The British Alevi Festival, one of the largest Alevi festivals in Europe, was held for the 13th time this year under the slogan “We walk with love.” The festival featured a rich program including panels, seminars, cem rituals, theater performances, and special workshops for children. It concluded with a final event hosted at the grounds of the British Alevi Federation. This year’s edition was dedicated to the victims of the massacre against Alevis in Syria.

Thousands of people attended the closing event, where the co-chair of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Tülay Hatimoğulları, and Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP for Bursa, Orhan Sarıbal, delivered speeches.

The festival began with the lighting of candles by religious leaders, pirs, dedes, and analar, offering wishes for peace, justice, rights, and freedom. This was followed by semah performances from Cemevi (Alevis ritual and gathering house)-affiliated groups, who turned in unison to sacred music. The voices and melodies of the aşiks (minstrels) reached thousands in the crowd.

The festival grounds were filled to capacity, drawing thousands of participants. Many writers and artists engaged with readers and listeners at their booths, while democratic mass organizations also attracted significant attention with their stands.

We walk with love!

The opening speeches of the festival were delivered by British Alevi Federation (BAF) co-chairs Dilek Incedal and Müslüm Dalkılıç, Cemevi Chair Ibrahim Has, and Enfield Cemevi co-chair Fatma Yıldırım Polat. In their speeches, they emphasized the importance of unity and organization against fascism, authoritarianism, and inequality. They declared: “As Kızılbaş Alei (a historical name reclaimed by Alei communities symbolizing resistance and spiritual identity) people, we will continue to fight, turning our pain into resistance and elevating our hope in spite of everything. The oppressed will win; the oppressors will lose.” Harsh criticism was directed at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the speakers affirmed: “We say, ‘We walk with love.’ For those seeking justice, equality, and freedom, we walk with love on the path of unity.”

Member of Parliament for Enfield, Bambos Charalambous, also addressed the crowd, pledging to raise the voice of Alevs more strongly in Parliament. He condemned the massacres targeting Alevis in Syria and promised continued solidarity and struggle against these atrocities.

Festival performances included musicians Ali Sizer and Hüseyin Korkan Korkmaz, as well as the Kırkısrak Association Folk Dance Ensemble. The band Popcorn also took the stage to perform their songs.

The festival also included a strong protest against the arrest warrant issued by Turkish courts for Nevin Kamil Ağaoğlu, co-chair of the European Confederation of Alevi Unions (AABK). Participants issued calls for resistance and continued struggle in response to this political repression.

Nevin Ağaoğlu: We will defend peace to the very end

At the festival, Hüseyin Mat and Nevin Kamil Ağaoğlu, co-chairs of the European Confederation of Alevi Unions (AABK), each delivered speeches. Ağaoğlu said: “Through their songs, their words, and their semah rituals, Alevis carry messages of peace, of solidarity, and of brotherhood for the oppressed, the exploited, those subjected to injustice, and for the souls who were massacred. Peace is what we need the most. We will defend peace to the very end.” She also condemned the massacres of Alevi people in Syria, stating that the murderous gangs empowered by imperialist forces had carried out mass killings and acts of genocide solely because of their Alevi identity. She declared, “These killers will, sooner or later, be held accountable before international courts.”

Hüseyin Mat: We will take part in the peace process ourselves

Hüseyin Mat said that their struggle has been shaped through resistance and organization, and emphasized that Alevis deserve to gather not in mourning, but in joy. Recalling that a peace process has begun in Turkey, he said: “We want a peace process more than anyone else. We do not want either soldiers or guerrillas to die. We defend the right of everyone living in Turkey, Alevis, Sunnis, Kurds, and Turks, to live together with dignity and freedom under equal conditions.” He continued, “But let me be clear: we do not trust the political Islamists, nor the official state ideology represented by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). And we will never allow this peace process to be handed over to the whims of Erdoğan or Bahçeli. We will take part in the peace process ourselves. We will shoulder this responsibility together.”

The arrest warrant issued for Nevin Ağaoğlu was also strongly condemned: “We will not bow to this fascist, reactionary state ideology. Whoever casts a hostile eye on Alevis and Kurds, we will never back down from the struggle. And let anyone who does take a step back be ashamed of it.”

