Newroz celebrations took place in seven Swiss cities: Basel, Aarau, Solothurn, Lucerne, Rapperswil, Winterthur and Bern.

Today, Friday, there will be celebrations in Chur and Lausanne and tomorrow, Saturday, in Lugano.

Torchlight demonstration and festival in Solothurn

In Solothurn, the People's Council Şehîd Firaz Dağ and the Pinar Women's Commune organized a torchlight demonstration and a Newroz celebration.

The activists marched through the city, calling for the release of Abdullah Öcalan, and then reached the festival site. After a minute's silence for the martyrs of the revolution, the Newroz fire was lit. The representatives of the People's Council and Women's Council gave speeches on the importance of the festival. Music and dance groups followed.

Lucerne: “Our resistance will always continue”

In Lucerne, Newroz was also celebrated with calls for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. The celebration began with circle dances at Mühlenplatz and culminated in a loud demonstration throughout the city to reach the Newroz site.

At a speech at the festival site, the co-chair of the Democratic Kurdish Social Center of Lucerne (CDK-Lu), Nurşen Demir, took the floor and saluted Abdullah Öcalan, the guerrillas, the prisoners and the Kurdish people. She said: "Today is the day of resistance. Heval Mazlum Doğan never surrendered to the oppressors, but responded with resistance with the first fire he lit. He showed the tyrants that we would never give up and that our resistance would always stand."

Kadri Özkan, a close relative of a martyr, said: "For us, Newroz is not just about celebrating the coming spring. Newroz is rebellion, resistance, free life. There have been many uprisings in Kurdistan's history, but none of them have lasted for 47 years like that led by the PKK. We owe this to the philosophy of Rêber Apo and the resistance of the courageous Kurdish people. We resist everywhere in Kurdistan and we protect our pioneers. We will continue to fight until his physical release."

Celebration in Aarau

A Newroz celebration also took place in Aarau. Kurds and their friends gathered for a celebration under PKK flags and pictures of Öcalan.

After a minute's silence, the Newroz fire was lit. People danced in circles around the flames.

Basel: torchlight demonstration and celebration

In Basel, many people marched through the city with torches, PKK flags and pictures of Öcalan and then lit the Newroz fire.

Bern: “Guerrilla air defense system raises our morale”

A Newroz celebration organized by the Kurdish youth movement took place in the Swiss capital Bern.

The festival was celebrated with loud slogans, fire and circle dances. Burhan Karakoç spoke on behalf of the People's Council Şehîd Atakan Mahir and said: "Today we celebrate both the arrival of spring and the resistance of the Kurdish people. Our party announced very good news. The defense system that our friends have developed against the drones of the murderous Turkish state is a huge boost to our morale. Our task here is to be a voice for our comrades, our resistance fighters and the prisoners in the resistance. We will make their voices heard and make the whole world aware of them. Today it's not just us who are standing up for Rêber Apo, people all over the world are doing it, and we will continue to do so."

Fire lit in Winterthur

In Winthertur, people also came together in the evening for Newroz. After a minute's silence for the martyrs, the demonstration began.

The participants marched through the city with revolutionary songs, flags and slogans such as “Bijî PKK”.

Newroz in Rapperswil

A celebration of the people's commune took place in Rapperswil. People gathered around a fire in a park.