Kurds Will Defy State Ban on Nationalist New Year's Celebration

Kurds in Turkey said Thursday they would defy a government ban on celebrations of Newroz, a new year’s holiday with nationalist undertones.

Turkey has regularly banned the holiday, turning festivities into stronger denunciations of the government and celebrations of Kurdish nationalism. Past restrictions have resulted in clashes between police and participants that ended in dozens of deaths.

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“Our country has become a prison,” said Filiz Kerestecioglu, representative of the HDP, one of the organizers of the Newroz festivities. “The people also have a right to resistance … The president is trying to criminalize everyone. We will not consent.”

The Newroz Organizing Committee will resist crackdowns on celebrations in seven cities with large Kurdish populations, including Istanbul, where over 1 million Kurds have gathered in previous years. Governorates have only allowed for celebrations on March 21, the day of the New Year, but not on other days, when other events were planned. Participants come dressed in patriotic colors, flying the flags of Kurdish parties and playing traditional Kurdish music.

“It is neither lawful nor legitimate for the government to attempt to block Newroz celebrations,” said a statement from the HDP Central Executive Committee. “Newroz has been celebrated for thousands of years in a lawful and legitimate way.”

They added that they would ensure the event will be safe and peaceful, challenging the security motivations for the ban such as “to prevent any unrest and provocations” and to ensure “national security, public security, to protect the rights and freedoms of others.”