YRD celebrates Kurdistan Journalist Day

22 April was established as Kurdistan Journalists Day on the occasion of the first Kurdish newspaper published in Cairo in 1898.

YRD (Democratic Press Union) General Coordination celebrated Kurdistan Journalists Day, established to mark the anniversary of the first Kurdish newspaper being published, 122 years ago.

In a written statement, the YRD General Coordination emphasized that Kurdish journalists will not accept the pressure on the media impsoed by the sovereign forces.

The statement said: "22 April was established as Kurdistan Journalists Day on the occasion of the first Kurdish newspaper published in Cairo in 1898.

The colonialist genocidal policies of the Turkish state towards Kurds have been carried out extensively in the field of media as well as in every other field."

The first Kurdish newspaper 'Kurdistan' was published in Egyptian capital Cairo on April 22, 1898. Kurdistan newspaper was established by the exiled intellectual Miqdad Baderkhan, and tried to become the voice of the society under the time's circumstances.

The first Kurdish newspaper has been historic for the Kurdish press, and the day of its publication has been marked as Kurdish Journalism Day ever since. 

The statement added: "In the days when the whole world is struggling with coronavirus, press workers have a great role in raising the awareness of the society. First of all, it is the primary responsibility of the free press to struggle for Leader Apo who should be able to work under health, safety and free conditions. The free press has to create awareness that this serves democratic socialist values and all humanity.

It is also among our responsibilities to reveal the character of the capitalist modernist system that disintegrates sociality and favour the spread of diseases since its emergence."

The statement also reminded that in Turkey, the biggest crime is actually to be a journalist. "For this reason, hundreds of journalists are kept in prisons. While the whole world is releasing prisoners to help avoiding the spread of coronavirus, the AKP-MHP fascist government has passed a law of execution that keeps all those who think freely, especially journalists, in prison, signing a death sentence for them. With this law, it decided to kill journalists. The free and democratic press will continue its struggle until exposing the truth essence of this government."