Newroz Declaration: “Now is the time for success”

A press conference in Amed (tr. Diyarbakir) kicked off this year’s celebrations of the resistance festival Newroz. Newroz will be celebrated this year under the motto “Now is the time for success” (ku. Dem dema serkeftinê ye, tr. Şimdi kazanma zamanı), announced representatives of the working group for an Alliance for Kurdistan led by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the Free Women’s Movement (TJA), the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). The Kurdistan Alliance also includes the Kurdistan Communist Party (KKP), the KDP-Bakur, the Azadî Party, the People and Freedom Party (PIA) and the Revolutionary Democratic Kurdish Association (DDKD).

The Newroz Declaration was read by DBP Chair Saliha Aydeniz in Kurdish and PIA Chair Mehmet Kamaç in Turkish. The statement began by pointing out that Newroz is celebrated by many peoples in the Middle East and the Caucasus as the beginning of spring and goes back to the legend of the Kawa the Blacksmith, who defeated the tyrant Dehaq. The Newroz fire symbolises the victory of the rebellion against the cruel despot.

The declaration continued: “We are celebrating Newroz 2022 at a time when fascism and colonialism want to condemn us to darkness. Around the world, in the Middle East and in Kurdistan, despotism and oppression are escalating. At the same time, we are witnessing huge resistance against it. Capitalism is looking for the way out of its deep crisis and the chaos it has caused in new wars. After the proxy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, the struggle for hegemony has taken on a new dimension with the war in Ukraine. War means destruction. We call on the peoples to say no to war and to build a barricade of peace against the war policies of their states. The solution is a swift end to the war and the ability of Ukraine to be an impartial bridge of peace between the West and Russia.

Totalitarian war concept and neo-Ottoman dreams

The AKP/MHP government is sticking to its totalitarian war concept against the Kurdish people with its neo-Ottoman dreams. A policy of occupation and annexation is being implemented in Rojava and South Kurdistan. Before the eyes of the world public, a crime against humanity is being committed with the use of chemical weapons. In order to destroy the achievements of our people, which have been fought for with great sacrifices, air attacks on Kurdistan are taking place continuously, from the south to Shengal, from Maxmur to Rojava. We condemn these attacks and call for an end to them.

Division in Kurdish politics

These attacks are regrettably reinforced by the divided Kurdish politics. It is the priority demand of our people that the Kurdish parties and forces refrain from attitudes and policies that are contrary to national interests. We call on the parties and movements to establish national unity and protect our achievements in the face of colonialist and chauvinist aggression against the Kurdish people.

Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan

Despite his efforts for peace and a solution, Abdullah Öcalan has been unlawfully detained in the isolation and torture system in Imrali island prison for 23 years. This is a crime against humanity. The prisons have been turned into death houses by the policy of isolation, where all political hostages and especially sick prisoners are exposed to death. Political prisoners continue to be held arbitrarily after they have completed their sentences. The Institute of Forensic Medicine produces politically motivated and unlawful reports on the fitness for detention of seriously ill people. We call on the government to act so that Abdullah Öcalan and all sick and political prisoners are released immediately.

“We will not give up our mother tongue”

With the usurping regime of trustees, a policy aiming at genocide is being implemented against the will, language, identity and culture of the Kurdish people. Kurdish is one of the ancient languages of the Middle East and has been effectively banned for over a hundred years. The last link in the chain of denial and prohibition policies is the AKP government. The governing coalition of the AKP and MHP is turning the Kurdish language into a means of anti-propaganda against the Kurdish people and their political representation on state channels. At the same time, offering Kurdish as an elective course is presented as great goodness. Mother tongue education is one of the most important demands of the Kurds and is an indispensable red line. We advocate that the Kurdish language becomes a language of instruction from primary school to university. We hereby declare once again that we will continue to fight for this.

Freedom and democratisation

The special war policy of the AKP/MHP government and the total war against the achievements of the Kurdish people at home and abroad have led to a severe economic crisis and a political polarisation of society. All the resources of the country are mobilised for this war. The heavy burden is put on the people, the women and the working people. Society is condemned to starvation. In order to cover up its own bankruptcy and defeat, and to keep itself in power, the government has staged show trials to close down the HDP and to block organised Kurdish politics in general. As always, the outcome will depend on the resistance. The Kurdish people and their friends are resisting relentlessly and making the attacks fail. At the same time, these attacks remind us of our own responsibility. We see the way out in developing and consolidating our steps towards democratic unity in Kurdistan. With this step, we shoulder the national liberation struggle in Kurdistan. We are convinced that we are also contributing to the democratisation of Turkey.

The Kurdish people are close to victory

In this historically significant time, we celebrate Newroz 2022 with the slogan ‘Now is the time for success’. Newroz is the day of the beginning of spring, of new hopes and aspirations and of great achievements. The Kurdish people are recreating themselves for Newroz and focusing on victory. They are closer to success than ever before.

We will celebrate this year’s Newroz as a festival of freedom and victory. We invite all our people to gather around the Newroz fire, to magnify our enthusiasm, our anger and our revolt, to raise our demand for freedom loudly and to celebrate Newroz everywhere. In order to strengthen the mood of women’s resistance at Newroz that was created on 8 March with the spirit of freedom and culminate in victory, we call on everyone to pour into the squares and celebrate Newroz with great enthusiasm. Newroz pîroz be!”