Newroz

The Newroz programme of the DTP starts in Urfa on 20 March and ends in Kars on 24 March. Kurdish musicians and politicians will take the stage.

University students from Yüksekova start a signature campaign to support Erkan Çapraz of the Yüksekova Haber Newpaper to stop the pressure on him, which is preventing him to do his work as a journalist.

Two chief inspectors appointed by the Ministry of Interior have resumed investigations on March 22 incidents in Siirt. Journalists requested to hand over pictures and videotapes in search of evidence.

A group of gay and lesbian Kurds in Diyarbakir decided that this year’s Newroz would not only be a call for political freedom, but also an honest declaration of their sexual identity.

DTP MP Akin Birdal holds the Siirt governor and chief of police responsible for riots at Newroz celebrations, as well as the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister.

In some cities in the southeast of Turkey, the governors did not allow Newroz celebrations to take place. Two people died in Van and Hakkari. Hundreds of people were taken into police custody.

As preparations for a big Newroz celebration in Diyarbakir are nearing their end, some say “we have to go for peace.” However, others fear trouble and will stay away.

The Turkish Peace Parliament has called on the spring festival to be “an opportunity to face the past" and ÖDP MP Uras has called for "a beginning of a solution."