Prison Writings
The Roots of Civilisation
ABDULLAH OCALAN
Abdullah Öcalan was the most wanted man in Turkey for almost two decades until his kidnapping and arrest in Nairobi in 1999.
He has been in Prison ever since. He is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
From 1984, under his leadership, the PKK fought for an independent Kurdish state in the south east of Turkey.
In a sustained popular uprising, thousands of Kurdish fighters took on the Turkish army to protect their Kurdish identity, culture and language from annihilation and assimilation.
Since his imprisonment, Öcalan has written a number of books on Kurdish history, Kurdish politics, and perspectives for a sustainable peace process and a democratic Turkey.
His Prison Writings provide a broad Marxist perspective on ancient Middle Eastern history, incorporating the rise of the major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), and defining the Kurdish position within this, from the ancient Sumerian civilisation through the feudal age, the birth of capitalism and beyond.