We stand with the Alevis

Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chair of the DEM Party, took the stage and greeted the thousands in attendance in both Arabic and Kurdish.

She saluted the spirit of solidarity shown by Alevi institutions in Europe and delivered the following remarks: “We have not only been subjected to massacres in attempts to assimilate and erase us. Unfortunately, the current AKP regime in Turkey continues to implement policies, decisions, and laws aimed at disconnecting Alevis from their faith. Today, we are faced with the shameful act of calling Alevi places of worship ‘houses of entertainment.’ But we are houses of belief. We fundamentally oppose these policies. They have placed the Alevi faith under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. We will never accept this.

Even if only one person belonging to a faith lives in this country, we will always fight for their right to practice it freely. The DEM Party has always stood with the Alevi community, and we will continue to do so.”

Intolerance toward the opposition is at its peak

Tülay Hatimoğulları noted that repression against the opposition in Turkey has intensified, stating that political intolerance has reached its highest level, particularly after the regime change. She emphasized that the DEM Party, leftist-socialist forces, defenders of democracy, and labor unions have all been subjected to heavy pressure. She reminded the audience that trustees have been appointed to DEM Party municipalities for three consecutive terms. Referring to the March 19 operation targeting Ekrem Imamoğlu and the subsequent interventions in municipalities run by the CHP, Hatimoğulları said these events illustrate the extent of the government’s crackdown on the opposition. She declared, “We do not accept the detention or arrest of any elected representative. We will continue to stand with Ekrem Imamoğlu, Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, Osman Kavala, and Can Atalay. These pressures will never intimidate us.”

Hatimoğulları also condemned the arrest warrant issued for co-chair Nevin Kamil Ağaoğlu, describing it as a politically motivated decision and stressing that it directly targets Alevi communities.

There can be no peace without the Alevi

The ongoing Peace and Democratic Society Process in Turkey was also addressed by Hatimoğulları, who affirmed their commitment to the process, declaring, “There can be no peace without the Alevis. Without the Alevis, democracy cannot be established in Turkey.” She acknowledged the concerns of Alevi communities and noted that a new period began with the “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” made by Abdullah Öcalan, which initiated continued talks with the government and state institutions.

 Hatimoğulları continued, “As the Kurdish people, as the DEM Party, as revolutionaries and socialists, we are very clear on one point. If there is to be peace, its condition is equal citizenship. This is not only an issue for the Kurds. There is a Kurdish question in Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq, but this call was not made solely to save the Kurds.”

Speaking as someone who directly took part in the talks, Hatimoğulları emphasized that the core of Abdullah Öcalan’s call is the principle that people of all ethnicities and faiths should enjoy equal citizenship rights. She warned, “There are those who wish to manipulate and confuse this process. But we are struggling for democracy, for a just economic system, for the right to education in one’s mother tongue, and for the eradication of violence against women. We are fighting so that our women are no longer murdered, so that violence in this land comes to an end.”

Walk on, Hızır Pasha!

Tülay Hatimoğulları stated that the ongoing struggle cannot succeed without the Alevi community and called for unity in action: “Let us win peace by fighting together. Nothing will be handed to us on a silver platter. We must organize and resist. The essence of this process is: we will win by resisting.”

Hatimoğulları concluded her speech by reciting the famous verse by Pir Sultan Abdal: “Walk on, Hızır Pasha!”

CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal also addressed the crowd, recalling the massacres and persecution against Alevi in Çorum, Maraş, Gezi, and Gazi. Sarıbal stated that the recent massacres in Syria revealed the deep isolation of the Alevi community, underlining that the root cause was the lack of organization. He added that Turkey and its current government also bear responsibility for these massacres in Syria. Sarıbal emphasized the need for unity across all political parties in the name of democracy and freedom.

Thousands attending the festival raised their voices for freedom, democracy, and equality through applause, chants, semah rituals, and traditional dances.

The festival concluded with performances by Ayfer Düzdaş and Mikail Aslan.