Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan sent a message to the conference "1925 Uprising’s 100th Anniversary Conference Azadi Society, Sheikh Said and Companions, Memory and Collective Opposition".

 

Abdullah Öcalan's message to the conference stated the following:

 

“To the 1925 Uprising’s 100th Anniversary Conference

 

Azadi Society, Sheikh Said and Companions, Memory and Collective Opposition

 

The historical reality we commemorate in the person of Sheikh Said goes beyond a mere uprising or local rebellion. This reality is a traditional struggle for existence that has left deep traces in the social memory of the Kurdish people. That struggle is the rebellion of Kurdish society against the imposed monist mentality, manifested with faith, tradition, and will.

 

Sheikh Said, as a pioneer who took on social responsibility in the circumstances of his time, took a strong stand against the policies of denial directed at the Kurdish will. This uprising, which found meaning in his person, was not only political but also a social reaction. This reaction is a historical expression of the Kurds' loyalty to their own truth.

 

The centralist and monist politics implemented in the early years of the Republic aimed to eradicate the Kurdish people from existence. Sheikh Said opposed this policy, saying, ‘We wanted justice, but you gave us death,’ and carried the voice of a people to the gallows. These words are the simplest and most powerful demonstration that truth does not retreat in the face of oppression. Additionally, his words, ‘Dear prosecutor, we were meant to have a feast with lamb?’, are an expression of the conspiracy he faced. His words, ‘My grandchildren will surely avenge me,’ express the hope for resistance he handed down to future generations.

 

There is another point that should be emphasized here: as with every historical resistance, the uprising led by Sheikh Said was a product of its own time. Relating it to today's struggle for freedom is possible not by romanticizing it, but by drawing structural lessons and reestablishing historical continuity along a libertarian and democratic line.

 

I have taken up this tradition as a basis for the revolutionary transformation of free Kurdishness. The struggle I am waging aims to bring together the meaningful legacy of resistance from the past with a future system based on democracy, pluralism, and social peace. Sheikh Said's line will attain its true meaning when it is combined with today's democratic nation paradigm.

 

Free Kurdishness is possible through loyalty to the history, culture, and moral-political values of the people. Our people must be vigilant in this regard and uphold the sacred legacy left by their historical leaders.

 

On this basis, I pay respectful tribute to Sheikh Said and his companions; I once again emphasize my determination to uphold the values of their struggle on the path of freedom and truth, and I extend my greetings to all participants with the hope that your conference will be successful.

 

Abdullah Öcalan

 

İmralı, June 2025”