Özgür Özel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), shared a message of solidarity with the crowd celebrating Newroz at Istanbul’s Yenikapı Square on Sunday, the country’s second largest gathering, calling for democratic resistance and collective unity. The message, however, was received with hesitation, as some audience members reacted angrily to Özel’s perceived silence in the wake of offensive remarks made by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş.
On the evening prior to the celebration, during a joint public appearance in front of Istanbul Municipality with Özel, Yavaş had launched a critique of President Erdoğan that also included rhetoric widely interpreted as offensive to Kurds. Yavaş’s nationalist framing provoked backlash, especially from Kurdish audiences, and many were disappointed that Özel did not publicly challenge or distance himself from those remarks.
As a result, when the Newroz organisers attempted to introduce Özel’s written message at Yenikapı Square, parts of the crowd protested vocally. The programme was briefly disrupted until the moderator persuaded the audience to hear the statement.
In the message, Özel underlined Newroz’s significance as a symbol of freedom and resistance and expressed the need for unity among Turkey’s diverse communities.
“We are the people. We are millions who thirst for equality and freedom,” he stated. “The days when we will all dance the halay (a traditional Kurdish and Turkish circle dance, known as ‘govend’ in Kurdish, where people link hands and move in rhythm) for freedom together are near.”
Özel also denounced what he referred to as the “19 March coup plotters”, criticising the recent arrest and detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. He said:
“Today, not just Ekrem İmamoğlu, but Istanbul itself has been detained. There is no legal explanation for this.”
The CHP leader framed Istanbul as a pluralistic city belonging to all segments of society, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation. “This city belongs to Kurds and Turks, Alevis and Sunnis, CHP voters and AKP [ruling party] voters, MHP [ruling alliance partner] voters and DEM Party [pro-Kurdish party] supporters. Ekrem İmamoğlu is the elected mayor of all 16 million Istanbulites.”
Özel concluded with a hopeful vision for solidarity across Turkey’s political spectrum: “In that halay for freedom, our mayor Ekrem will be there, as will Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, and all our unjustly imprisoned, elected friends. Newroz Pîroz Be! [Happy Newroz!]”
