The celebrations of the birthday of the Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan concluded in Amara yesterday with a magnificent rally attended by tens of thousands of people. The celebrations started 5 days ago with a big march from various cities to Amara, and continued with a rally in Halfeti on 3 April. Then yesterday, 4 April, despite the heavy rain, thousands of people flocked to the birth place of Öcalan, Amara, from Halfeti, demanding the freedom of the Kurdish Leader.

The crowd of all ages frequently chanted the slogan: “Long Live Leader Apo”, while the brother of the Kurdish Leader, Mehmet Öcalan, spoke to guests, sharing their recollections of Abdullah Öcalan.

A celebration activity first took place in the garden of the house where Öcalan was born, and then the people planted trees alongside the village road. The crowd spread all over the village, then chanted songs and performed the Kurdish traditional folk dance, the halay.

While there was a long traffic jam at the entrance of the village, thousands of people marched the 10 km from Halfeti to Amara under heavy rain, chanting slogans demanding the freedom of Öcalan.