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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - This year’s Newroz celebrations in Istanbul were among the largest in recent history, with hundreds of thousands gathering at Yenikapi Square to mark the Kurdish New Year.
The celebration, held on Sunday, was organized by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and several other organizations.
Speaking to Rudaw, the co-chair of the DEM Party, Tuncer Bakirhan, hoped the celebration would bring about “peace, dignity, and freedom."
A Kurdish resident in Turkey, Celal Duman, said, "I salute Kurdistan and congratulate our people on Newroz. Kurds from all four parts of Kurdistan [in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran] are here in Istanbul.” Another attendees, Deniz, emphasized the Kurds’ desire for peace, stating, "We want peace to prevail."
At the event, an old message from Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, was played on a large screen. Many attendees chanted the slogan "Long live Leader Apo," referring to Ocalan, while holding up posters of him.
Ocalan in late February issued a landmark message urging the PKK to disarm and disband as an initiative to propel peace talks with Turkey, and end the four-decade-long conflict between the two sides that has claimed the lives of some 40,000 people.
Speaking to Rudaw, Kurdish politician Gultan Kisanak called for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue, stating, "I hope that the will of the Kurds, which emerges in Newroz, is respected and the Kurdish issue is resolved in peaceful and democratic ways."
Meanwhile, DEM Party MP, George Aslan, who is Assyrian, extended his congratulations to the Kurdish people in both Turkey and Syria during the event. "Here from Istanbul, I congratulate the Kurdish people on Newroz" he said.
Istanbul is home to the largest Kurdish population in Turkey, with estimates suggesting between two and three million Kurds live in the city. The celebration saw the participation of several prominent political figures who shared their views on the occasion and the Kurdish cause.
Newroz, which marks the first day of spring, is celebrated by millions of Kurds in the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The Kurdish diaspora in the West also celebrate Newroz.
On Newroz eve, bonfires are traditionally lit, often on mountain or hill tops. In the days that follow, Kurds often go on picnics and light bonfires with their families and loved ones to mark the occasion which symbolizes freedom and resistance against tyranny.
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