Elisabeth Roudinesco, a French psychoanalyst and one of the students of the renowned thinker Jacques Lacan, sent a letter regarding the Peace and Democratic Society Process initiated by Mr. Abdullah Öcalan’s call on February 27.
The message reads as follows:
“I wholeheartedly support this call for peace and coexistence between the Kurdish and Turkish peoples, so that true democracy may emerge in our troubled world, and I very gladly join the signatories. This peace process is more necessary now than ever, not only for the whole world but also for Europe. And of course, I hope that many other thinkers, intellectuals, and political leaders will join us. A beautiful initiative, and I wish you strength and courage in this necessary struggle, in which I stand with you.”
The original French version of the letter is as follows:
"Je soutiens évidemment cet appel à la paix et à la coexistence entre les deux peuples kurde et turc afin qu’une véritable démocratie puisse voir le jour dans le monde troublé qui est le nôtre et je rejoins très volontiers les signataires. Ce processus de paix est nécessaire au monde entier et à l’Europe, plus que jamais. Et bien entendu j’espère que beaucoup d’autres penseurs, intellectuels et responsables politiques se joindront à nous. Belle initiative et bon courage pour cette lutte nécessaire à laquelle je participe avec vous."
Roudinesco is a scholar, historian and psychoanalyst. Roudinesco's work focuses mainly on psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis in France but also worldwide. She has written biographies of Jacques Lacan and Sigmund Freud.
2 September 2025