Supporters of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party encountered police blockades on Sunday as they attempted to travel to Diyarbakır (Amed) for a mass rally calling for the release of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue. Under the slogan “Resisting the plot, we gather in Amed for freedom,” hundreds of demonstrators were stopped by police in several cities including Dersim, Şırnak (Şirnex), Urfa (Riha) and Van (Wan).
Protesters set off from Dersim in vehicles but were stopped by police in nearby Trüşmek, where they protested by honking their car horns. Hundreds of demonstrators wearing traditional clothing gathered at party offices in Şırnak before heading towards the rally chanting slogans, only to be confronted by police blockades along the way.
Major rally in Diyarbakır: Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party presses on with plans
Hundreds of participants, including DEM Party MP Ferit Şenyaşar, known for the loss of several family members to people connected with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), attempted to travel from Karaköprü in Urfa, but were also blocked by police. Protesters responded by singing along with songs by Kurdish singer-songwriter Hozan Reşat as they waited at the police checkpoint. Similarly, in Van (Wan), demonstrators gathered in İpek Park, singing and dancing in colourful traditional attire, and expressing their demands for Öcalan’s release. “Bîjî Serok Apo” (Long live leader Apo, a popular name for Öcalan) and “Bê Serok jiyan nabe” (No life without the leader) rang out across the park.
Hundreds of demonstrators trying to reach Diyarbakır were stopped in Batman (Êlih) by police citing a local governor’s ban. Protesters began a sit-in, singing “Herne Pêş*” (Go Ahead), a rousing Kurdish marching song, and chanting slogans such as “We will resist to win” and “We won’t be crushed by oppression.” DEM Party Batman branch co-chair Mustafa Mesut Tekik condemned the police blockade, stating, “This ban does not apply to our city. Our right to travel is being unlawfully restricted.”
Protesters faced similar roadblocks in Siirt (Sêrt), but responded by starting a traditional Kurdish dance, or halay, accompanied by songs of resistance. Meanwhile, in Diyarbakır’s Sur district, people arriving from Beytüşşebap (Elkê) in Şırnak were forcibly transported by police to a different location, but their determination to reach the rally site remains undeterred.
Demonstrators remain determined despite facing similar police restrictions in other regions too. DEM Party members, including the MP Ömer Faruk Hülakü, began a sit-in protest after being stopped by police in Bingöl (Çewlîg). In Diyarbakır itself, participants attempting to join the rally from the city’s Dicle (Pîran) district were obstructed by police, leading them to find alternative ways to continue their journey, despite facing further blockades.
The rally, organised by the DEM Party in Diyarbakır, aims to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s war policies and demand the release of Öcalan, who has been held incommunicado for over three years. DEM Party officials argue that Öcalan’s release is crucial for a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey.
* “Herne Pêş” (Go Ahead) is a well-known Kurdish resistance song by Şivan Perwer, often sung at protests as a symbol of strength and the Kurdish fight for freedom, autonomy, rights and recognition. Its lyrics, which encourage persistence in the face of difficulties, have made it a rallying cry and a popular anthem for Kurdish people during protests.
