For the Kurdistan freedom struggle, each Newroz represents a new resurrection and new serhildans (uprisings in Kurdish), but the 2006 Newroz celebrations were a little different. In 2006, people took to the streets to protest the February 15 conspiracy under the motto "Destroy the Imrali system". The protests and campaigns became more enthusiastic on March 8 and during the Newroz celebrations. Although the Newroz celebrations were banned in many cities, millions came together and responded positively to the question “Do you accept Abdullah Öcalan as a political will?”

KCK Executive Council Member Xebat Andok wrote an article for ANF to recapture the 2006 Newroz and the attitude of the people.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the hegemonic powers, led by the USA, tried to redesign the Middle East. The hegemonic powers handed Öcalan over to Turkey in an international conspiracy and helped the AKP to come to power. The very dubious Twin Towers attack on September 11, 2001, which was used as a pretext for the invasion of the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Iraq, is one of the important turning points as part of this redesign. This would have repercussions for the Kurdish Freedom Movement and Turkey.

Kurdish leader Öcalan made several efforts, including a strategic change, to frustrate the conspiracy and to find a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. His efforts prevented the physical destruction and elimination of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, which was the first target of the conspiratorial forces, in the first place. Öcalan’s efforts to solve the Kurdish problem through dialogue and democratic negotiation failed when Erdoğan's party AKP, who dubbed himself as the 'co-chair' of the Greater Middle East Project, came to power alone following the November 3, 2002 elections. The AKP, which is a special war party and government par excellence, carried out policies that aimed to eliminate the Kurdish Freedom Movement and to crackdown the Kurdish people with the unlimited support of the hegemonic powers and the treacherous-collaborative Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The well-known June 1st 2004 Move was launched under these circumstances. With the June 1st Move, war once again became the main issue in Kurdistan and Turkey. The AKP gradually escalated its dirty war against our movement and our people. Therefore, in a National Security Council (MGK) meeting on August 23, 2005, Turkey introduced the dirty war and launched an attack on our movement based on the concept of total war.

VIYAN SORAN SPARKED ACTIONS

In the meantime, our movement introduced the "Medium-Intensity War Tactic and Style" against the "Total War Concept" in military terms, and the campaign "Leader Öcalan is my political will" in political terms.

The AKP escalated the dirty war following the 23 August MGK resolutions and bombed the Umut Bookstore in Şemdinli. The AKP also cracked down on the society. Since the beginning, the AKP has been a special war party that has been carrying out its policies of genocide in a very systematic way. The most effective resistance against all these attacks took place in February, the month of the international conspiracy. February was both a month of large-scale activities and an ongoing petition campaign. The self-immolation action of Comrade Viyan Soran, a member of the PKK Central Committee on the night of February 2, 2006, prompted all subsequent actions. Comrade Viyan believed that one cannot tolerate the Imrali system which should be removed, and people embraced her action. Therefore, the protest actions against the February 15 conspiracy were carried out quite enthusiastically. In the meantime, the signature campaign "Leader Apo is my political will" had also grown. After the March 8 actions, people welcomed the Newroz.

NEWROZ OF 'LEADER APO IS MY POLITICAL WILL'

Consequently, the celebrations of Newroz, the Kurdish people's festival of resistance and freedom, were more different and magnificent than the previous ones. What distinguished this Newroz from all other Newroz celebrations is that almost one million people in Amed shouted that "Leader Öcalan is my political will". With a referendum in public, the people approved that Öcalan is the political will of the Kurdish people. Thus, Öcalan, who was targeted by an international conspiracy, was declared by the people as the Kurdish People's Leader before the eyes of the whole world. In this regard, the 2006 Newroz was a historical Newroz that frustrated the international conspiracy.

In the same week, after the bodies of guerrillas who were martyred as a result of a Turkish attack were delivered to Amed, our people launched massive actions in many cities in Bakur (North Kurdistan), especially in Amed, inspired also by the Newroz. For a few days, the people completely controlled the streets in many places, especially in Amed, and did not allow the state officials to intervene. The state remained impotent in Kurdistan. A new situation emerged, which Öcalan defined as a "divorce from the system", which transcended past actions. In particular, Amed became a city of serhildan.

NEWROZ OF FREEDOM FOR ÖCALAN

While the 2006 Newroz was “Leader Öcalan is my political will” Newroz, the 2022 Newroz will be “Freedom for Öcalan” Newroz. The Kurdish people frustrated the international conspiracy by saying "Leader Öcalan is My Political Will!" on the 2006 Newroz, and they will completely defeat the international conspiracy by saying "Freedom for Öcalan!" on the 2022 Newroz.

Therefore, we urge our people, our friends, all over Kurdistan, especially in Amed, to take to the streets to demand Öcalan's freedom, and we celebrate the Newroz, the resistance and Freedom Day of all our peoples, specifically the Kurdish people.”