Melek Avcı

 

ANKARA- Rubar Qedri Yosif, who travelled to Kenya, one of the stops of the conspiracy against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, to study African culture, said that after 26 years he saw the ‘Jin jiyan azadî’ philosophy becoming widespread and that activist Anne Sara apologised to the Kurdish people for her country's responsibility in the conspiracy.

 

The international conspiracy against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan began on 9 October 1998 and culminated in the Imrali isolation on 15 February 1999. After leaving Damascus, the capital of Syria, Abdullah Öcalan travelled to Athens, the capital of Greece, and from there to Russia and landed in Rome, the capital of Italy, on 12 November 1998. Abdullah Öcalan, who was forced to leave Rome on 17 January 1999 as a result of the pressure of the western powers, especially the USA, was secretly taken to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on 2 February 1999 by a plane arranged by NATO-CIA, after travelling back and forth between Moscow-Minsk-Athens.

 

Secret meetings in capitals

 

As soon as Abdullah Öcalan arrived in Kenya, intensive talks began. In the morning, a secret meeting was held between Kathourima, Permanent Secretary of the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Greek Ambassador George Kostoulas. At the same time, a delegation headed by Israeli Intelligence Chief David Ivry held a meeting in Ankara with officials from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, MIT and the Operations Department of the General Staff.

 

4 February is the most critical day

 

4 February 1999 went down in history as the most critical day of the Kenya stop of the conspiracy. Greek Ambassador Kostoulas went to the Kenyan Foreign Ministry and met with Permanent Secretary Kathourima. The Kenyans instructed the Greek ambassador, referring to Abdullah Öcalan, "Give him to us and do not interfere with the rest.” In the evening of the same day, a CIA officer met with Turkey's Undersecretary of MIT, Şenkal Atasagun, at his home. The then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit later said about this meeting: "On 4 February, we received news that Öcalan could be taken from Africa. Thereupon this mechanism was mobilised. I don't understand why the US gave Abdullah Öcalan to us."

 

Instructions to Nairobi and Athens

 

‘Every country harbouring Öcalan must co-operate in bringing him to justice,’ Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the US Senate. Madeleine Albright's words were an explicit instruction to the governments in Nairobi and Athens. Abdullah Öcalan, who was resisting under difficult conditions in the guesthouse of the Greek Embassy in Kenya, officially applied for asylum in Greece on the same day.

 

Threats intensified

 

As of 11 February 1999, the pressure and threats against Abdullah Öcalan, who was held for 9 days in the premises of the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, reached its peak. The Kenyan government, acting in concert with the US administration, demanded that Abdullah Öcalan be immediately removed from the embassy building and leave the country.

 

15 February conspiracy day

 

 When Abdullah Öcalan refused to leave the embassy building despite all kinds of blackmail and threats, the Athens administration increased the dosage of pressure. When Abdullah Öcalan refused to leave the premises of the Greek Embassy, four senior Greek intelligence EYP officers travelled from Athens and arrived in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, at noon. On 15 February 1999, Greek Foreign Minister Pangalos and Kenyan intelligence chief Noan Arap Ta were in charge. While Abdullah Öcalan's request to stay at the embassy for one more day was not accepted, the intelligence chief Noan Arap Ta increased the pressure and said ‘The plane is ready, get out as soon as possible. The night is coming, I cannot guarantee what might happen during the night’. Abdullah Öcalan was forced to leave the Greek Embassy building towards the evening hours in the face of pressure and threats. When he left the embassy building, Kenyan police officers took him to the airport in a Toyota Land Curiser type vehicle. At around 20.00 p.m. Abdullah Ocalan was abducted to Turkey as a result of the conspiracy.

 

The Kenyan people today show a commitment far beyond the conspiracy

The Kenyan people today offer a commitment far beyond conspiracy

 

Today, while the 26-year conspiracy continues and Turkey maintains its isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, the photographs of Abdullah Öcalan, who was forcibly removed by the Kenyan government in 1999, and the philosophy he stands for resonate in Kenya. It adorns the walls of the shops of mothers and the people of Kenya are now making progress in the light of Abdullah Öcalan's philosophy to make up for the embarrassment of their country.

