“Zilan passed me by his action. I will be a militant and a follower of Zilan from now on.”
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Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan, also known as Apo, is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
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culture · Founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) · politician · writer · activist · political scientist · also Abdullah Öcalan, Abdullah Ocalan, Apo, Öcalan
Born 4 April 1949 · Q191530
65 published statements · 0 followers
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2026· 35 entries
“A people whose women are not free cannot be free. Our words are not finished for the woman.”
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“Women's liberation should develop with democratic values, equality and freedom.”
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“Heval Mizgin is truly exemplary in terms of knowledge, tactical authority and connection to organizational principles.”
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“Democratic youth confederalism is important. All young people could gather under one roof. Different groups could take their place. It could be a cultural, flexible organization.”
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“I remain committed, until the end, to the struggle for liberation and to the beauty and love it creates.”
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“Freedom is a necessity for us. It is more important than bread and water.”
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“The struggle of women will bring important results. Beauty, freedom and struggle will be gained.”
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“Our revolution is a revolution of beauty.”
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“Every man should understand that he must learn a lot from the free woman.”
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“You are as free as the greatness and sincerity of your dreams”
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“The one who is as clear as light in his goals will also find a method.”
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“The more freedom is gained for women, the more we create a beautiful life.”
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“Live life not with ease but with its difficulties, so that life takes on meaning.”
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“For you to achieve great aims, you need to have a great spirit.”
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“To understand history is to understand the present.”
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“Those who do not properly write their history of freedom, cannot live freely.”
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“What we analyse is not the moment but history. Not the person but society.”
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“If you trust yourself, you will liberate yourself. If you favour freedom, you will be its militant.”
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“The life you are dreaming of can be achieved not by miracles, but by revolution.”
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“Democracy is governance that is not a state; it is the power of communities to govern themselves without state.”
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“The liberation of women is the liberation of society.”
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“Capitalist modernity is a system based on the denial of love.”
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“We can all learn something from the rose that protects its enchanting beauty with thorns.”
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“s statement was read to hundreds of thousands of Kurds in Diyarbakır who had gathered to celebrate the Kurdish New Year (Newroz). The statement said in part,”
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ANHA: Políticos: La libertad de Abdullah Ocalan acelerará el proceso de paz
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ANHA: Politicians: Abdullah Ocalan's freedom will accelerate peace process
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Turkish Minute: Öcalan to join official panel overseeing PKK’s giving up of arms, pro-Kurdish MP says
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ANF | Articles: Abdullah Öcalan’s nephew dies in Paris
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ANF | Articles: HPG’s 15 August message: We are focused on Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom
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NST Online: Ocalan is founder of Kurdish PKK and also author of its end
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Al-Monitor: Ocalan: Founder of the Kurdish militant PKK who authored its end
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haberler.com: Güncel fotoğrafı paylaşıldı: İşte Abdullah Öcalan'ın son hali
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Green Left Weekly: Rallies call for Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s release
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haberler.com: Abdullah Öcalan tahliye olacak mı? Abdullah Öcalan'a umut hakkı uygulanabilir mi? Feti Yıldız açıkladı!
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2025· 4 entries
Al Jazeera English: PKK’s jailed leader Ocalan says armed struggle against Turkiye over
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World Socialist Web Site: Öcalan calls on Kurdish PKK to lay down arms and dissolve itself
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Yahoo: Kurdish leader Ocalan issues message from prison, urging PKK to disarm to make peace with Turkey
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The Jerusalem Post: Abdullah Ocalan calls on PKK to dissolve, regional leaders react
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2024· 1 entry
bianet: PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan given new 3-month family visit ban
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2023· 1 entry
bianet: Ensarioğlu says 'the state' always talks to Abdullah Öcalan
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2020· 1 entry
Libcom: The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Women's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism
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2018· 1 entry
Libcom: Abdullah Öcalan
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2016· 1 entry
t24.com.tr: Dilek Öcalan: Abdullah Öcalan bir an önce serbest bırakılsın
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2014· 1 entry
The ECHR ruled in that there was a violation of article 3 in regards of him being to only prisoner on İmarli island until 17 November 2009, as well as the impossibility to appeal his verdict
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2013· 1 entry
Aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence between Kurds and other ethnic groups, similar to the Marxist concept of the friendship of peoples
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2009· 1 entry
“this process is no longer meaningful or useful”
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2005· 1 entry
The ECHR ruled that Turkey had violated articles 3, 5, and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights by refusing to allow Öcalan to appeal his arrest and by sentencing him to death without a fair trial
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2002· 1 entry
Öcalan remained imprisoned on İmralı, and was the sole inmate there
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1999· 1 entry
The Turkish Parliament discussed a so-called Repentance Bill which would commute Öcalans death sentence to 20 years imprisonment and allow PKK militants to surrender with a limited amnesty, but it didn't pass due to resi
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1998· 1 entry
The Turkish government requested the extradition of Öcalan from Italy, where he applied for political asylum upon his arrival
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1993· 2 entries
Was detained and held by Syria's General Intelligence Directorate, but later released
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Upon request of Turkish president Turgut Özal, Öcalan met with Jalal Talabani for negotiations following which Öcalan declared a unilateral cease fire which had a duration from 20 March to 15 April
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1988· 3 entries
Also met with Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Damascus, with which he signed an agreement and after some differences after the foundation of a Kurdish Government in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1992
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While representing the PKK in Athens, Greece, his wife unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Öcalan, following which Yildirim went underground
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Mentioned the goal wasn't to gain independence from Turkey at all costs, but remained firm on the issue of the Kurdish rights, and suggested that negotiations should take place for a federation to be established in Tu
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1987· 1 entry
Öcalan saw the success of the party as based on the application of Marxism–Leninism to the specific conditions of Kurdistan
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1984· 1 entry
The PKK initiated a campaign of armed conflict by attacking government forces in order to create an independent Kurdish state
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1978· 3 entries
Öcalan married Kesire Yildirim, who he had met at the Ankara University and was of a better household than the regular revolutionaries around Öcalan
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And led it into the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in 1984
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In the midst of the right- and left-wing conflicts which culminated in the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, Öcalan founded the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
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1977· 1 entry
The group counted over 300 adherents and had organised about thirty armed militants
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1975· 1 entry
Together with Mazlum Doğan and Mehmet Hayri Durmuş, he published a political booklet which described the main aims for a Revolution in Kurdistan
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1969· 1 entry
Öcalan began working at the Title Deeds Office of Diyarbakır
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1949· 1 entry
Born 1949-04-04.
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