Speaking in Silvan (Farqîn) during the “Great Freedom March”, Newroz Uysal Arslan, Member of Parliament for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), said that every location has become a capital of resistance against the mindset that ignores the existence of Kurds.
The march, advocating for the physical freedom of Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue, reached its tenth day as it arrived in Silvan from Kars (Qers).
Despite prohibitions and obstacles, the marchers, welcomed with flowers and songs in Silvan, carried the message of continued struggle until Öcalan is free. Arslan conveyed greetings from significant Kurdish landmarks and figures, highlighting the Kurdish longing for freedom and the history of massacres faced by the community. “We are conducting a politics of life against death. We dream of a life where peace and equality exist,” she stated, noting the march’s significance in symbolising the Kurdish pursuit of freedom and the state’s fear of this aspiration.
Arslan pointed out that if the PKK leader is in isolation, the Kurdish people are as well, turning every place into a bastion of resistance. She reiterated the commitment to achieving freedom, inviting everyone to join the march, set to converge in Diyarbakır (Amed) on 13 February.
