In a message sent to the Newroz festival in Frankfurt the14 Kurdish activists on hunger strike in Strasbourg paid tribute to Uğur Şakar and Zülküf Gezen who ended their life to protest the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan.

“They are Newroz and victory martyrs - said the message - and sent a strong message to the whole world, ‘you cannot darken the sun’”.

The message continued: “Newroz 2019 was celebrated by millions of people. Our people have made it clear that we will defeat the occupation and fascist plans of the AKP-MHP coalition.”

Emphasizing that Kurdish people acted in the spirit of freedom as promoted by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the statement pointed out that the recent defeat of the ISIS mercenaries added a different spirit and meaning to Newroz. “The defeat of ISIS - said the message - is a prelude to the defeat and collapse of the occupying Turkish state.”

The Newroz message by the Strasbourg hunger strikers ended by reaffirming that “The movement of resistance that started under the leadership of Leyla Güven will be victorious. We are going to fulfill the will of Newroz martyrs Uğur and Zülküf and bring this resistance to victory. We are once again urging Kurds and international friends to increase this resistance.”