BERLIN – Thousands of Kurds and their friends attended the 2023 Newroz celebration in Berlin, Germany, which is attributed to solidarity with earthquake victims. While Heyva Sor a Kurdistan, Dest-Dan Women’s Assembly, Nav-Berlin, TekoJIN and TCŞ set up stands in the area, HDP set up an election stand. People attending Newroz often shouted slogans such as “Bijî Serok Apo”, “Bijî berxwedana gerila”, “Bijî berxwedana YPG”, “PKK”, “Sehid namirin”
In the Newroz program, the members of the Newroz Organizing Committee Hüseyin Taşan and Seda Tanrıkulu took the first words. While Hüseyin Taşan emphasized the responsibility of the Turkish state in the earthquake, Dest-Dan Women’s Council Co-spokesperson Seda Tanrıkulu said, “Berlin is Maraş today, Berlin is Adıyaman today, Antep, Urfa, Amed. Let’s remind those who ask ‘where is the state’ after the earthquake: While people were under the rubble, the state was bombing Rojava. While the KCK declared a ceasefire due to the earthquake, the state was using chemical weapons against the guerrilla. We have seen once again that the state is a wreck for the society. And it is democratic confederalism that will remove this wreckage. On this occasion, greetings to Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in aggravated isolation for 24 years and has not been heard from for 24 months.”
SEVER: 50TH YEAR NEWROZ WILL BE THE GOODWILL OF VICTORY
KON-MED Co-Chair Engin Sever commemorated those who lost their lives in the earthquake and underlined that they will continue to stand by the people. Engin Sever continued, “50. We are celebrating Newroz. The Kurdish people have been celebrating Newroz for a thousand years. Newroz is the representation of free life for us. The 50th anniversary Newroz will herald victory for us. It will be Newroz, where we will ensure the physical freedom of Leader Apo. The Kurdish people are pursuing the cause of freedom, the German state continues to put pressure on it. The German state should recognize the struggle of the Kurds and support the solution,” he said.
İLHAM EHMED: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO KNOW THE KURDS
Later, Syrian Democratic Council Co-chair Ilham Ehmed took the floor. Ilham Ehmed, who stated that the Newroz areas are the declaration of will of the Kurds, said, “We came into existence from the sparks of the Newroz fire. The Newroz fire lit by Mazlum Doğan in the Diyarbakır dungeon has reached its conclusion today, reaching the whole world. The sovereigns, who ignore the Kurds with a signature in Lausanne, should know that it is impossible not to recognize the Kurds, to make them weak, to leave them without status. It brings weakness and breaking in the struggle, but when we Kurds are faced with an attack, we become one,” he said.
‘STOP ARMS SALES TO THE TURKISH STATE’
Addressing the countries that support the genocide projects by selling weapons to the Turkish state, Ilham Ehmed said: “We are calling on the owners of the banned weapons used against the Kurds; they use those weapons to massacre the Kurds. Stop arms sales to Turkey. The Kurds are today the pioneers of democracy and free life in the Middle East and in the world. This should be paved the way.”
LET’S FINISH THIS ORDER BY WALKING TOGETHER
“I greet everyone. Newroz is the freedom struggle of the resisting peoples. Newroz is the revolt of women against the male-dominated order. HDP Wan Member of Parliament Sezai Temelli said that Newroz is the holiday of the Mesopotamian peoples. Emphasizing that this year’s Newroz is also a Newroz honoring the memory of those who lost their lives in the earthquake, he added: “The AKP and MHP power collapsed as a result of the earthquake. Power was in ruins. It is time for the peoples of Turkey to remove this wreck. The cause of this earthquake is this government, which continues its 20-year rent policy. We will hold accountable this power, which has come to this day by feeding off injustice, feeding off war. We will end this power. This order is the order of war. This order will change. Those who impose war on Bashur, Bakur and Rojava are stealing from our table and returning them to the Kurds as death. Salute to Abdullah Öcalan, who built the Third Way against this order. The solution to this issue will be the Third Way in a democratic assembly. HDP is the hope of all peoples. It is a call to workers and women. Let’s finish this order on foot together. Our vote is vengeance for those we have lost. Our vote is the result of 40 years of struggle. This Newroz fire will spread from Berlin to all of Turkey. We will surely succeed.”
HDP Germany Co-Representative Leyla İmret, Kreuzberg municipality representative Elke Dangelheit and Die Linke Co-Chair Janine Wissler also gave speeches at the celebration.
Saying that she was in Amed on the day of the earthquake, Janine Wissler reminded that the Turkish state confiscated the aid to the earthquake victims and bombed the Kurds even during the earthquake. Wissler also reminded that the weapons used in Kurdistan were German products and demanded that the arms exports to Turkey be terminated. Pointing to the racist attack against Amedspor, Wissler said, “We say every good Amedspor from Berlin. We stand against racism, we will fight against it,” he said.
