Abdullah Öcalan, who is being held in İmralı, sent a written message to the 34th International Kurdish Culture Festival in Dortmund, Germany. The message was read by Veysel Aktaş, a member of the İmralı Secretariat who attended the festival.
Öcalan defined the fundamental approach of the new period as “democratic integration.” Stating that this did not mean giving up one’s identity, culture or social existence, Öcalan said that people should be able to exist freely with their own identities and organize their social lives through democratic means.
Describing the “Peace and Democratic Society Process” as the will put forward to leave behind an old form of struggle and initiate a new period, Öcalan stated that there was a greater need for politics, organization and democratic struggle.
Stating that identities, languages and cultures could not be eliminated through pressure, Öcalan stressed that a democratic common life should be established instead of pitting differences against one another. He identified the return of people who had been sent into exile or declared illegal to their lands, their engagement in democratic politics and their participation in building their own future as one of the fundamental tasks.
Why it matters
The message frames the debate not only in terms of cultural rights but also around the question of how forms of politics and organization will change. Its emphasis on democratic integration offers a framework that addresses the preservation of identity and culture alongside the pursuit of a democratic common life. This approach is particularly relevant to those who advocate the participation of different identities in public and social life. The fact that exile, illegality and return to their lands are mentioned in the same context raises the question of the conditions under which people excluded in the past can participate in political life. However, the message does not include a concrete road map for how the stated will is to be reflected in politics, organization and democratic struggle.