We are welcoming Newroz 2026 amid shocking political and military developments in the Middle East and the world. During the collapse of real socialism and the end of the Cold War, we had already faced unexpected and dramatic political developments. In the final years of what has long been described as the Third World War, equally dramatic military and political situations are unfolding as new balances are being formed. We have clearly witnessed this in the Middle East in recent years.
Just as the tyrant Dehak once made the peoples suffer greatly, today international powers and regional reactionary forces are also inflicting suffering upon the peoples. In those times, the international powers were also the despotic rulers of the Middle East. Just as 1,414 years ago the blacksmith Kawa put an end to this oppression through his uprising against Dehak, today there is a need for a Newroz spirit that will bring an end to the oppression of international and regional powers.
Together with the peoples of the Middle East, the Kurdish people have kept the spirit of Newroz alive for 1,414 years and have resisted oppression with this spirit. Throughout history, it has been the Kurds who have most strongly preserved and carried this spirit forward. Today, the time has come for peoples to rise up with the spirit of Newroz and to overthrow all forms of oppression and reaction. The spirit of Newroz means rebellion against oppression and tyranny. The Newroz fire is the torch of this rebellion. When celebrating Newroz and lighting its fire, one must be conscious of this. It is necessary to understand what it means to celebrate Newroz.
Newroz was truly celebrated in the 1990s. Celebrations were held in accordance with its historical spirit. In those years, the Kurdish people rose up with the spirit of Newroz against the denial of Kurdish existence and against physical and cultural genocide. The 1990s were the years in which the Kurdish people became a “Newroz people.” There was not a single city, town, or village where uprisings did not take place during Newroz. In many places, people were attacked and hundreds of Kurds were killed. Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan called this people, who rose up heroically, the “people of Newroz.” In other words, the Kurds became a people of uprising. It was the spirit of Newroz that made them such a people. The spirit and heroism of those who fell made the Kurdish people into the Newroz people.
With the spirit of Newroz and uprisings, the Kurds carried out a democratic revolution in the 1990s. Although this democratic revolution has not been completed, it has recreated the Kurdish people. The Kurds before the 1990s and those after are no longer the same. Profound changes have taken place in the Kurdish social structure. This has been reflected in culture and art, where a leap forward has occurred. The democratic revolution also created a democratic political sphere. The political party processes of HEP and DEP are results of that democratic revolution. The women’s freedom revolution also began with the uprisings of the 1990s. Thousands of women joined the Freedom Movement. It is known that all of this emerged as a result of the guerrilla struggle. The struggle revived Newroz, and Newroz in turn expanded the struggle.
We are celebrating this Newroz in the second year of the Kurdish People’s Leader’s call for Peace and a Democratic Society. This process aims to achieve the goals of the uprisings of the 1990s. Now the Newroz people, through their organization and struggle, will secure their freedom and self-governance. The experience and accumulation created by the struggle of the Newroz people have reached a level that can bring the Peace and Democratic Society process to success. If organization and struggle are developed with the spirit of Newroz, this process will succeed, democratic integration will be achieved through the understanding of a democratic nation, Turkey will be democratized, and the Kurdish people will become free.
For the success of this process, it is crucial to secure the freedom of the Kurdish People’s Leader [Abdullah Öcalan, Apo] who is leading it. Therefore, the Kurdish people and their friends will celebrate this Newroz everywhere as the “Newroz of freedom for Leader Apo and democratic Kurdish unity.” We can call this the Newroz that will open the doors of Imralı. Indeed, during the ongoing Newroz celebrations, slogans of “Freedom for Leader Apo” are being chanted.
The celebrations of March 8 and the ongoing Newroz festivities have shown that Newroz 2026 will surpass all previous Newroz celebrations. Just as 1,414 years ago, this Newroz will be the Newroz of the peoples. With the alliance of the peoples, today’s Dehaks will be defeated. By celebrating Newroz powerfully, the peoples will give a strong response both to international hegemonic powers and to regional reactionary forces. The Middle East will be saved by the Third Way, the unity and common struggle of the peoples.
Source: Yeni Yaşam Newspaper
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