalan. With the beginning of the armed struggle in 1984, the people of Rojava joined the struggle as a whole. Because the people were fed up with the lack of politics and oppression. The people developed a spirit of tesistance, free will and free thought. Since then, free thought has maintained its place. We saw this ide once again in Rojava in 2012.”

 

'THEIR CALCULATIONS WERE UPSET'

 

Stating that the organisation of the Kurds in Syria disturbed some international circles, Muslim said: "NATO forces were disturbed first and foremost. They could no longer use the Kurds as they wanted. There are 50-60 million Kurds living in the Middle East. The awakening of all of them would upset their calculations. They wanted to prevent this. They realised that the power and dynamics were in the hands of Mr Öcalan. That is why they organised assassinations many times and wanted to get rid of him. But they could not succeed. Leader Apo was protecting himself. His friends and people were protecting him."

 

'THE CONSPIRACY WAS A PROJECT TO DESIGN THE MIDDLE EAST'

 

Pointing out that Abdullah Ocalan was taken out of Syria after the assassinations failed, Muslim said that the conspiracy was carried out in order to design the Middle East as they wanted and added: "The conspiracy was a part of the Great Middle East Project. When the conspiracy started, they said 'go to Europe', but then all of Europe closed its doors. Then we realised that they wanted to spread their project to the entire Middle East. In front of this was the Kurdish people, and Mr Ocalan was leading the Kurdish people. That's why they said, 'Let's attack Mr Öcalan'. All forces were in the conspiracy. NATO was at the forefront. After the conspiracy, the Third World War started and its effects are still continuing. The war to design the Middle East is also included in this war. New states emerged after the Second World War, and the Third World War is the war to design those states. They wanted to sacrifice the Kurdish people and Leader Apo to this. The struggle continues until today. The conspiracy is still not over. Leader Apo is still a hostage. The Kurdish people's struggle against this continues and will continue until everything changes." 

 

'SYRIAN SYSTEM COLLAPSED AFTER THE CONSPIRACY'

 

Pointing to the developments in Syria after Abdullah Öcalan's departure, Muslim said: "While Mr Ocalan was in Damascus and Lebanon, he had many meetings with Arab states. He had a relationship with Hafez al-Assad. He was giving them advice. At that time, the Syrian state was prestigious. The American president used to come and discuss the Kurdish issue with Hafez al-Assad for five hours. He had international weight. After the Leader (Öcalan) was taken out of Syria, Hafez Assad left and his son Assad came. The Syrian system had started to collapse. Even though it was a dictatorial and despotic system before, there was a working system. When the Leader was taken out of Syria, they could no longer do politics, they became futile. The consequences led to the collapse of the Syrian state. Another party in the conspiracy was the Kurdish people. When the conspiracy happened, there was mourning in every house. Because they had seen their hopes, their freedom and their struggle in him. They were all thinking 'what will happen'. Hundreds of people set their bodies on fire in Rojava. They followed what was happening minute by minute and were affected. The spirit sown there was the spirit of free life. It gave spirit to the people. Because the Kurdish people in Rojava had changed. The Kurdish people were now defending their rights. It is still possible to see the results of this spirit of resistance."

 

'FREEDOM DEPENDS ON THE FREEDOM OF THE LEADER'

 

Muslim concluded: “A great struggle emerged in every aspect. The people were saying, ‘Our leader was taken hostage, how can we save him?’ Everything was for Leader Apo. The people realised that their freedom depends on the freedom of the Leader. This had a great impact. This effect continues today. The Kurdish people learnt history. They read the defences of Leader Apo. What is happening in Rojava today is the result of this philosophy. Women's rights, equality and resistance are the results of this idea. A new personality emerged. A free Kurdish personality emerged. From a people who had been surrendered, a people who resisted against everything and who could govern themselves emerged. They fought against the conspiracy and against barbaric organisations such as ISIS and Al-Nusra. All that happened were the results of the fighting spirit and free will. The peoples living with us also see their hope in us. The SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) has given hope to the whole of Syria. These are the results of Leader Apo's philosophy."

 

MA / Sema Bingol