The Roots of Civilisation

PRISON WRITINGS - THE ROOTS OF CIVILISATION Abdullah Ocalan 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 Southeast 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, Ocalan 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 deal with the history of the region and its major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and define the Kurdish position in this context, from ancient civilisations to the feudal age through the birth of capitalism and beyond.