Police in Turkey bans Kurdish clothes during Newroz celebrations

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Security forces in Turkey prevented several Kurds wearing the traditional Kurdish clothes from attending the large Newroz celebration held in Diyarbakir city in the eastern part of the country on Monday, attendees speaking to Rudaw said.

Rudaw’s ground reporter, Rawin Sterk, earlier said that outfits with “a national theme” are prohibited at the event.

Sterk noted that visitors go through four checkpoints before arriving to the arena, and “some checkpoints have not allowed those wearing Kurdish clothes inside.”

Attendees also confirmed the police’s behavior towards the people to Rudaw.

“Initially they said your clothes are similar to the armed men [members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party], it is forbidden, we cannot allow you in,” Ayatullah Ashti, the head of Freedom Party told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana of the transpired that occurred between him and the police officers. 

Attempting to explain his outfit, Ashti told the forces that he was a cleric and his outfit reflects that.

“One of the police officers knew me and told me be patient and to let him talk to his commander,” Ashti added. “They took a photo of me and sent it to the commander, and then they said they would allow me into the area and that no one else was allowed in.”

Leaving Ashti angered with their attitude, the cleric told the officers that such kind of attitude causes tension and enmity amongst people.

"If you don’t allow me to wear my clothes, how can I respect you?” Ashti recalled asking the officers. 

Famous Kurdish singer Hozan Kazo also said the officers only allowed him inside after they took the upper part of his Kurdish outfit. 

“They did not let me in in Kurdish attire and I had to take off the upper part of it … they only allowed me to come inside with the pants of my Kurdish outfit. They confiscated the upper part of my attire,” Kazo, 72, said.

The police had told Kazo that Kurdish clothes were forbidden at the event.

“It was not me only, everyone who came in had the same fate. They confiscated the clothes of hundreds of people.”

Newroz celebrations hold particular importance for Kurds in Turkey, who were not allowed to celebrate the occasion that signals the beginning of spring for decades and are facing increasing pressure from the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent years.

Footage circulating on social media showed police forces using water cannons to disperse a large crowd of visitors as they headed to the celebration.

 

Over 100 people taking part in Diyarkabir’s celebrations have been detained, according to Rudaw’s ground reporter. 

Hundreds of thousands of people from the Kurdistan Region, as well as Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iran, and Syria celebrated Newroz on Sunday, also symbolizing a day of freedom from tyranny and resistance.

Mass celebrations were held in Istanbul, Ankara, Adana, Antap, Izmir, and the Kurdish-populated areas of Van, Hakkari (Colemerg), and Batman on Sunday. 

Kazo said seeing mass crowds of Kurds warms his heart.

“It lightens up my soul to see this enthusiasm, our Kurdish nation has been through unspeakable pain and suffering,” he said.

“When we started we could not even utter a word in Kurdish, even in our own houses … this is the regret and eagerness of 70 years ... and this is like being reborn again.”

There is a long history of animosity and conflict over Kurdish issues and rights in Turkey. The state has at times denied the very existence of Kurds.

The word “Kurdistan” is banned from the parliament, most Kurdish private media is closed, and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is under immense pressure with hundreds of its members in jail. An armed Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has waged a decades-long conflict with the state.

Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist organization, and arrests hundreds of HDP supporters, members, and officials on alleged links to the group.