Huge Newroz celebrations took place in Kurdistan and around the world during Newroz week through March 21. In the Kurdish city of Amed (tr. Diyarbakır), about one million people gathered despite Turkish repression and demanded the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. The PKK Executive Committee considers the celebrations a great success for the Kurdish people and their friends.

The statement released by the PKK Executive Committee on Friday includes the following:

"Our people and our friends of all ages have braved snow and rain, mud and cold and have risen up in revolt. They have united around Abdullah Öcalan. From Botan to Serhed, from Zagros to Dersim, from Amed to Istanbul, from Adana to Izmir, from Qamishlo to Raqqa, from Kirkuk to Qandil, from Hewraman to Mariwan, from Europe to Asia, from Africa to America, in all four parts of Kurdistan and all over the world, millions of people have poured into the streets, filled the Newroz squares and demanded freedom for Abdullah Öcalan. They have smashed the torture and isolation system of Imrali and brought Öcalan together with millions.

"The isolation system is at an end"

We salute all those who poured into the squares demanding the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. We wish them success in their struggle for freedom and democracy in the 50th Newroz year with Abdullah Öcalan and the PKK. It is obvious that nothing happened by itself. It was all built on the basis of the sacrifice of our party and our brave guerrilla forces. Our people and our friends, who filled the streets and squares in tens of millions under the leadership of the women and youth and demanded the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, demonstrated their attitude and will.

Those who claimed 'we have crushed the guerrillas and destroyed the PKK' have been proven wrong. It is no longer possible for them to maintain the torture and isolation system of Imrali. The opportunists, defeatists and pessimists who try to hide their own reality by claiming that the people are broken and the struggle cannot be continued, have been proven wrong. It will no longer be possible for them to oppose our people as they did before, spreading propaganda supporting the betrayal and creating confusion. We have received the message from our people and our friends on Newroz and we have understood it. In the coming process, we will perform our leadership duties more strongly and fulfill the task of organizing and educating our people even more successfully.

"Victory in the 50th year guaranteed "

In a sense, victory in the 50th year of our struggle has already been guaranteed. Our people and our friends, with the exception of a handful of traitors, have shown how connected they are to the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan and a free life.

From now on, every day should be made Newroz Day. Just as March 8 was merged with Newroz, people will make the 50th year of the Kurdish freedom movement the strongest year of struggle and the greatest victory by merging Newroz with the ‘Month of Martyrs’ and from there celebrating April 4 and then May 1. In this way, a protest without interruption will be achieved. Of course, the impact of Newroz will not be limited to that. The 2022 celebrations carried Newroz beyond Kurdistan and made it a holiday of unity, resistance and freedom for all the oppressed. Therefore, it is undoubtedly possible that its impact will not be limited to one year, but will spread over the next decades or even the century. It will have the effect of uniting the freedom consciousness and resistance of our people with the other oppressed and deepening fraternity. Above all, women and youth and all workers will know how to put into practice the necessity resulting from this message. On this basis, we celebrate the ‘Month of the Martyrs’ and congratulate all comrades, our people and their friends and especially Abdullah Öcalan and call for the current spirit of Newroz festival and resistance to be enhanced even further during the Week of Martyrs. We commemorate with respect, love and gratitude on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the death of our immortal commander and hero, comrade Mahsum Korkmaz. We repeat our promise to achieve his goal and keep his memory alive.

As it is known, the Newroz Festival is connected with the day when our commander Mahsum Korkmaz fell, March 28, through the Week of Courage. So, the day of resistance and victory, Newroz, is extended over a week. This Newroz festival has literally become a Newroz of victory. It became a real Newroz for Abdullah Öcalan. Our people and their friends have made it clear that they are ready to fight to the end for Öcalan’s physical freedom. Especially the women and the youth have clearly shown their attachment to this goal. Now they will meet the Day of the Martyrs with historic resistance and unite it with the days that follow. They will make themselves new Egîds (Mahsum Korkmaz) and extend our freedom struggle on the line of victory.

March 30 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Kızıldere Massacre. On this occasion, we commemorate the martyrs of Kızıldere. We remember Mahir Çayan, one of the leaders of the revolution in Turkey, and his companions, with respect and gratitude. We have kept their memory alive for 50 years on the basis of the PKK resistance and let it live on through HBDH (Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement) resistance. Our intention is to achieve their goals based on the success of our struggle for a united revolution.

"Turning the Day of Martyrs into Newroz"

April 1 marks the 14th anniversary of the deaths of PKK Reconstruction Committee member Nûda Karker, Central Committee member Ferhat Dersim and our comrade Halil Dağ. In the persons of Nûda, Ferhat and Halil, who followed the indomitable line of Mazlum Doğan, we remember all our martyrs with respect, love and gratitude and reaffirm our word to achieve their goals and keep their memories alive. We call on our patriotic people and democratic friends to renew our 'Day of Martyrs’ by making it a new Newroz Day on the line of martyrs and Abdullah Öcalan."