Kurdish New Year Newroz was celebrated in Şırnak province with great enthusiasm under the slogan “Newroz of Freedom and Democracy.” Residents of the city started gathering in the celebration area early in the morning and dancing to Kurdish songs.
Thousands of people attended the celebration, including Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır. Women attending the celebration wore traditional clothing of the Botan region, while young people and children painted their faces in red, yellow, and green.
Organizing Committee member and DEM Party Şırnak central district co-chair Selahattin Barınç expressed his hope that Newroz would lead to the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. The celebration continued with govend dances accompanied by songs performed by Koma Sîdar. During the event, Öcalan’s message to the Amed Newroz was read aloud by DEM Party Şırnak district co-chair Esma Erener.
Doğan: Şırnak is ready
Speaking after, DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said: “Whatever we say would be insufficient. This place carries the scent of freedom and unity. The Şırnak province, which has been destroyed many times, is always ready for anything. Şırnak has never abandoned the freedom movement. Today we are passing through a historic threshold. We must work harder than ever. You are the mirror of Kurdistan. Şırnak is ready for the physical freedom of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Mr. Öcalan is not only the leader of the Kurds but of all peoples. Peoples want to reunite with their leader.”
Bayındır: We will celebrate Newroz 2027 with Leader Öcalan
The next speech was made by DBP Co-Chair Keskin Bayındır, who said the following: “From the city of resistance, we wish prisoners a happy Newroz. From the heart of Botan, from the land of the brave, we wish Leader Abdullah Öcalan happy Newroz with one voice. Botan has been a homeland and companion to Prophet Noah and to travelers of freedom. Botan is becoming a homeland of freedom and victory. The spring of the Kurdish people has arrived. This spring is Botan’s spring, the spring of the Kurdish people. We have passed through many thresholds; today we are moving toward freedom. Under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan, we are advancing toward victory with mothers, women, and the freedom movement. Those who deny the Kurds and say ‘there are no Kurds’ should look at the Newroz grounds in Botan, Istanbul, Izmir, Mahabad, Afrin, and Kobanê. Kurds are leading humanity. If there is a life worth living, it is thanks to the Kurdish freedom movement and Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. This Newroz is a Newroz of freedom and unity. The freedom of Leader Öcalan is the freedom of the Kurdish people, their status, and their language. Messages are rising from every Newroz ground that we do not want to celebrate Newroz without the Leader. We will celebrate Newroz 2027 with Leader Öcalan.”
Hatimoğulları: Kurds raise the banner of resistance in four parts of Kurdistan
DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları also addressed the crowd, stating: “Şırnak is bearer of the honorable struggle of the Kurdish people and a city that has paid a heavy price. Greetings to the Peace Mothers, women, and youth. You have carried the struggle of Kawa the Blacksmith, of Mazlum, Rahşan, and Sakine. The people of Şırnak have paid a heavy price. The Kurdish people have been struggling in this geography for more than 50 years. Despite all the suffering and losses, we will continue to resist. Look at the cemetery before us—there lie Seve, Pakize, and Fatma. Three women politicians were killed on this land. In Roboski, many of our people, mostly children trying to make a living, were bombed by Turkish military aircraft. Şırnak has experienced all of this. We will never forget the oppression inflicted on the youth who resisted in the streets of Cizre, nor those who were killed, including Mehmet Tunç. The body of mother Taybet remained on the street for days. Can we ever forget this? These lands witnessed a cruelty that even prevented a body from being laid to rest. I commemorate all those we have lost with respect and gratitude, all our revolutionary, patriotic, and socialist martyrs.
I also respectfully commemorate Salih Muslim, who dedicated his life to the struggle for the Kurdish people to gain status in Rojava and Syria. Many people here have suffered great losses and paid heavy prices. Your relatives, comrades, and loved ones are in prison. This is a heavy burden. But we did not bow to oppression. We never gave up our struggle. Even in times when we were suppressed, we continued our struggle strongly in the streets and squares with our people. The rulers denied the Kurds and refused to recognize the Kurdish language, but today the Kurdish people have raised the banner of resistance in four parts of Kurdistan. They have become a people that no force in the region can ignore. Once again, we salute the long-standing struggle of the Kurdish people. We salute their struggle and resistance.
‘Newroz 2026 represents the transition from uprising to construction’
Newroz 2026 is a call to build a democratic society. It represents the transition from uprising to construction in the 21st century against modern-day tyrants. Newroz is the name of building freedom and democracy, the name of building Peace and a Democratic Society. Last year, on February 27, Abdullah Öcalan made a historic call for Peace and Democratic Society. Newroz 2026 is precisely a call to build that democratic society. The squares are responding to this call. It has united and strengthened the Kurdish people, their friends, and democratic forces.
‘We must defend both Turkey’s internal peace and regional peace’
We oppose both the mullah regime that denies peoples and the killing of civilians by imperialist powers. While we celebrate Newroz, bombs and missiles are exploding next to us in Iran. The war initiated by the United States and Israel continues and deepens. Our message is clear: we are firmly against the authoritarian mullah regime in Iran that denies democratic forces, especially the Kurds. At the same time, we oppose imperialist forces exploiting the democratic struggle and killing civilians. As we call for peace, we must also defend both Turkey’s internal peace and regional peace. From here, let us raise our voices together: no to war, yes to peace, right now.
‘Laws must be enacted urgently, time to build peace now’
This is our call to Ankara: laws must be enacted to recognize the democratic rights of the Kurdish people. We are in Şırnak, a very important region bordering Syria and Iraq. The call made by Abdullah Öcalan and the ongoing process must be understood correctly. In a region turning into a sea of blood, it is crucial for a country to reconcile with its people and secure internal peace. Once again, we voice the demands of millions in the Newroz squares: in this new phase shaped by Kurdish resistance, laws must be enacted urgently to recognize the political, legal, and democratic rights of the Kurdish people.”
This is not the time to wait, but to build peace. When conflicts arise in Rojava or Iran, Ankara chooses to wait. The government and the state must fulfill their responsibilities. Strong demands were voiced in the Newroz squares: ECHR rulings must be implemented, and Figen Yüksekdağ, Selahattin Demirtaş, and Can Atalay must be released immediately. From Şırnak, we send greetings and solidarity to all prisoners, especially Figen Yüksekdağ, Leyla Güven, Ayşe Gökkan, and Selahattin Demirtaş. We demand strengthened local administrations across Turkey, not centralized control.
‘We demand the recognition of all Kurdish rights’
Mainstream media asks what the DEM Party demands. Our demands are clear: recognition of all Kurdish rights, education in the mother tongue, free use of Kurdish in public life, equal citizenship, strengthened local governance, and an independent separation of powers. The Kurdish people are ready for an honorable peace—Ankara, are you ready?”
Following the speeches, the Newroz fire was lit. Thousands joined in dances accompanied by the songs of Serdar Canan.