Rally in Batman: “We are Kurds and we are everywhere”

Thousands of people moved to Newroz Square in the province of Batman on Saturday to take part in a rally under the slogan “Time for Freedom”. The large-scale event was the culmination so far of the campaign of the same name led by the HDP and DBP parties as well as the women’s movement TJA and the civil society umbrella organization DTK (Democratic Society Congress).

HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan said in a speech: “The HDP is everywhere and today we are in Batman. We are in Batman because we know that people here stand up for themselves and their party despite brutal oppression. We are proud of that. This country needs social peace and that is what we are fighting for. Social peace begins with the Kurds being able to live with their identity, culture and mother tongue. It starts with Alevis being able to practice their faith freely. We will never accept anything else. As the HDP, we know that peace will not come to this country until the Kurdish question is resolved through democratic methods.”

DBP Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır greeted the crowd in Kurdish and said, “We are Kurds and we are everywhere. For a long time, we have been on the road in Kurdistan and Turkey to stand up against despotism, isolation and assimilation. The Kurdish people have been fighting for a status and their rights for a hundred years. Now the time of freedom has come. The Kurdish people have reached a point where they will assert their freedom. The AKP/MHP government wants to destroy the Kurdish people with its occupation policy. For this reason, Abdullah Öcalan is also isolated from the public. If a solution is wanted, the isolation must be lifted.”

After the speeches, a concert took place despite police obstruction. The police had forbidden the invited musicians to bring their instruments to the square. As a result, the musicians performed without instruments and were enthusiastically celebrated by the crowd.