The struggle for freedom and political activities of the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party A. Ocalan in the late 1990s

In this article the author aims to examine and assess actions taken by the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) A. Ocalan in his exile and persecution that eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment. The author analyzes the situation of PKK in the late 1990s in the context of the geopolitical layout developed in the Middle East. The author concludes that its situation deteriorated for the following reasons. First, Turkey needed to be able to ensure the safety of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline construction. Second, the normalization process between the Kurdish parties in Northern Iraq exacerbated the situation of PKK in this region. Third, Turkey and Israel concluded a number of agreements on strategic partnership. Both countries were openly hostile to Syria, where the residence of Ocalan was, and PKK training camps were harbored. In 1998 Turkey openly threatened military action against Syria, and forced it to stop supporting PKK and to send Ocalan out of the country. The author traces the path of Ocalan through several countries and examines the reasons of their refusal of granting political asylum to the PKK leader. Ocalan had ties with Russian political and public figures including deputies of the State Duma. V. Zhirinovsky, the leader of the LDPR party, offered Ocalan refuge in Russia. After a brief covert stay in Russia his presence was discovered and became known to Turkish intelligence. Russian government refused to grant political asylum to Ocalan in fear of foreign policy complications, and Ocalan went to Italy. The Constitution of Italy prohibits extradition to countries retaining the death penalty. But Ocalan soon became a problem for Italy due to deterioration of relations with Turkey, its major economic partner. The government considered several solutions: to send Ocalan back where he came from, to grant him political asylum, to bring Ocalan before an international court or to trial him in Italy. The author pays special attention to the struggle waged by the PKK leader for his freedom and for drawing broad international attention to the Kurdish problem. Ocalan himself stated that he was ready to stand trial in Europe realizing that this would provide an opportunity to draw international attention to the injustices against the Kurds in Turkey. But the Italian government eventually decided not to take responsibility and asked Ocalan to leave the country. After he changed several countries he was covered by Greek officials in the Greek embassy property in Nairobi, Kenya. The author of the study concluded that Turkish special services organized an operation of Ocalan's kidnapping and transferring him to Turkey through assistance of the intelligence services of Israel and the United States. Ocalan was sentenced to death, which later was commuted to life imprisonment. The author also examines the consequences of Ocalan's arrest and, in particular, the coordinated wave of protests by the Kurdish diaspora across the world, most fiery in Europe.

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