Öcalan was born in Ömerli, a village in Halfeti, Şanlıurfa Province in eastern Turkey. While some sources report his birthday as being 4 April 1948, no official birth records for him exist, and he himself claims not to know exactly when he was born, estimating the year to be 1946 or 1947. He is the oldest of seven children. According to some sources, Öcalan's grandmother was an ethnic Turkand (he once claimed that) his mother was also an ethnic Turk. According to Amikam Nachmani, lecturer at the Bar-Ilan Universityin Israel, Öcalan did not know Kurdish when he met him in 1991. Nachmani: "He [Öcalan] told me that he speaks Turkish, gives orders in Turkish, and thinks in Turkish."
Bêtir hîn bibin04/04/1948Education and early political and revolutionary activity After graduating from a vocational high school in Ankara (Turkish: Ankara Tapu-Kadastro Meslek Lisesi), Öcalan started working at the Diyarbakir Title Deeds Office. He was relocated one month later to Bakırköy, Istanbul. Later, he entered the Istanbul Law Faculty but transferred after the first year to Ankara University to study political science. His return to Ankara (normally impossible given his situation) was facilitated by the state in order to divide a militant group, Dev-Genç (Revolutionary Youth Federation of Turkey), of which Öcalan at the time was a member of. President Süleyman Demirel later regretted this decision, since the PKK was to become a much greater threat to the state than Dev-Genç.
Bêtir hîn bibin01/08/1978Kurdish–Turkish conflict Main article: Kurdish–Turkish conflictIn 1984, the PKK initiated a campaign of armed conflict, comprising attacks against government forces in Turkey as well as civilians in order to create an independent Kurdish state. As a result, the United States, European Union, NATO, Syria, Australia, Turkey, and many other countries have included the PKK on their lists of terrorist organizations.
02/04/1984PKK leader Öcalan allegedly used this Cypriot passport to enter Kenya where he was taken in and protected by the Greek embassy. Öcalan supporters in London, April 2003Until 1998, Öcalan was based in Syria. On at least one occasion, in 1993, he was detained and held by Syria's General Intelligence Directorate but later released. As the situation deteriorated in Turkey, the Turkish government openly threatened Syria over its support for the PKK.As a result, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, but did not turn him over to the Turkish authorities.
Bêtir hîn bibin03/14/1998Since 27 July 2011 his lawyers have not been allowed to see Abdullah Öcalan. There are regular demonstrations held by Kurdish community to raise awareness of the isolation of Öcalan. In October 2012 several hundred Kurdish political prisoners went on hunger strike for better detention conditions for Öcalan and the right to use the Kurdish language in education and jurisprudence. The hunger strike perdured 68 days until Öcalan demanded its end.The lawyers have appealed 700 times for visits, but all were rejected. Öcalan was banned from receiving visits almost two years from 6 October 2014 to the 11 September 2016, when his brother Mehmet Öcalan visited him for Eid al-Adha. Then again he was banned from receiving visits until 12 January 2019 when his brother Mehmet Öcalan was again permitted to visit him. His brother said his health conditions were good.
02/15/1999Legal prosecution of sympathizers of Abdullah Öcalan In 2008, the Justice Minister of Turkey, Mehmet Ali Sahin, said that between 2006 and 2007 949 people were convicted and more than 7000 people prosecuted for calling Öcalan "esteemed" (Sayın).
01/06/2006Abandoning his precapture policy, which involved violence targeting civilians as well as military personnel, Öcalan has advocated a relatively peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict inside the borders of Turkey. Öcalan called for the foundation of a "Truth and Justice Commission" by Kurdish institutions in order to investigate war crimes committed by the PKK and Turkish security forces; a parallel structure began functioning in May 2006 In March 2005, Öcalan issued the Declaration of Democratic confederalism in Kurdistan calling for a border-free confederation between the Kurdish regions of Eastern Turkey (called "Northern Kurdistan" by Kurds), East Syria ("Western Kurdistan"), Northern Iraq ("South Kurdistan"), and West of Iran ("East Kurdistan"). In this zone, three bodies of law would be implemented: EU law, Turkish/Syrian/Iraqi/Iranian law and Kurdish law. This perspective was included in the PKK programme following the "Refoundation Congress" in April 2005. Öcalan had his lawyer, Ibrahim Bilmez, release a statement 28 September 2006, calling on the PKK to declare a ceasefire and seek peace with Turkey. Öcalan's statement said, "The PKK should not use weapons unless it is attacked with the aim of annihilation," and that it is "very important to build a democratic union between Turks and Kurds. With this process, the way to democratic dialogue will be also opened".
