Kurds with Ocalan flags and t-shirts celebrate Newroz the Kurdish New Year in London calling for Ocalan to be freed
Newroz is the Kurdish version of the ancient Iranian New Year holiday, celebrated (as we used to) at the Spring Equinox, and since the 1980s it has become widely celebrated as a symbol of Kurdish identity. Turkey brought in its own official Spring celebration in 2000, Nevruz, in an attempt to replace the celebration of Newroz. It’s now a crime to use the name Newroz or celebrate it in Turkey. Newroz celebrations there, supported by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have at times led to mass arrests and killings, and the same is true in Syria where although in theory it is allowed, in practice the security forces clamp down on it because of its political overtones. The immediate goal of the Kurdish people is the release of the man who has become a symbol of their nation, Abdullah Öcalan (pronounced ‘erdjerlan’), and their dream is of a Kurdish nation, Kurdistan. Both were very much to the fore in this celebration in Trafalgar Square. The PKK is a banned as a terrorist organisation in the EU, and a number of its members in the UK have been arrested. It is an offence to display the PKK flag seen in several of these pictures here.
Size: 5040px × 3354px
Location: Trafalgar Square, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abdullah, celebrations, costume, flag, freedom, kurdish, kurdistan, kurds, london, national, nationalism, newroz, ocalan, party, people, pkk, spring, square, trafalgar, turkey, year
