Tev-Çand (Mesopotamian Democratic Culture and Art Movement) Committee Member Nurettin Demirtaş spoke to ANF on the 77th birthday of Abdullah Öcalan.
He said: “Those who are curious about the story of dry wood must follow it. How does a piece of dry wood turn green? Those who want to understand this must become followers of this story and investigate it. This is the story of the beginning of a life shaped by curiosity, excitement, and passion. It is the meaning of being able to live by feeling and witnessing the moment when rebirth begins to flourish. It is something that cannot be encountered anywhere else, neither in films nor in novels. Yet despite this, life itself came to life in Kurdistan. Anyone who truly wants to understand this must follow a piece of dry wood and a fragment of a tree.
What miracle made dry wood bloom?
Yes, what was the miracle that made dry wood turn green? Which mind, which heart, which person achieved this? If one follows the story of how dry wood was made to bloom, it becomes possible to understand what has taken place in Kurdistan, how far things have come, who stands behind this “miracle,” and how it was accomplished.
The history of Kurdistan is known as the history of people buried under concrete, breaking through that concrete to come back to life. Perhaps the most striking and powerful description of this miraculous transformation was once expressed in the question of an elderly man. The question posed against the reality of Kurdish identity buried in concrete is meaningful. At the same time, it reflects the depth of despair: “Can you make dry wood turn green?” There could be no greater expression of hopelessness.
What Abdullah Öcalan achieved in what can be described as a historical “miracle” is precisely this: making dry wood bloom. Those who fail to grasp this cannot understand the reality of the people we are, the transformations we have undergone, or how we have reached this point. The tireless efforts of Öcalan, and the transformations he has carried within his 77 years of life, cannot be understood solely through the transformation of the Kurdish people.
On the occasion of his 77th birthday, Öcalan described the great and historic act he realized beyond his physical birth as a “rebirth,” even dividing it into distinct phases. He defined his physical birth as the first birth. The second birth was given meaning with the emergence of the Freedom Movement. The third birth took place on Imralı Island, following what is known as the largest act of international piracy in history, when he was taken captive through a major conspiracy. This, as is known, marked a paradigm shift.”
A new name for humane life
Nurettin Demirtaş added: “The new paradigm was defined as the third birth. While Abdullah Öcalan made these definitions, we, of course, attribute equal value and meaning to the first, second, and third births. What he realized in what is described as a “miracle” cannot be understood through theological expressions, mythological narratives, or by cloaking it in mysticism. What is called “miraculous” was, in fact, achieved entirely through human intellect and human heart. At the same time, it was realized through immense labor.
Abdullah Öcalan pursued humane life in Kurdistan under the most hopeless conditions. He described and defined what it means to be human and how humane life should be lived. Through his labor, he created himself. In other words, what we call “miraculous” is entirely human. It is neither imaginary nor theological, nor like the tales or epics; it was achieved wholly through concrete labor.
The reality of leadership that created itself through labor became a leader of humanity when it met with consciousness, meaning, and philosophy. For this reason, the condition once described as hopeless, where it was believed impossible for a piece of wood or a dry tree to turn green in Kurdistan, has now reached a level that illuminates humanity.
There are moments of rebirth in the history of humanity, and they have always been remembered as heralds of something new. For example, the births of prophets are understood in this way. Likewise, the births of many philosophers carry such meaning because of their contributions to humanity. The European Renaissance already means rebirth in itself. Each of these moments has offered meaningful contributions to humanity. The most recent rebirth, which developed with the European Enlightenment and was grounded in the Renaissance and Reform movements, marked a major step toward the creation of humane life. Yet it remained incomplete. Why?
First, the foundations it relied on extended only as far as Greco-Roman history. Its primary historical reference was Greco-Roman civilization. What came before was either unknown or rejected. In this sense, we now turn toward the oldest culture and history of humanity. We seek the essence of humanity by taking as a basis Göbekli Tepe and what came before it, the era of clans and tribes, and that social culture. Second, in the European Renaissance, artists led transformation with boldness. However, there were no women among them. This second deficiency of the Renaissance is now being completed through our revolution.
Therefore, rebirth becomes a process that completes what was left unfinished and incomplete in humanity’s self-discovery. While understanding this, what meaning we attribute to our own birth, to our own lives as human beings, and how we approach it, becomes essential.
A profound social reality has emerged of a people who see Öcalan’s birth as their own, who believe in it and embrace it as such. The Newroz of 2026 demonstrated this very clearly. Yet despite seeing it as our own birth, there remains a reality of 27 years of captivity. A Newroz that will bring an end to this has emerged as a Newroz of solution, revealing a strong collective will.
Today, we all claim that we are devoted to Öcalan. However, Öcalan states that true devotion and genuine love lie in bringing to life and implementing the ideas and paradigm that represent the rebirth of humanity. By questioning ourselves in this way and responding to this rebirth through our own practice, we can approach it correctly.
Otherwise, forms of devotion and declarations remain incomplete and fall short. Indeed, such is the reality of this leadership that it has succeeded in carrying its own birth, at the level of ideas and philosophy, as well as in life and culture, to an entire people, and from there to all of humanity.”
The birth of Abdullah Öcalan is the birth of a people
Demirtaş continued: “Through democratic modernity, which stands as an alternative to capitalism, the ugliest, most brutal and worst system of all ages, an alternative way of life has been offered to all humanity. A tradition of resistance has been built around this. Today, our people, everywhere, across the four parts of Kurdistan, are united in the spirit of resistance. This spirit of resistance is, of course, a stance against capitalist colonialism. At the same time, our people living across the world have responded with the same spirit.
We witnessed this in the grand Newroz celebrations in Europe. With its culture, its art and its spirit of resistance, a social reality emerged of a people who see the birth of Abdullah Öcalan as their own birth. Likewise, the internationalist movement is striving to reach a level where it organizes and institutionalizes itself across Europe and other countries and regions of the world. Through democratic modernity, which goes beyond the spirit of internationalist solidarity, an alternative life has taken shape, one that determines where and how individuals stand, illuminating their path and guiding their direction.
Here, we emphasize an issue that we believe intellectuals, thinkers, artists, writers, literary figures and filmmakers, in fact, everyone concerned with life, across the world should closely study and examine. We have brought these trees and pieces of wood here for this reason. The question ‘Can dry wood turn green?’ must be explored, and the story behind it must be followed. In order to understand what democratic modernity is, how it was created and how far it has come, this story must be pursued. This story has one pioneer and thousands of heroes.
With the rebirth of Öcalan, all of us, our people and humanity, have encountered a philosophy of life that has been made possible thanks to our martyrs, each of whom represents a value equal to an entire world and whom we always remember with endless devotion. Indeed, Abdullah Öcalan states that from the very beginning, from the martyrdom of Haki Karer to the present day, he has carried out and developed all his work and life in order to respond to the martyrs.
In this sense, we wish that the birthday of Öcalan, and of all of us, be celebrated first and foremost by our martyrs, by the mothers of martyrs, by our people and by all humanity. On the birthday of Abdullah Öcalan, with all our longing and love, we extend our sincere and heartfelt congratulations and express our wish to personally present to him the gifts we have prepared. We believe that Öcalan will, in the near future, regain his physical freedom, and that we will embrace together the comradeship he has offered us as the greatest gift, honoring it as it deserves. We wish to celebrate his birthday freely by elevating the values he has led and created to the level they deserve. Öcalan is the greatest opportunity in history for us, for our people and for humanity.”
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