Newroz is the name of uprising, resistance, and unity. It is the new day of peoples. Newroz means a new beginning, rebirth, and “unity and struggle” against oppression. For the peoples of the Middle East, Newroz is the festival of rebellion and freedom. It expresses revival and resistance under the most difficult conditions. It is the shared day of struggle and victory of the peoples.
With the founding of the PKK, Newroz became the first step of a national uprising, resistance against fascism, and a new historic threshold. From this beginning, the Newroz fire spread increasingly and gained universal meaning, embracing everyone and reviving the historical significance that had been sought to be erased from memory.
Now, with the process initiated by Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan), Newroz 2026 is expected to be celebrated with millions once again declaring powerfully that hope, freedom, dignity, and a humane life are only possible through their own roots—and that the architect of this path is Leader Apo.
Why is Newroz such a meaningful day? Briefly looking at its history, Newroz marks the victory of the alliance of peoples led by Kawa the Blacksmith against the tyrant Dehak in 612 BC—2,638 years ago.
The reason fires are lit on mountains during Newroz celebrations is rooted in the mythological concept of fire developed by the ancestors of the Kurds, which holds a significant place in Zoroaster’s Avesta and later in the Zoroastrian religion. In Kurdish mythology, fire carries meanings such as conscience, the herald of victory, the fuel of life, the qibla, the protector of goodness, and independence.
Although attempts were made at times to suppress and extinguish the never-ending Newroz fire, they were unsuccessful. Especially Mazlum Doğan, one of the pioneering cadres of the Apoist movement, lit the Newroz fire with three matches under oppression and torture in Diyarbakır Prison No. 5 after the military coup of September 12, 1980. Since then, March 21 has become the symbol of the renewed resistance of the Kurdish people. Thus, the PKK went down in history as the Newroz party in the eyes of the people of Kurdistan.
While Newroz has long been celebrated among Kurds as a national day, after the action of Mazlum Doğan—known in history as the Contemporary Kawa—it has also come to mean the “Festival of Resurrection.” Leader Apo defined Newroz as rebirth, raperîn (uprising), rebellion, and insistence on a free life.
Today, when Newroz is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the resistance developed by the Kurdish people against fascism and oppression. Newroz and the Kurds complement each other. In the 20th century, under the leadership of the “Contemporary Kawa” Mazlum Doğan, the Kurdish people lit the Newroz fire and rediscovered their essence. In this way, Newroz reached its true meaning. Because it embodies “unity and struggle,” the Kurdish people protected their existence through resistance and struggle in all fields, especially in the mountains.
The Newroz seed that bloomed in the spring of 1973
Leader Apo described the remark “Kurdistan is a colony,” which he had first voiced during Newroz in 1973, as follows:
“The journey that began during the Newroz of 1973 at the foothills of the Çubuk Dam in Ankara—an extremely exciting journey, almost like that of a mad lover—reached its conclusion when it took the name PKK on 27 November 1978 in the village of Fis in the Lice district of Diyarbakır. Only then would we consider that we had saved our honor.
With the meeting we held during Newroz 1973 at the foothills of the Çubuk Dam, I showed the courage and responsibility to enter into group practice. For me, Kurdish reality would now be connected to the results that would emerge from this group practice. Later I often wondered: was there a better tool than a group to reach the Kurdish reality? I still believe that the method of forming a group was the most correct way to reach the truth.”
Women who became Newroz
Especially with the development and spread of the guerrilla struggle against occupying forces in Kurdistan, Newroz turned into an uprising. Every year with the arrival of Newroz, the Kurdish people transformed every place into a field of resistance for freedom, welcoming Newroz through struggle, reviving its historical meaning, and expressing their demand for freedom on that day. Leader Apo described the Kurdish people as the “people of Newroz” because of this resistance.
With the emergence of Leader Apo on the historical stage and the birth of the PKK, Newroz gained a new meaning and was celebrated each year with a deeper spirit of struggle through the resistance developed under the leadership of the Kurdish people and the PKK. Because Newroz holds a historical meaning for the Kurdish people, many patriotic Kurds and PKK cadres intensified the Newroz fire with their own bodies in protest against oppression. Those who celebrated Newroz with their bodies sent a message about the meaning of Newroz and about how resistance should be developed in Kurdistan, exploited by occupying forces.
