Thirty-three thinkers worldwide have called for the implementation of the “Right to Hope” for Abdullah Öcalan. Among them are internationally renowned figures such as Edgar Morin, Alain Badiou, Slavoj Žižek, and Michael Löwy. The statement, titled “International Right to Hope for Abdullah Öcalan,” says: “We call on all democratic, secular, and progressive forces of the world to listen to Öcalan.”
The declaration was submitted to the İmralı Delegation, as well as to the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Commission, and the relevant representatives of the European Parliament.
“It is now time to implement the Right to Hope”
The full text reads as follows:
“Öcalan proposes a peaceful and democratic national liberation that draws its strength from the historic unity of the Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, and Persian peoples. Öcalan’s call, which absolutely rejects violence, transcends borders and resonates worldwide.
The PKK has dissolved itself and ended the armed struggle. The conflict in Syria was brought to an end through Öcalan’s call, and the process of integration has begun. It is now time to implement the Right to Hope, which has also been strongly demanded by the Chairman of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahçeli. Öcalan must be able to work freely, and the Kurdish people must be able to hear the voice of their representative. We call on all democratic, secular, and progressive forces of the world to listen to Öcalan.”
The signatories
Among the signatories of the appeal are numerous renowned scholars and activists from the fields of philosophy, political science, sociology, and human rights.
They include French thinker Edgar Morin; Alain Badiou, known for his work on ontology and political philosophy; Jacques Rancière, known for his theories on democracy and aesthetics; Axel Honneth, a representative of critical theory; Gayatri Spivak, a postcolonial theorist; Angela Davis, a symbolic figure of the Black freedom movement; Nancy Fraser, a political philosopher; Slovenian thinker Slavoj Žižek; historian Enzo Traverso; sociologist Craig Calhoun; and Nobel Peace Prize–winning activist Jody Williams.
The list also includes representatives of liberation theology, Marxist theorists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, and political scientists.
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