The 18th Kurdish Peace and Culture Festival in Toronto, Canada was celebrated with great enthusiasm this year. Thousands of people from Kurdistan and their friends, as well as the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Hişyar Özsoy, writer Chro Zand, the Tamil Center Cultural Group, musicians, artists from Europe, Rotinda and Serhado attended the festival held in Earlscourt Park.

The participants showed great interest in Kurdish food and clothing.

AUGUST 15 INITIATIVE PRAISED

The festival kicked off with a moment of silence for the martyrs of the Kurdish Freedom Struggle. After the Çarxa Şoreşê anthem, the Toronto Democratic Kurdish Community Assembly co-chairs delivered speeches and said: “The Kurdistan Liberation Forces commenced the first fire to end the genocide against the Kurds for centuries. With the August 15 Initiative, the guerrilla war, an important pillar of a freedom struggle, started in Eruh under the leadership of Commander Egid. A guerrilla group that entered the district from Çırav Mountain dealt the first blow to the colonial powers.”

'KURDISH HATRED BROUGHT ABOUT COLLAPSE’

Speaking after, Hişyar Özsoy of the HDP pointed to the economic collapse and said that the foreign and domestic policies of the AKP-MHP government had led the country to collapse.

“After Erdogan attacked the Kurds, the country faced a huge collapse. Now, the economic crisis is hitting the country and political stability cannot be maintained. Diplomatic issues emerged because of the nationalist and anti-Kurdish alliance established by Erdogan and Bahçeli.

We are currently faced with a government that seeks to destroy the gains of the Kurds in South Kurdistan, Rojava, Turkey, Europe and even Canada.

What happened after the Turkish government resorted to cruelty, torture, savagery? Could they bring the HDP to its knees? No! Do you think that these people will stop fighting? They've closed six parties in the last thirty years. HDP's emblem is a tree. Even if you cut its branches, it continues to grow stronger. We are the representatives of struggles that have been going on for 100 years in Turkey and Kurdistan. This is a struggle for honour which has been going on for 100 years, from Sheikh Said and Seyit Rıza to today,” Özsoy said.

Author Chro Zand talked about her book called "Memoir of a Kurdish Hero’s Daughter", in which she wrote her father's biography. An official from the Tamil Center Cultural Group, addressed the common destiny of the oppressed peoples and the history of struggles. Afterwards, the Tamil Center Cultural Group performed their traditional music.

Koma Artos, Kurdish local artists Azad, Rıdvan, Sidar, Mehmet Ali, Aydın, Rotinda and Serhado took the stage. Almost 10 thousand Kurdish people performed Kurdish traditional dance and sang songs together. The festival lasted 9 hours with enthusiasm.

The festival was concluded with the slogans "Bijî Serok Apo" (Long Live Öcalan) and "Bijî Berxwedana Kurd" (Long Live the Kurdish Resistance).