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4 million people all over Kurdistan and Turkey went on the streets on Newroz, the Kurdish national holiday which became the symbol of the Kurdish national struggle, and raised the demand for freedom and peace. At the celebrations which were provided with flags, banners and traditional clothes in their Kurdish national colours which are yellow-red-green, PKK and HPG flags as well as posters of the Kurdish national leaders Abdullah Ocalan were carried by the masses.{divide}
The rally in Diyarbakir, where 1 million Kurdish labourers gathered, started with lighting the huge Newroz torch at the middle of the place by the sisters of Abdullah Ocalan as well as the PKK marytrs Mazlum Dogan, Mahsun Korkmaz, M. Hayri Durmus and Ferhat Kurtay, by Aysel Tugluk and Ahmet Turk, the MP of the DTP which was politically banned, the BDP co-president Selahattin Demirtas and the former DEP deputy Leyla Zana who spoke Kurdish at parliament and was then imprisoned for 10 years.
BDP co-president Selahattin Demirtas who made a speech evaluated Newroz 2010 as a "referendum". Demirtas stressed that 4 million Kurdish labourers being on the streets on Newroz with the demands of education in the mother tongue, constitutional citizenship, democratic sovereignty, a new constitution, talks with the PKK as well as including the Kurdish national leader Ocalan to the political process continuing point towards a referendum. Demirtas also exposed the liquidating politics of the AKP government. He said: "Our dear Mr. President says that those showing us a terrorist leader and the terror organisation as addressees stop the process of coming to a solution. Mr. President, I tell you to stop talking in that way. There's no terrorist or any a terrorist leader. There is a people's movement and its leader. First of all, you must change your language to get closer to this people. If our people are hands in hands and demand peace, then the AKP won't be able to resist that. This barrage has become full. Whoever wants to stop that will be told rest in peace."
Osman Baydemir, major of Diyarbakir, Aysel Tugluk and Ahmet Turk, MPs of the DTP that has been banned recently, Leyla Zana, former MP of DEP as well as DTK co-president Yuksel Genc held speeches at the rally emphasizing that 2010 is of historical importance. Attention was also drawn to the minimum steps that need to be made to advance in the peace process. 400,000 people gathered at the rally organised by the Platform of Democratic Solution for Peace at Kazlicesme Square, Istanbul, on March 21. At the rally in Istanbul, the main emphasis was put on the fact that the Kurds and Abdullah Ocalan were the real addressees of the Kurdish question.
In the statement made in the name of the Organising Committee of Newroz, the following demands were listed: "Newroz must be announced as the Day of Peace and Brotherhood of the people. The dialogue with the Kurdish people must be advanced. All politicians and political prisoners imprisoned must be released. All planners of the coups, first of all those of the coup on September 12, 1980, must be sentenced. An account must be demanded for all killings with unknown offenders of the organisation Ergenekon . The constitution of the coup of September 12, 1980 must be changed, and a democratic constitution must be prepared."
Speakers at this rally were the BDP deputies Sebahat Tuncel, Ufuk Uras and the BDP co-president Gulten Kisanak, the following emphasis was made in the speeches: "This question can't be solved without meeting Ocalan and respecting him as the addressee. These people have been ready for peace with the representatives sent to parliament with the support of democratic forces and its leader. Ankara must ne ready, too." The Kurdish politicians in the prisons were demanded to be released.
At the rally TEKEL worker Metin Aslan held a speech. Aslan mentioned the existing workers' resistances and called for solidarity. His speech was important in terms of the Turkish and Kurdish labourers to become addressees of each other.
Besides the organisations of the Kurdish liberation movement, the ESP , SODAP , B DSP , SDP , KESK , ODP , Partizan, Alinteri and Halkevleri of the progressive and revolutionary forces participated in the rally, too. The Platform of Conscientious Objection for Peace supported the Newroz rally with the banner "Don't be a soldier, don't let your brother's blood flow". At the Newroz rally in Istanbul, 29 people were arrested.
Celebrations with altogether more than 100,000 people participating took place on March 20 and 21 in Mus, Van, Sirnak, Cizre, Malatya, Adiyaman, Dersim, Eruh, Kahta, Besiri, Gercus, Siirt, Batman, Nusaybin, Mardin, Mazidagi, Silopi, Urfa, Semdinli , Izmir, Ankara, Adana, Tarsus, Manisa, Konya, Mersin, Antalya, Aydin, Kocaeli and many other towns.
Newroz was also celebrated with actions in different European countries and the other parts of Kurdistan. The celebrations in South West Kurdistan and Syria were attacked by the police and army shooting on the masses. Three people, among them a 15-years old girl, died in Ar-Raqqah. There were also attacks in Haseke and Aleppo.
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