The message from Mr. Abdullah Öcalan to the 39-member foreign delegation that came to Turkey with the purpose of meeting with him. The delegation, consisting of politicians, journalists, and activists from various countries, arrived in Turkey yesterday and began their meetings in Istanbul. They met with our Co-Chair, Mr. Tuncer Bakırhan, at our Istanbul office.
Mr. Öcalan's message is as follows:
To the Esteemed Friends...
Your efforts to bring attention to the quest for freedom embodied in my person, and your request to meet with me—undertaken despite the long journey—are profoundly meaningful and valuable to me.
Above all, I do not regard such an effort merely as an act of personal solidarity or an individual pursuit for freedom; rather, I see it as part of the will for social peace, a democratic resolution, and the shared aspiration of peoples to live freely together.
I have never considered my personal freedom separately from social freedom. Indeed, I have always believed that individual liberties cannot find their true meaning in the absence of social emancipation. For this reason, I view your initiative as a meaningful contribution and a courageous call for the shared democratic future of our peoples.
I have been informed of your request to meet. I sincerely hope that, in the period ahead, the conditions will allow such a meeting to take place. In the meantime, I extend my greetings and respect to all those who have contributed—not only on my behalf, but in support of the democratic will and the struggle for freedom of our peoples.
With the hope that we may one day meet face to face in times of freedom, within a society where democracy has truly taken root…
Abdullah Öcalan
İmralı Type-F High Security Prison
2 July 2025