ANKARA – Philosopher and cultural critic Santiago Zabala drew attention to the fact that Kurdish-Turkish relations have been targeted by capitalist modernity, stating, “Öcalan’s efforts must not be in vain.”
Philosopher Santiago Zabala shared a message supporting the “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society” made by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27. In his message, Zabala, who is also a cultural critic, said:
“As Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish People’s Leader, pointed out in his Call for Peace and a Democratic Society on February 27, 2025, the last two centuries of capitalist modernity have essentially been shaped by the goal of dismantling the thousand-year cooperation and alliance between Turks and Kurds.
Öcalan is rightly calling for a new cooperation and alliance. This call must be supported, and the Turkish and Kurdish peoples should be encouraged to act together against the capitalist provocations of imperialism. Öcalan’s efforts must not be in vain.”
WHO İS ZABALA?
Santiago Zabala is a professor at Pompeu Fabra University, which was established in 1990 by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and named after Catalan philologist Pompeu Fabra. Zabala’s work focuses on the meaning of art, politics, and freedom in the 21st century—where, as he puts it, “the greatest emergency is the absence of emergency.”
For Zabala, the purpose of philosophy is to make visible the unrecognized emergencies—such as climate change or economic inequality—in order to disrupt the “return to normality” imposed by surveillance capitalism and right-wing populism.