A two-day conference titled “The Sheikh Said Uprising, the Azadî Movement, Sheikh Said and companions, memory and collective opposition in its 100th year” is being held at Centre Culturel Espace Magh in Brussels. The conference is organized by the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), the Kurdistan Islamic Community (CÎK), and the Kurdish Institutes in Germany and Belgium.

The conference began with the recitation of the Ey Reqib anthem and a moment of silence. KNK Co-Chair Ahmet Karamus then delivered the opening speech, emphasizing that the will of the Kurdish people was ignored in the Treaty of Lausanne and that the Sheikh Said uprising was a response to this denial.

‘The struggle continues today in a more organized and stronger manner’

Karamus stated that the Kurdish people have now become an active subject for a regional solution and that the struggle for freedom has gained an organized and strategic ground. He said, “The struggle for freedom for which Sheikh Said and his companions sacrificed their lives continues today in a more organized and stronger manner. Today, with the will of our people, this struggle is being resolutely carried on towards unity and freedom.”

‘Kurds are now at the table, seeking peace and justice’

CÎK President Mele Şevket Çakır said that the Kurds stood with the Turks during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, but Atatürk responded to this support with policies of denial and massacre. Çakır recalled Sheikh Said’s words, “I know you will hang me, but our grandchildren will take revenge,” and stated that this struggle is now being maintained by the Kurdish Freedom Movement. “Denial has come to an end; Kurds are now at the table, seeking peace and justice,” he underlined.

'Kurds must claim their own history'

Derviş Ferho from the Belgian Kurdish Institute stated that Kurdish history is being narrated by external forces and that Kurds must claim their own history.

‘Our unity is a duty’

Mehmet Kasım Fırat, President of the Sheikh Said Association, also recalled in his video message that the Sheikh Said uprising was a struggle for the rights and freedoms of the Kurdish people. He said, "Today, under the current conditions, our call to all the forces and political movements of the Kurdish people is for unity and joint action. This is very important. We have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of martyrs for this cause; now, our unity is also a duty to the memory of these martyrs."

The conference continued with a video presentation on the Sheikh Said Uprising.