In Diyarbakır (Amed), a Kurdish-majority south-eastern province of Turkey, a grand celebration of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, has begun with great enthusiasm under the ‘Age of Freedom and Victory’ banner. This year’s event, which began hours before the official programme, saw thousands of participants fill the designated area to show their support for Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
A notable aspect of the celebration was the arrival of the Kurdish Peace Mothers protest group, greeted with Newroz chants for their involvement in a justice vigil demanding freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.
Despite the rainy weather, the participants, many of them waving flags of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy and Equality Party (DEM), filled the area, danced and shared songs of resistance. The Newroz fire was lit, and participants threw pieces of clothing into the flames as a symbolic act of renewal and resistance against oppression.
Aynur Sarıca, from the Free Women’s Movement (TJA), emphasised that Newroz represents the relentless determination of the Kurdish community to free Öcalan from years-long isolated detention, highlighting ongoing advocacy for his release and the key role of women in the movement. Meanwhile, ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ (Woman, Life, Freedom), a mantra originally coined by Öcalan, sang out from the crowd.
Berdan Öztürk, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), called for “national unity for a free Kurdistan” and a democratic Middle East. A message was read out from political prisoners who have so far been on hunger strike for 116 days to demand freedom for Öcalan and a resolution of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
Serra Bucak and Doğan Hatun, DEM Party co-mayoral candidates for Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, also spoke and promised to end the undemocratic practice of appointing government-backed trustees in Kurdish-majority provinces and emphasised the demand for peaceful negotiations towards establishing Kurdish rights in the country.
The large-scale celebrations continued with speeches and musical performances, reiterating the human right to self-determination, Kurdish unity and freedom for Öcalan.
