The international conspiracy that started with the release of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan from Syria on 9 October 1998 is in its 27th year. After leaving Syria, Öcalan turned to Europe for the solution of the Kurdish issue and was brought to Turkey on 15 February 1999 with the cooperation of international powers. 

 

While the conspiracy aimed at "extermination" did not succeed, the ideas developed by Öcalan during his imprisonment have inspired many peoples in the Middle East, especially Kurds. Thousands of citizens who were forced to migrate to the Mexmûr Camp in Iraq's Mosul province due to village evacuations in the 1990s have been organising themselves and governing themselves for many years under Abdullah Öcalan's paradigm. 

 

'THEY COULD NOT CAPTURE LEADER APO'  

 

Filiz Budak pointed to the life they built in the camp against all attacks and said: "The ideas of the Leader (Öcalan) had become hope for the whole Middle East. Everyone found their salvation in Leader Apo's paradigm. The imperialist states saw this as a danger against them. Leader Apo was taken prisoner, but they could not prevent two things. The denial and annihilation of the Kurds was prevented. Women, who had been denied and oppressed for thousands of years, became the pioneers of the freedom struggle." 

 

Filiz Budak said that the conspiracy did not achieve its goal, "In Kurdish history, the rebellion ended when the leader of the rebellion was captured or killed. When the pioneer was eliminated, society cowered. The Kurdish people changed this history in the person of Leader Apo. After Leader Apo was taken prisoner, the PKK changed its system and became stronger with the Democratic Nation. This was the best answer to the conspiratorial states. Today, a democratic, ecological and women's libertarian system has been created. In 27 years, they could not take Leader Apo into captivity. Leader Apo was reborn in Imrali and wrote a new manifesto. These developments prevented the conspiratorial states from achieving their goals."

 

Referring to the influence of Abdullah Öcalan on the people in Makhmur she said: "The people in Mexmûr are a people who live with Leader Apo and embody his ideas. Mexmûr camp was established in a desert. When the camp was first established, children died of thirst. With the words of Leader Apo, a new life was built here. There are traces of Leader Apo's paradigm in every moment of the weaving of this life. We have realised a non-state system, a self-sufficient and self-governing system for 31 years. A system based on moral and political society has been created. There are traces of communal life on every street. Leader Apo's paradigm paved the way for us." 

 

She added: "This conspiracy lost, Leader Apo won. Today, if Devlet Bahçeli is forced to summon Leader Apo to the Parliament, this is a concrete example that the conspiracy has lost. For the physical freedom of Leader Apo, true friendship and comradeship must be established." 

 

'A COLLECTIVE TURN'

 

Reminding that Abdullah Öcalan recently sent a message to the people living in Makhmur, Filiz Budak said: "We have been refugees for 31 years. We consider this process as a historical victory. Leader Apo also states this in the message he sent us. We see the process positively. Because the main actor of the process is Leader Apo. Even if the state is not sincere or pursues other aims, the existence of Leader Apo is enough for us. We are ready to do whatever Leader Apo asks of us today. If there will be a return, it will be a 'collective return' as Leader Apo said. For 31 years we have been living as refugees. Our return will be on the basis of our identity, language and self-governance."

 

Filiz Budak emphasised that legal arrangements should be made for returns and concluded: "People in Mexmûr are waiting for legal regulations. Failure to take concrete steps will only prolong the process. The prolongation of the process increases the concerns of the people. We expect the state to take concrete steps as part of this process."

 

MA / Emrullah Acar