The public celebration was attended by key political leaders and famous musicians, in addition to many members of the public wearing traditional Kurdish clothes, with Kurdish songs and dances featuring prominently.
Veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana, participated in the festival for the first time in eight years, giving a speech to the public in attendance.
“We learned our culture from Mala Mustafa Barzani,” Zana said, paying tribute to the legendary Kurdish leader.
The celebration also featured musical performances from Kurdish and international singers, including internationally acclaimed Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi who sang in Kurdish.
Political leaders attending the festival renewed their calls for the resolution of the Kurdish issue in Turkey as the crowd cheered in support, a goal that currently appears far-fetched according to Aysegul Dogan, the spokesperson for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
“I, as the spokesperson for the DEM Party, announce that there are no talks to resolve the Kurdish question,” told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on the sidelines of the Newroz celebrations, saying that there are no ongoing talks between Ankara and the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan regarding the resolution of Kurdish issue either.
In an unprecedented and historic move, the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced a peace process in 2013, paving the way for a new era in Turkey. This granted Kurds certain rights that were previously seen as taboo by many Turkish politicians, including elective Kurdish classes in schools and press conferences during which PKK commanders briefed Turkish and international media about the latest developments. However, the peace ended in 2015 due to renewed tensions between both sides.
Ocalan has been jailed on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999. His family and lawyers have not been able to communicate with him for years due to what they describe as an “isolation” policy by Ankara.
Dogan stressed that as long as Ocalan remains isolated, no peace process is possible.
Selahattin Demirtas, a jailed Kurdish politician, said last month that the only interlocutors of a potential long-lasting peace process between the PKK and Ankara are Ocalan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who spearheaded the 2013 ceasefire.
DEM Party co-Chair Tuncer Bakirhan delivered a speech at the Newroz festival, in which called on the country’s ruling parties to take steps towards a democratic understanding between the different components of the country to spread peace.
“We invite you to promptly update the Turkish-Kurdish alliance in a democratic manner instead of opting for war,” Bakirhan said.
Bakirhan’s comments come in light of Turkey’s intensification of its cross-border operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region and Ankara’s recent threat of a fresh offensive against its fighters in the Region in summer.
The Turkish defense ministry said on Thursday that Iraq is open to establishing a joint operations center with Ankara to fight the PKK, a week after a high-level security meeting with Iraqi officials. Baghdad officially banned the Kurdish group following the meeting.
Bakirhan also called on the Turkish parliament to stop using the phrase “unknown language” in the legislature’s transcripts when denoting speeches done in Kurdish, and the phrase “terroristan” used to talk about areas under the rule of Kurdish forces in Syria.
“Abandon the concepts of ‘unknown language’ and ‘terroristan’ that you mentioned in the parliament. What they call the ‘unknown language’ is Kurdish, which we have been speaking on these lands for 13,000 years. What they call ‘terroristan’ is the land divided into four parts, Kurdistan,” he said, addressing the 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 decade.
There is a long history of animosity and conflict over Kurdish issues and rights in Turkey. The state has at times gone as far as denying the very existence of Kurds. Turkey's Kurds were provided limited cultural rights when Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) came two power three decades ago.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the Kurdistan Region, as well as Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iran, and Syria, celebrated the eve of Newroz on Wednesday, also symbolizing a day of freedom from tyranny and resistance and the start of the Kurdish New Year on Thursday.
Every year, Kurds celebrate Newroz on March 21-23 by picnicking in the countryside and lighting bonfires with their families and loved ones.
