The central Newroz celebration in Germany is taking place today with thousands of participants in Rebstockpark in Frankfurt. The event, organised by KON-MED and YJK-E (Kurdish Women's Union in Germany) under the slogan “Free Society and Free Leader”, continues with great enthusiasm and growing participation with each passing hour.

Addressing the crowd, KCDK-E (Kurdish Democratic Society Congress in Europe) Co-Chair Engin Sever stated that Newroz represents resistance for the Kurdish people. Sever congratulated Abdullah Öcalan on Newroz and said, “Leader Öcalan’s paradigm offers a solution for peace in the Middle East.”

Speaking on behalf of YJK-E, Keziban Doğan said, “We are celebrating Newroz with the will of the oppressed and with a voice reaching all the way to İmralı.” Doğan remarked that they celebrate this Newroz with the slogan “The physical freedom of Leader Öcalan is our freedom”, adding, “This goal is a fundamental point of struggle for all Kurds.”

The celebration continued with a music concert by Hozan Diyar.

Cengiz Çiçek, MP for the DEM Party and one of the lawyers of Asrin Law Office that represents Abdullah Öcalan and his fellow prisoners in İmralı, stated: “We visited Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February, and we convey his greetings to you. Mr. Öcalan asked us to convey that in the struggle he has been waging for 52 years, he has never compromised and will never give up on the Kurdish people's fight for freedom. He made it clear that, whatever the last words of Sheikh Said and Seyit Rıza were, he is in the same place today.”

Çiçek continued: “With his Call for Peace and Democratic Society, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan trusts his organization, his fellow fighters, the people in the four parts of Kurdistan and their determination to fight for democracy and freedom. The Kurdish people have won the struggle for resurrection and freedom is next. This struggle is no longer just a struggle for existence, it is now a struggle to win and achieve freedom. The Newroz fields have been the biggest echo of this call, the strongest voice of freedom.”

Cengiz Çiçek criticized the AKP government's most recent operations against the CHP-run municipalities in Istanbul and said, “Today the government is conducting operations in Istanbul against urban reconciliation (electoral alliance between CHP and DEM Party). What do you aim by ignoring the will of the Kurdish people and saying 'Kurds cannot be mayors'? How will you resolve the Kurdish question? On the other hand, some people ask why the Kurds don’t take to the streets. They can have a look at the Newroz fields! Millions of people are on the streets, in the fields, resisting and shouting for freedom.  Kurds have buried tens of thousands of people in the struggle for freedom, but the will of the Kurdish people could never be crushed. If there is any hope in the Middle East and Turkey, it is thanks to the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom.”

Çiçek also condemned Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş's insult to the Kurdish flag, which he called a “rag” at a recent demonstration in Istanbul.

“We call out to those who play with the values of the Kurdish people: it is your mentality that is a rag. We continue to increase freedom and resistance with the fire of Newroz.”

Kawa Mensori Hessen, Vice President of the State of Hesse, took the stage to congratulate the participants on Newroz and conveyed a message of solidarity.

The Newroz celebration continued with the music of Diyar Gerilla music group and Ibo Qamişlo.