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News Centre – Michela Arricale, a lawyer and member of the peace delegation, described Abdullah Öcalan's new manifesto as “the vision of a guide who refuses to be a subject of bargaining; a vision that continues to build the future."

 

Historical developments are taking place within the scope of the ‘Peace and Democratic Society Process’, which was initiated to solve the Kurdish question and promote democratisation. Following the 27 February call, Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan made his second public statement from Imralı Prison. Hamili Yıldırım, Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş, Ergin Atalay, Zeki Bayhan and Mahmut Yamalak participated in the call.

 

A new stage in the ongoing process to solve the Kurdish question began today with the second video call. In his video message, the Kurdish People's Leader announced the end of the PKK's armed struggle and called for a 'democratic transition' in Turkey. After 26 years of isolation, Abdullah Öcalan's first video message was not only significant in Turkey, but also within the international community.

 

Michela Arricale, a member of the International Delegation on Isolation who recently travelled to Istanbul with the peace delegation, submitted an application to visit Imralı. Ms Arricale, who is the co-chair of the Italian Research and Development Centre for Democracy and the International Legal Intervention Group, discussed the latest call.

 

'A historical testimony and responsibility for me'

 

"First of all, it is an honour and a responsibility for me to be able to witness such a historic moment from such a close and privileged position," said Michela Arricale, "First and foremost, I feel honoured and responsible to be able to witness such a historic moment from such a close and privileged position. I have just returned from a mission in Istanbul organised specifically to observe the process launched between the Kurdish movement and the Turkish state up close. Abdullah Öcalan chose to send a direct message to this international delegation, addressed specifically to us.In that message, Öcalan explicitly addresses the question of his personal freedom. He does so firmly, in a way that is almost disorienting for those of us — myself included — who have always considered it essential for him to be physically present, to meet his people, to actively lead this process."

 

'I felt he was addressing me directly'

 

Michela Arricale said that she had the feeling that today's statement was addressed directly to her and that Abdullah Öcalan had spoken to her personally. And she added, "And when I read the statement released today, dated June 19, I had the clear feeling that he was speaking directly to me. As if he had gathered up the doubts, the insistence, the demands I myself voiced during the mission — both when we pressed on the urgency of his release, and when we criticized the Turkish government for failing to take the steps it had promised. In the part where he clearly says it is pointless to get stuck in the “you first, then me” logic — that we must avoid remaining trapped in cycles of resentment — I felt personally addressed. Not generically, but directly."

 

'Once again Öcalan shows the way, changes the focus'

 

Michela Arricale stated that this call has once again deepened the struggle and brought the focus to a deeper place and added: "And yet, rather than closing the debate, this response opens it up. Because, once again, Öcalan does not merely respond or anticipate; he provides guidance. He shifts the focus and compels us to look elsewhere. He asks us not to turn him into a static symbol and not to reduce the struggle for freedom to a personal demand. He is not asking us to abandon the issue, but to dig deeper.

 

'A living force with a real collective dialogue'

 

And this, I believe, is one of the strongest points: his ability to lead this process as a protagonist, regardless of everything. Not as a “leader” in the traditional sense, nor as a sacred figure, but as a living force in a real collective dialogue — a process sustained by a communication group that moves between Imrali and the movement, keeping alive a political exchange made of questions, responses, rethinking, and shared elaboration."

 

A future-generating guide

 

A guide who cannot be imprisoned — not even symbolically. Who continues to generate a future precisely because he refuses to be reduced to a bargaining chip, a precondition, or a political hostage.

 

'The whole message is based on a founding vision'

 

Stating that the call presents a practical directive, Michela Arricale said: "Taken as a whole, the statement released today offers concrete, practical directives that bring the process to an operational level: he speaks openly of disarmament, of parliamentary commissions, of legal instruments. But all of this is grounded in a profoundly ideal and even constituent vision. When he declares that the historical cycle opened by the "Manifesto for the Revolution in Kurdistan" has come to an end and announces a new one, Öcalan is not merely updating a political line — he is proposing an entirely new grammar of possibility. A different way of imagining society, struggle, and coexistence.

 

It will be the heart of historical transformation

 

I cannot wait to read this new Manifesto. Because it does not appear to be just a political document: it announces itself as the possible heart of a historical transformation — one that we may well be living through, in real time.