 

Rubar Qedri Yosif, a native of South Kurdistan, is in Kenya to conduct research on African culture with the NLA University in Norway. Rubar Qedri Yosif, who will continue his scientific studies here for a month, also carried his own struggle wherever he went and conveyed his impressions of the Kenyan people about Abdullah Öcalan and the bond he established.

 

Solidarity with the Kurds in Kenya

 

Rubar Yosif, who united her resistance as a Kurdish woman with friends in Kenya, where she played a role in the conspiracy on 15 February, is meeting with women here. Rubar Yosif said about his impressions and work here, "I visited many non-governmental organisations and organised various activities related to the experiences of the Kurdish people. In a meeting with a women's organisation, I received messages of international solidarity for the non-execution of two women activists in Iran, Zeynep Jalaliyan and Werîşe Muradî. Upon this request, the women's organisation I met with recorded this support by releasing a video as part of the “abolition of the death penalty for women” campaign."

 

‘We planted 26 saplings in the name of Leader Apo’

 

Rubar Yosif said that they planted 26 saplings in a town in Kenya as a form of action pointing to the 26 years of isolation and that they named this garden ‘Leader Apo’. Rubar Yosif said, "I also organised an event for the “Jin, jiyan azadî” revolution. Our third event here was for the freedom of Leader Apo. In this context, we planted 26 saplings in a garden here and named this garden after Leader Apo. We held our first event as a small closed meeting. Then we organised a march against isolation in the town. Afterwards, we carried out sapling planting activities in poor neighbourhoods."

 

Mother Sara, who fought for the revolutionaries

 

Rubar Yosif talked about Mother Sara, whom he came into contact with and met during these visits and events, and stated that Mother Sara led a revolutionary struggle both for her own country and for the colonised peoples. Rubar Yosif said: “Mother Sara is one of the strongest women in Kenya. Anne Sara is so strong that she is included in a book about strong women in Kenya. She is a brave woman who fights against the power and the system in Kenya. She is also the founder of MSJC, an organisation in one of the largest slums in Africa. After her son Alex was martyred during a protest, Mama Sara decided to become a revolutionary. Now she is busy cleaning up her neighbourhood and erecting monuments to the martyrs. She erects a monument for anyone who dies in the struggle. Anne Sara is always at the forefront of protests against the corrupt Kenyan government and in defence of the freedom of her people. She resists the exploitation of her country by Europe and the owners of capital and she knows the Kurdish women's movement very well."

 

‘On behalf of the people of Kenya, I apologise to the Kurdish people’

 

Underlining that Mother Sara is in close contact with the Kurdish women's movement, Rubar Yosif said: ‘Mother Sara knows the Kurdish women's movement very well. She even said this several times and I would like to convey her message to you: ‘On behalf of the Kenyan people, I apologise to the Kurdish people because the president of my country took part in the arrest of your leader.’ She the paradigm of Leader Apo with great interest and believes that the solution to the problems of her people lies in the system itself."

 

’She wants me to see the real revolutionaries’

 

Rubar Yosif continued the story of Mother Sara as follows: ‘She knows the system so well that she asked me to go to Qendil and see the real revolutionaries there. ‘If I have only one son left, I will dedicate hem to the revolution for the freedom of my homeland’. Mother Sara has a small shop in the slum neighbourhood where she lives. Here she sells food and basic necessities.

 

‘Leader Apo's philosophy on Mother Sara's wall’

 

She has reserved the walls of the shop for the guests to write souvenir notes. So far, many famous names have visited her and written their messages on the walls. As Kurdish women, we wrote Leader Apo's slogan ‘jin jiyan azadî’ on her wall and this made her very happy. Mum Sara is very keen to connect with strong Kurdish women. She will be in contact with us to get to know us better and understand our struggle better."