The torch lit by Mazlum Doğan during Newroz in 1982 shone again in 1990 on the walls of Amed. University student Zekiye Alkan climbed the Amed walls on 21 March 1990 and turned her young body into the Newroz fire. This action in Kurdistan quickly spread to major cities across Turkey, to Europe, and to the world. The torch of freedom taken from the depths of history passed from Mazlum Doğan to Zekiye Alkan on the walls of Amed, from Zekiye to Rahşan—an eighteen-year-old living in Turkey’s metropolitan cities—and from Rahşan to two young hearts in Europe, Berîvan and Ronahî, and later to Sema Yüce in Çanakkale Prison.
Leader Apo made the following historic remarks during a military ceremony held during Newroz in the 1990s: “From now on, every day is Newroz. All the days that have passed were truly days of Newroz. This was our word, and we did not allow it to be trampled.
But there were pains imposed by the oppressors, there was torture. They devastated everything. They burned many people with every possible technique, weapon, and torture. Our hearts ask how the memory of those who were burned will be preserved. When Zekiyes, Zilans, and Ronahis became the great martyrs of these days, we know from their own words and will that they did this precisely to reach the answer to the question: ‘What is a free life?’
In these lands people have always lived with a passion for freedom. Perhaps it resembles no other country; perhaps it resembles no book ever written. Perhaps it has not even been written in books. Yet there is a fight for freedom. If the book has not been fully written, it is because liberation has not been complete. If the books written are unfinished, it is because liberation is incomplete. This is the source of the excitement. ‘Treasures are searched for where they were lost.’ Humanity is searched for where it was born; if it is to be found, it will be found here. Not in America. Not in Russia or Siberia. Its center is here.
For 25 years we have been searching for the human being—first our own human being. And this human is the first human. Perhaps, if there is to be a true human, the last human will also be this one. If life is to be honored, if everything is to smile with life like Newroz, one must grasp its language. That is why life is not easy.”
New meanings born through resistance
As the years passed with the resistance of the PKK and the guerrillas, Newroz celebrations gained new meanings. Zagros and Botan became areas where Newroz was celebrated with great splendor. Thousands of guerrillas gave great meaning to the day and celebrated it with songs and dances. Women built a bridge from the enthusiasm and determination of March 8 toward Newroz, turning each Newroz into a new beginning for Kurds and oppressed peoples. Kurds came to understand that the real meaning of Newroz is not only the joy of a festival but the name of resistance and insistence on a free life. Thus, they connected March 8 with March 21, making both days even more meaningful.
In 2013, during the historic Amed Newroz, the manifesto “Freedom for Leader Öcalan, status for the Kurds,” which developed within the framework of the Democratic Resolution Process, left its mark. The celebration, attended by nearly three million people, became the largest gathering in Amed’s history. During the event, watched live by millions, Leader Apo’s historic declaration announcing the beginning of a new phase of struggle was read.
Today Newroz is celebrated everywhere and in every sphere with great enthusiasm. There is one main reason for this: the struggle of Apoist guerrillas, our patriotic people, and our comrades who heroically fell as martyrs for the freedom of our country and our people. Even when Newroz is celebrated with a small spark in the mountains, plains, cities, or villages, it draws its beauty and spirit from a land where patriotism has been revived, from the relentless struggle of the Leader, and from the sacrifices of our sacred martyrs.
We conclude our text with a poem written by Leader Apo, which gives it deeper meaning. In advance, we wish a happy Newroz festival to Leader Apo, our heroic martyrs, and our people.
“Birth in the Newroz of 2000
If the sacred mother is the past of the right,
the child is its present and its future.
If the beloved woman is the call of freedom,
the life to be accepted will either be free or not exist at all.
If everything is dark and difficult,
if rebellion and war are as necessary
and inevitable as they are;
if the dawn of freedom surrounds the horizon with light,
then the act of peace is more noble and necessary.
In all these times,
as our first religion commands,
you must think correctly in the light of science.
With the subtlety of rhetoric and with your effort,
you will realize yourself freely.”
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