Democratic Union Party (PYD) Co-presidency Council Member Foza Yusif addressed the crowd during today’s Newroz celebration in the northern Syrian city of Qamishlo.

Yusif wished a happy Newroz to Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan, the prisoners in Turkish jails, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and all peoples living in the region.

Yusif called on South Kurdistan’s ruling party KDP and all other forces in Kurdistan to “unite in order to frustrate the conspiracies of the enemy and to end occupation”. She stated that it was time the problems in Syria were resolved through political methods and a democratic Syria was built.

Foza Yusif lastly called on all the democratic forces in Syria to act together to liberate the Turkish-occupied territories.

One of the speakers at the Newroz celebration in Afrin region was the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) Executive Council President Ilham Ehmed expressed her wish that Newroz would be a festival when the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan is achieved and the occupied territories are liberated.

Remarking that the PKK is the Newroz of oppressed peoples, Ehmed continued, “The PKK led by Öcalan has been fighting for an honorable life for 50 years. The policies of genocide and denial have been frustrated thanks to the sacrifices of the martyrs.

Ehmed vowed that every inch of the occupied areas would be freed, saying, “This year will witness the achievement of Leader Öcalan’s physical freedom and the recognition of the Kurdish people’s existence. We must raise our voice and our demands. We must impose ourselves on the world. It is our right to lead an honorable and free life.”