Bêtir hîn bibin06/10/2005Since his incarceration, Öcalan has significantly changed his ideology through exposure to Western social theorists such as Murray Bookchin, Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel, and Friedrich Nietzsche (who Öcalan calls "a prophet") Drawing heavily on Bookchin's libertarian socialist idea of communalism, Öcalan fashioned his ideal society of "democratic confederalism". He also wrote books and articles on the history of pre-capitalist Mesopotamia and Abrahamic religions. Democratic confederalism is a "system of popularly elected administrative councils, allowing local communities to exercise autonomous control over their assets, while linking to other communities via a network of confederal councils."Decisions are made by communes in each neighborhood, village, or city. All are welcome to partake in the communal councils, but political participation is not mandated. There is no private property, but rather “ownership by use, which grants individuals usage rights to the buildings, land, and infrastructure, but not the right to sell and buy on the market or convert them private enterprises.” The economy is in the hands of the communal councils, and is thus (in the words of Bookchin) ‘neither collectivised nor privatised, it is common.’
Bêtir hîn bibin05/15/1999Several localities have awarded him with an honorary citizenship: • Palermo • Olympia • Neapel • Castel del Giudice • Castelbottaccio • Pinerolo • Martano • Reggio Emilia • Palagonia • Riace
06/09/1991Öcalan is the author of more than 40 books, four of which were written in prison. Many of the notes taken from his weekly meetings with his lawyers have been edited and published. • Interviews and Speeches. London: Kurdistan Solidarity Committee; Kurdistan Information Centre, 1991. 46 p. • Translation of his 1999 defense in court at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 October 2007) • Prison Writings: The Roots of Civilisation London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto, 2007. ISBN 9780745326160. • Democratic Confederalism. London: Transmedia, 2011. ISBN 978-3941012479. • Prison Writings III: The Road Map to Negotiations. Cologne: International Initiative, 2012. ISBN 9783941012431. • Liberating life: Women’s Revolution. Cologne, Germany: International Initiative Edition, 2013. ISBN 978-3-941012-82-0. • Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Volume 1. Porsgrunn, Norway: New Compass, 2015. ISBN 9788293064428. • Defending a Civilisation. • The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan London; UK: Pluto Press, 2017. ISBN 9780745399768. • Prison Writings Volume II: The PKK and the Kurdish Question in the 21st Century. London: Transmedia, 2011. ISBN 9780956751409.
Bêtir hîn bibin05/06/1991"Profile: Abdullah Ocalan ( Greyer and tempered by long isolation, PKK leader is braving the scepticism of many Turks, and some of his own fighters)". www.aljazeera.com. ^ R. McHugh, ‘Ocalan, Abdullah (1948—) ^ Özcan, Ali Kemal. Turkey's Kurds: A Theoretical Analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Öcalan. London: Routledge, 2005.
Bêtir hîn bibin11/30/1982Books by Abdullah Öcalan in English
Collection of books : Challenging Capitalist Modernity II -The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan - Capitalism - Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization Volume I: Civilization - Challenging Capitalist Modernity - The Road Map to Negotiations - The PKK and the Kurdish Question in the 21st Century - The Roots of Civilisation - Declaration on the Democratic Solution of the Kurdish Question - Democratic Nation - Liberating Life: Woman's Revolution - Democratic Confederalism - War and Peace in Kurdistan - The Third Domain &...