Istanbul’s Yenikapı Square buzzed on Sunday with the energy of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, celebrated by tens of thousands.
This year’s festivities, organised under the theme “It’s the time of freedom and victory” by the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), Free Women’s Movement (TJA) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, saw a significant turnout from across the city’s 39 districts. The gathering, vibrant with the traditional yellow, red and green colours, was marked by police checks at four entry points, with women donning regional attire adding to the cultural display.
The celebrations were not just a cultural manifestation but also a political statement, prominently featuring banners with slogans like “No votes for bourgeois parties or contractors. Votes go to Meral Danış Beştaş, Murat Çepni” (DEM Party cp-mayoral candidates for Istanbul). High spirits were evident with repeated chants for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom (“Bijî Serok Apo”), highlighting ongoing hunger strikes in prisons and calls for resistance.
“This Newroz marks a Newroz of freedom. The Kurdish people are close to victory. Our first demand is the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan,” DEM Party’s Istanbul co-chair Murat Kalmaz stated, underscoring the intertwined fate of Turkey’s peace and freedom with Öcalan’s release.
Musical performances and political addresses filled the event, culminating in a unified call for action in the upcoming 31 March local elections. Murat Çepni and Meral Danış Beştaş, DEM Party’s candidates, rallied the crowd, promising victory and defiance against those who disregard Kurdish rights and the working class. Beştaş’s demand, “Open the gates of Imrali (the prison where Öcalan is held), end the isolation. Abdullah Öcalan must be free,” captured the essence of this year’s Newroz celebration throughout Turkey.
