Prison Writings Volume II The PKK and the Kurdish Question in the 21st Century

by Öcalan, Abdullah; Happel, Klaus

• ISBN13: 9780956751416
• ISBN10: 0956751415
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-15
• Publisher: Pluto Press

Summary

In his second book, Abdullah Ocalan applies the political and historical philosophy that was developed in the first volume of his Prison Writings to the Kurdish question. The book addresses the concrete political issues at the center of the Kurdish question. Ocalan calls for a "Renaissance of the Middle East" where the integration of democratic Western values and universal human rights with the deeply rooted cultural values of the Middle Eastern societies, especially the Kurdish, will form a new synthesis of civilizations. Abdullah Ocalan was the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). He was eventually kidnapped while in Kenya in 1999, and has been in prison in Turkey ever since. Ocalan was the most wanted man in Turkey for almost two decades until his kidnapping. From 1984, under his leadership, the PKK fought for an independent Kurdish state in the southeast of Turkey. In a sustained popular uprising, tens of thousands of PKK guerrillas took on the second largest army in NATO. The book begins with Preliminary Notes by Cemil Bayik, military commander of the PKK.

Author Biography

Abdullah Ocalan was the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was eventually kidnapped while in Kenya in 1999, and has been in prison in Turkey ever since. Ocalan was the most wanted man in Turkey for almost two decades until his kidnapping. From 1984, under his leadership, the PKK fought for an independent Kurdish state in the southeast of Turkey. In a sustained popular uprising, tens of thousands of PKK guerrillas took on the second largest army in NATO. The book begins with Preliminary Notes by Cemil Bayik, military commander of the PKK.

Table of Contents

Preliminary words by Cemil Bayik, military commander of the PKK
Part One
The Kurds in the wider Middle Eastern context: Who we are and what we want
Introduction
Chapter One: Some basic terms                                                   
Chapter Two: Shortcomings of the predominant approaches to the Kurdish issue
Chapter Three: The historical framework
Chapter Four: Ethnic, national and democratic movements of the Kurds
Chapter 5: Towards a solution of the Kurdish conflict
Part 2
Fighting For a People under International Siege
Introduction
Chapter One: History as an Account of Conspiracy and Treason - Lessons to be learned
Chapter Two: Counter-Insurgency Warfare against the PKK
Chapter Three: In Fear of Freedom
Chapter Four: The Background of My Abduction From Kenya
Appendix
The European Legal Institutions and the Solution to the Kurdish Question
Last Word
The Editorial Team
About Us:
The International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan”
About the author
Abstract of the book