Duran Kalkan, Arjîn Bingöl and Bozan Tekin spoke to our agency on the occasion of the upcoming Newroz holiday. They were asked where they celebrated their first Newroz, what they felt, how they marked Newroz in different places and times, and how Newroz was first experienced within the guerrilla ranks.
Duran Kalkan, Arjîn Bingöl and Bozan Tekin also touched upon the meaning and significance of this year’s Newroz and extended their greetings to the Kurdish people and their friends.
Duran Kalkan, who celebrated his first Newroz in 1981 in Qamishlo, a city in Rojava, described his experience as follows: “It was a sunny, beautiful day. More than ten thousand people had gathered in the wheat fields of Qamishlo. We also went as a group, as a circle of friends. Everyone was dancing dîlan. It had the atmosphere of a picnic, like a wedding. The politicians of that time were eating and drinking a bit. They invited us as well. We did not take much part in such things. We thanked them and left. We went more among the people. Friends danced dîlan, we held discussions. It passed in a picnic-like atmosphere. For several days, we also had discussions within our community. It gave strong excitement and morale to our friends. There were both women and men; we had already joined together.
It was a Newroz that gave morale and excitement. I didn’t know about before that, but in Rojava, in Qamishlo, Newroz continued from that day until today. Everyone can see what it has become today.”
I didn’t sleep until morning
Arjîn Bingöl stated that she celebrated her first Newroz in Europe and shared the following about that day: “At that time, I was still very young. I don’t remember the exact year, but I don’t know which year it was, but I was around 8 or 9 years old. I had heard about Newroz back then; I was also born on March 21, the day of Newroz. They would always tell me that I was born on Newroz day. That’s why I always had a curiosity: what is Newroz day or the Newroz holiday? Why is it the holiday of the Kurds? I always had this curiosity. I remember when I went to my first Newroz event, I didn’t sleep until morning. Because I was very excited. I didn’t know what I would encounter; there was a constant sense of curiosity.”
Comrade Mizgîn’s voice deeply affected me
Arjîn Bingöl said that at the first Newroz event she attended, she saw Hozan Mîzgîn (Gurbetelli Aydın), one of the Garzan region commanders who was martyred on May 11, 1992 after fighting until her last bullet as a result of a plot. She stated that she was deeply affected especially by Hozan Mîzgîn’s voice, the songs, and the theater performance, and said:
“I felt that I belonged there. Because wherever you go in Europe, you know that you do not belong there. You constantly feel it. But when I first entered that environment, I felt that I belonged there. I experienced these feelings for the first time. Within those feelings, there is love, there is getting to know your own culture and language. Because it was the first environment where I encountered my own culture. This had a great impact on me.
After listening to Comrade Mizgîn’s song, there was a theater performance. There were certain scenes in the play; we were all crying together. Especially the scenes showing enemy oppression and cruelty, the oppression inflicted on our people, created anger in us. At the same time, there was a sense of pride in the resistance that was portrayed. All of this was very meaningful.
Because you cry and rejoice together. You feel pride together, you feel anger together. I saw, for the first time, an environment where this was experienced collectively. I encountered such an environment for the first time. This had a great impact on me.
Especially that day, we better understood how we must protect our own culture, how we must protect our language, and how we must resist the enemy’s oppression and cruelty. After that, I kept going. Newroz had a great impact on me. That is why I definitely had to attend. It had become a major responsibility for me. No matter what, there should be no obstacle in front of me. It was my priority.”
That was when we realized we are a people
Bozan Tekin, who celebrated his first Newroz in 1979 at a teacher training school in Haruniye together with five young people from Kurdistan, shared the following:
“Now, when I talk about this Newroz celebration, some may wonder, ‘What kind of banner did they hang, what slogans did they chant?’ There was no banner, nor was there a large, blazing fire. Because we celebrated it secretly. One of those five friends said, ‘Today is Newroz. Today, the Kurds rose up against the slave-owning Assyrian Empire, and Kawa the Blacksmith smashed Dehak’s head with a great hammer.’ Of course, this was very important for us.
We lit a small fire. We did not burn a tire. What mattered was the feeling, the idea. That was when we realized that we are people. We have a people, we have a country, and we have a holiday.”
Newroz fires were lit in the Media Defense Areas in 1983
Duran Kalkan spoke about where and when the first Newroz in the history of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was celebrated in the mountains of Kurdistan, and how it was reflected among party cadres and the Kurdish freedom struggle, and said:
“We had a typewriter. We had a house in Korhat in Diyarbakır (Amed). We were only able to prepare it there from morning until evening. Comrade Mazlum spoke, I wrote. Whatever good, beautiful, and positive words there were, he attributed all of them to Newroz. That was Comrade Mazlum’s consciousness of Newroz. Becoming a modern-day Kawa did not emerge only in the prison environment in Diyarbakır; it had a background. He had that consciousness. He was already living Newroz as a great enthusiasm even back then.
