Öcalan receives Special Recognition Award from South African Communist Party

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has given Abdullah Öcalan a
Special Recognition Award. The award was handed over at the SACP’s 13th
National Congress in oNgoye, KwaZulu Natal province. SACP General
Secretary Blade Nzimande recognized Abdullah Öcalan as “A revolutionary
internationalist fighter and a symbol of the Kurdish freedom struggle. A
political prisoner isolated in a Turkish island prison under atrocious
inhumane conditions. His relentless struggle for peace, democracy and
socialism for the peoples in the Middle East remains a beacon of
progress against imperialism and colonialism.”
Due to Öcalan’s ongoing total isolation the award was received by a
spokesperson of the International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah
Öcalan – Peace in Kurdistan” on behalf of Abdullah Öcalan. Heider drew
attention to Öcalan’s position as the leader of the Kurdish struggle for
freedom and socialism and as a key figure for a peaceful solution of the
Kurdish issue. He also emphasized the extreme isolation conditions that
he is held under: “Since more than eleven months, nobody has seen him,
no lawyer, no family members. There is no telephone, no letters. We have
no news of him.”
SACP awards are given every five years during party congresses for
outstanding achievements in the struggle. Other awards were granted to
Raoul Castro (Cuba), Che Guevara, outstanding members of the SACP,
former guerrilla leaders and a fighter against corruption.
The 13th National Congress of the South African Communist Party (SACP)
is being held from 11-15 July 2012 in oNgoye, province of Kwa Zulu Natal
with 2000 delegates and 57 international guests.
With 150.000 members the SACP is the second biggest party in South
Africa. It is part of the ruling tripartite alliance together with the
African National Congress (ANC) and the Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU).
In 2010 Öcalan had already received the “International Peace Award” from
the Struggle Veterans Action Committee (SVAC) in South Africa.

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