Hundreds of thousands people gathered in Diyarbakır this morning demanding "Freedom to Öcalan, Status to Kurdish people", a slogan that was adopted by several other cities across Turkey.
Peace and Democracy Party deputies Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan read PKK leader Öcalan's message to Kurdish people both in Turkish and Kurdish at the Newroz celebration in Diyarbakır.
Prior to reading the message in Turkish, Sırrı Süreyya Önder said the following: “As Öcalan’s message arrived, the catastrophe has ended, the sun is out again. One day he will come himself and let flourish all the freedom worldwide departing from the Mesopotamia. Even his voice did this, all peoples in the world starting from the Middle East know what he is capable of.”
End of armed struggle
"The struggle we have waged for the brotherhood of peoples and for peace has reached a threshold," said Öcalan. "With the announcement in Dolmabahçe, we are in a new period. With the congress I have called, a new age will begin," he added.
Saying that the 40 year long armed struggle is no longer continuable, Öcalan gave the following message:
"Our struggle for democracy, freedom, fraternity and honorable peace of our country’s people is now on historical step. This struggle of our forty years movement which is painful did not come to nothing but now is on the stage which can not be maintained with the same way."
Reference to Dolmabahçe declaration
Reminding that the people demanded a democratic resolution and peace, Öcalan reminded the 10 Article Declaration announced in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace on February 28 and added that “they were face to face with the duty of starting the new process” along with that foundation.
"With the agreement on principles under declaration, I see the historically and necessarily to hold a congress to stop the armed struggle which is carried by PKK against the Turkish Republic nearly 40 years and to set the societal strategies and tactics which are suitable for new period.
"(…) With our this congress the new period starts. In this new period, we are entering the new process in the Turkish Republic in the base of free and equal constitutional citizenship as a democratic society with democratic identity in the peace and live fraternal. In this way to get over the 90 years Republic history which is full of conflicts, we are walking to future with knitted real peace and universal democratic criteria."
Here is the full version of Öcalan's Newroz statement [unofficial translation]. (ÇT/BM)
TO ALL OUR PEOPLE; I am greeting the Newroz of all our people and friends who take sides with peace, equality, freedom, and democracy. The crisis which is caused by neoliberal policies imposed to whole World by imperialist capitalism and its despotic local collaborator takes effect on our region and country. In this crisis environment, ethnic and religional differences of our people and cultures are being disappeared by meaningless and brutal identity wars. Neither our historical nor modern, neither our conscience nor our political values keep silent and can be desperate against this political landscape. On the contrary an urgent intervention is our religional, political and moral responsibility. Our struggle for democracy, freedom, fraternity and honorable peace of our country’s people is now on historical step. This struggle of our forty years movement which is painful did not come to nothing but now is on the stage which can not be maintained with the same way. History and our people demand democratic solution and peace which is proper for soul of time of us. In this base, we are faced with mission to start the new process in the basis of ten articles which are officially declared in historical Dolmabahçe Palace. With the agreement on principles under declaration, I see the historically and necessarily to hold a congress to stop the armed struggle which is carried by PKK against the Turkish Republic nearly 40 years and to set the societal strategies and tactics which are suitable for new period. I hope that come to principal agreement in the short time and through the truth and reconciliation commission which based on parliament members and from monitoring council, to hold this congress with successfully realization. Anymore, with our this congress the new period starts. In this new period, we are entering the new process in the Turkish Republic in the base of free and equal constitutional citizenship as a democratic society with democratic identity in the peace and live fraternal. In this way to get over the 90 years Republic history which is full of conflicts, we are walking to future with knitted real peace and universal democratic criterias. The real history of Newroz is to greet of this process in the presences of yours. However, the facts which are right for our country and our people, at the same time they should be valid for our region which was full of sacred. The reality of capitalist imperialism in generally last two hundred, especially one hundred years is: In the basis of nation state nationalism to set ethnic and religional identities against each others, I mean it exists its being according to policy of divide and impera until now! We should know that, the last brutality of imperialist powers who do not give up their ambitions on the Middle East come out in the image of ISIS. This organization force the meaning of brutality, slaughtered Kurdish, Turcoman, Arabian, Ezidies and Assyrian people without saying women and children. Anymore, the day is the day to terminate this brutal and disastrous and to change over the fraternity and democracy which are suitable for our past. In my belief the necessity to move easement with open democratic identities to get over the nation sates which are caused by confrontational, exhausting, disastrous nationalism with the democratic policy. For this, I call the nation states to perform the new type of democratic easement with the democratic policy and again I call the nation states to build new democratic collective house of Middle East in themselves. Besides, today I call the women and youngs who beat the wings for freedom who are overwhelming majority of your overcrowded to be successful in economic, social and political and security space of forthcoming period. Besides, I am greeting the resistance and victory of Kobani which has great meaning for our region and also for the international World. In this base, I am greeting the “Soul of Eşme” which has been improved as a kind of symbol of new history. These fixations which I have determined above are, the precious calling for the societal rebuild, revision and restoration for our history and contemporary in one sentence. Again, I am greeting this historical Newroz in front of yours for all the people of the World. Long live Newroz. Long live fraternity of People |
* Click here to read Öcalan's letter in Turkish and Kurdish.