Our statement was not published. We had finished it, but as we were about to print it, friends from Dilok (Antep), Comrade Haki and others, had prepared a statement and were distributing it. The statements arrived, and we distributed those as well, so that there would be a single statement.
On that same Newroz, between Mardin (Mêrdîn) and Diyarbakır, near Çınar, a car tire was burned on the asphalt throughout the night until morning. This was talked about in Diyarbakır for more than a week. They said, ‘They burned it like this, like that, Newroz was celebrated.’ But in fact, it was just a car tire; friends had burned it. This is how it began in the cities. Even before that, there were events in Ankara. During Newroz, there were also some events with songs and folk music, even if they were illegal.
Abroad, there were Newroz celebrations in Lebanon and in the Palestinian field. There were gatherings, meetings, and fires were lit. That gradually led to further development.
In Kurdistan, during Newroz 1983, Newroz fires were lit across all the Media Defense Areas. Friends lit fires in Zap, in Heftanîn. We had camps; along the Xakurkê and Xinêre line, in Lolan, on Şekîf Mountain and on its slopes, even with snow on the ground, friends lit fires.
We also had a camp. On Newroz day, we held a meeting. I joined with the friends who were there. A morale activity was held. In all the following years, Newroz fires continued to be lit in the mountains of Kurdistan; they were always lit.”
They will demand Öcalan’s freedom as their own
Duran Kalkan stated that the Kurdish Freedom Movement has defined Newroz 2026 as the “Newroz of Physical Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and Democratic Kurdish Unity,” and that each area has adopted its own slogans within this framework. Emphasizing that the time for Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom has long since come and passed, he said:
“It can no longer be prolonged, and we cannot allow it to be prolonged. During this Newroz, women, youth, our people, and our friends will fill the squares and deliver the message: ‘You cannot prolong this any further, you cannot keep Abdullah Öcalan under these conditions.’
For the past three months, Kurds across the four parts of Kurdistan and abroad have been on their feet together with their friends. They defended Rojava. Now they are celebrating March 8 and Newroz under the leadership of women. They have created unity among themselves. Society has filled the squares to an unprecedented level. Southern Kurdistan (Başur), for example, has almost taken a leading role in this. Rojava is already mobilized, Northern Kurdistan (Bakur) is as well, and so is Europe. We say that Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) experienced an uprising, as a continuation of today’s ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Women, Life, Freedom)’ uprisings.
They declared: Kurdistan is one, the Kurdish people are one. Unity is necessary. The people have created unity; of course, they have also called on politics to unite. Kurdish politics cannot ignore this. The people’s stance will reach its peak at Newroz. Therefore, so that politicians understand correctly, we call Newroz 2026 the ‘Newroz of Democratic Kurdish Unity.’
At the same time, this can also be seen as actions to mark and celebrate the second year of the process initiated by the call for ‘Peace and a Democratic Society.’ In fact, the call made in March last year was not fully understood within the process. Expectations were somewhat different, because the previous period was different. We went through a very intense war period. When such a call was made, it was difficult to understand.
However, over time, especially women, as well as youth and society, have both understood the call and the process well. Therefore, they have reached a point where they love Abdullah Öcalan more than ever, embrace him, understand him, and stand by him. This Newroz will be the expression of that.
March 8 has already taken place. Women demonstrated how much they understand Abdullah Öcalan, how much they love and embrace him, by raising their voices in the squares, expressing it, and taking a stance. Now the Kurdish people and their friends will show this. They will demonstrate it across the four parts of Kurdistan and all around the world, especially in Europe.
By filling Newroz grounds and squares, they will embrace the process and show that they stand by it. As a requirement of this process, they will demand Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom as their own freedom. There is no other meaning to this.
On this basis, I already celebrate the Newroz Freedom Holiday of all our people and friends, and commemorate all Newroz martyrs, in the person of modern-day Kawa Mazlum Doğan, with respect, love, and gratitude. I call on everyone, everyone who is patriotic and democratic, Kurds and all their friends, to fill Newroz squares wherever they are.”
Choosing Newroz day carries great significance
Arjîn Bingöl stated that Newroz is a day of existence through resistance, self-organization, self-creation, and renewal for the people and for women, and said the following regarding its meaning and importance for women:
“This has a very great significance especially for women. When we look both at the essence of Newroz and at the nature of women, there is a strong connection between the two. Because within women’s nature there is renewal, resistance, giving new meaning to each day, and creativity. These are fundamental characteristics of women. When these qualities unite with Newroz, it is embraced with even greater enthusiasm. In this respect, it carries such a meaning.
