In 1962, when Nelson Mandela was given a life sentence for his attempts to free his country from oppression, few thought he would become the President of South Africa after twenty-seven years of imprisonment. When Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, who would have dared to hope that a black man would one day be President of the United States? Similarly, in today’s Middle East, the possibility of a Kurdish guerrilla leader ever becoming the President of say, Iraq, also seems remote, but not impossible.

Abdullah Öcalan

However, potential changes in the political leadership of nearby Turkey are much more likely. Apart from the proposition that current Turkish President Abdullah Gül is prepared to co-operate with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long held Presidential ambitions by switching jobs with him, political pundits and voters would do well to consider Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan as the most likely Prime Ministerial candidate to bring Turkey true peace.

Left field answers are needed to solve the range of problems in the Middle East. The previously troublesome relations between the Turks and the Kurds of Turkey could be vastly improved by the election of Abdullah Öcalan to the position of Prime Minister of this divided nation.

A brief survey of Ocalan’s personal and political history, including his participation in the struggle to unite Kurdish people within the Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian territories of their Ancient Median ancestors, explains the recent recognition by middle power Turkey of his considerable influence and value as a potential peace maker and promoter of stability in the region.

As a child of poor parents Abdullah Ocalan was born in Omerli, a village in the Halfeti-District, Province of Urfa, in the Kurdish Southeast of Turkey in 1949. Leaving his village after secondary school, he studied Political Sciences at the University of Ankara. He successfully completed his studies and entered the civil service in Diyarbakir.

Rejecting the unacceptable treatment of the Kurdish people, who were denied the right to live their own identity and culture by the Turkish state, Abdullah Ocalan became an active member of the Democratic Cultural Associations of the East, an organization supporting the Kurdish people’s demands. After the military coup in 1971 he progressively investigated the Kurdish question.

In 1978 the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, was founded with Ocalan as party leader, a post he retains until today. Besides numerous works on culture and the general situation of his people, Mr. Ocalan has explored subjects like philosophy, matters of faith, gender and environmental issues in plenty of lectures and books.

In response to continuing persecution, the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK launched an armed struggle against the Turkish central government in 1984. Their aim was to exercise the right of the Kurdish people to self-determination. During this war approximately 40,000 people lost their lives.

When Israeli commandos raided Nairobi fourteen years ago, Kurdish leader Ocalan was ‘coincidentally’ tracked down to Kenya and captured by the Israeli Mossad in a spy drama worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster movie.

The six travelers arriving at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport looked like any other tourists on safari. They were casually dressed and carried huge jungle green backpacks.

Nothing betrayed the fact that this party of five men and a woman were Mossad agents whose mission in the country would thrust Kenya into the international spotlight, expose its close ties to Israeli security services and cause a diplomatic row that saw then Foreign Affairs minister Bonaya Godana order all Kenyan embassies closed for a day.

The Israelis came to town 14 years ago last month because of the presence in Nairobi of Abdullah ‘Apo’ Ocalan, at the time one of the world’s most wanted men.

Turkey’s secret services with US and Israeli co-operation kidnapped Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and returned him to Turkey to be humiliated on a TV show and then sentenced to death, which was later, commuted to life imprisonment.

Today, in a significant turnaround, Turkey is negotiating with imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan to bring peace for the Kurds in Turkey.

The success of these efforts depends substantially on the willingness of the people of Turkey to acknowledge the historical and cultural origins of the Kurdish people living amongst them and to respect their deep connections to the roots of their Aryan civilization.

The large numbers of extremist Turks in the ‘Gray Wolf’ organization would be well advised to avoid a clash with the Kurdish Kangal, the giant shepherd dog who prefers peace to war, but will not allow his flock to be mauled by wild beasts. Wolves that are tamed become intelligent and co-operative companions for humans, protecting the pack from attacks and ensuring its survival. Turkish leaders could learn valuable lessons from the animal world.

One way of justly sharing the resources traditionally owned by the Airyanem Vaejah people in the Aryan Lands from Pakistan to Turkey and from Kurdistan to the countries of the former Soviet Union is the establishment of a Middle Eastern Economic Union. This proposed solution would allow each ethnic or national group such as Turks, Kurds, Persians and others to have their own independent country within an economic union similar to the EU of Europe. Considering the ongoing threats to the integrity of the European Economic Union, the establishment of a Middle Eastern counterpart may well be the solution to the persistent global financial crisis, creating another economic power house to shore up endemic weaknesses.

A seasoned problem solver with and open mind, as Prime Minister of Turkey Abdullah Öcalan is ably suited to negotiate and lead the discussion and development of such a vision for the future. He promotes the proposal in the interests of peace and stability, but whether the other major regional players such as the US, EU, Israel, and Russia will be prepared to examine its feasibility and inestimable benefits in the face of the present suffering, destruction and hopelessness currently besetting the Middle East is yet to be seen. However emerging economic powers such as India and China might well be inclined to welcome its potential for economic expansion and partnerships.

Now a potential Prime Minister, Abdullah Öcalan started his political life with a small group determined to fight for justice in Turkey and now he has millions of followers in the region. An enduring organizer and motivator of those willing to work indefinitely for peace and stability, like other modern political trailblazers he has survived war, incarceration, and violent opposition to emerge as one of the Middle East’s foremost champions of human rights, democracy, and the peaceful resolution of the multiple conflicts plaguing the region.

Note: In an effort to examine the origins of the Kurdish conflict with Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, and the Arab-Persian conflict, we have launched a series of historical novels to develop better understanding between the Aryan and other peoples now living in the Middle East. The first, Vashti, Queen of the Ancient Medes provides insights into the life of this little known and oft maligned Queen, whilst throwing significant light on the true historical place of the subject of the second novel, Esther, Mystery Queen of the Medes, well known for her role in the establishment of the Jewish Purim festival. These ancient tales of personal power ploys, harems, conspiracies and inter-imperial power machinations reveal unique insights into an almost forgotten but rich continuous culture paralleling the most influential of past and present civilizations.