For this reason, our people and all women welcome such a day with great enthusiasm. Of course, the one who gives the deepest meaning to these days, who attributes the most profound significance to them, is Abdullah Öcalan. Because Öcalan is the one who has taught us not to live such a day cheaply, but how to live it meaningfully.
Women have made this a fundamental philosophy in the women’s freedom struggle. We can see this again in the act carried out by Mazlum Doğan in prison resistance, and in the actions of Zekiye Alkan, Rehşan Demirel, as well as comrades Ronahî, Berîvan, and Sema. Because through these actions, through acts of self-immolation, by turning themselves into the Newroz fire and responding to the enemy, and especially by choosing Newroz day, they carry great significance. In this way, the magnitude of their actions is also revealed.
As women in the freedom struggle, we have always taken this as a basis. Because these comrades, through their actions, showed us that the 21st century would be the century of women. They gave us hope, its resistance, and its consciousness. We have always tried to uphold this.
As guerrillas, on such days, we have seen it as our fundamental duty to welcome Newroz with great enthusiasm, both with the meaning that Abdullah Öcalan has attributed to Newroz and the meaning that our martyrs have given to Newroz. We have tried to mark it in this way. There is a great enthusiasm that comes from this.”
Determination to make the 21st century the century of women at Newroz
Arjîn Bingöl stated that new meanings are attributed to Newroz every year and noted that this year women are entering Newroz with the determination to make the 21st century the century of women. She celebrated Newroz with the following words:
“First of all, as we welcome Newroz, the holiday of our people’s revival and freedom, on the eve of a new spring, I celebrate the Newroz of Abdullah Öcalan, who gave us the idea of freedom, the will, the resilience, and the spirit.
I commemorate all our fallen comrades with respect, love, and gratitude, in the person of Mazlum Doğan, Zekiye Alkan, Rehşan Demirel, Ronahî, Berîvan, and Sema, who gave their bodies to the flames and deepened the meaning of the Newroz fire. I celebrate the Newroz of all oppressed peoples, women, and all comrades.”
Newroz in prison
There is also a prison dimension to Newroz. Bozan Tekin, who was captured after the September 12 coup and held in prisons of the Turkish state for more than twenty years, described how they celebrated Newroz in prison as follows:
“Until 1987–88, we mostly celebrated it like this: on that day, within the available means, those who were ready would gather, those in one ward would meet in the ward, and if possible, two wards would come together. A speech would be made, halay dances would be performed, poems would be read, and slogans would be chanted. That was all. But there was enthusiasm. Of course, the most important thing was that in all those Newroz celebrations, yes, Kawa the Blacksmith was known, but now there was also a modern-day Kawa: Mazlum Doğan. Every Newroz also became a commemoration of Comrade Mazlum Doğan. Comrade Mazlum was remembered. After hearing about his action, it became a day of reflection for us.
After 1989, because of the resistance, especially following guerrilla actions, Turkish occupation loosened its pressure in the prisons somewhat. There were more opportunities for prisoners to come together. How was it celebrated then? With theater, sketches, a choir group, a folklore group, and poetry, it could be said that it became like a festival. It truly was.
Public celebrations, guerrilla celebrations… How did we hear about them? Until then, we were not given access to media. Even when it was allowed, they would cut out guerrilla images or news, leaving blank spaces in the newspapers before giving them to us. Of course, this caused unrest. Protests developed, actions took place.
On television, they would show some things. There was also radio, and we listened. We would hear, ‘such actions took place in this place.’ Of course, this gave us morale and strengthened our hope for freedom. We would say, ‘One day we will get out.’
After seeing these actions, the enthusiasm of the people, especially the Nisêbîn (Nusaybin) uprising, the Cizîr (Cizre) uprising, the Şirnex (Şırnak) uprising… Our people were being crushed under the tracks of tanks. When our young women, men, and children were crushed under tanks and armored vehicles, it created great pain, great resentment, and great anger in us. This is how Newroz was experienced.
From 1990 until 2000, with each passing year, Newroz celebrated more strongly. Higher-quality theater performances were staged, and it was embraced more powerfully.”
Bozan Tekin, a member of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, also marked Newroz 2026 with the following words:
“We are welcoming a new Newroz, the Newroz of 2026. I celebrate Newroz for Abdullah Öcalan, the guerrillas, our people, women, workers, youth, and all the peoples of the Middle East, and for those who see Newroz as their own holiday. This Newroz should pave the way for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom, for peace and tranquility in the region, and for the construction of a democratic society.”