Halabja...

On March 16, 1988, children and parents who later tried to protect their children didn't know death was coming. It was a phase in the infamous Al-Anfal campaign during which over 180,000 civilian Kurds were massacred. On March 16, 1988, over 5,000 civilians were massacred by chemical weapons. Most of the victims were women and children. There is a short documentary on http://www.halabja.org/ A relatively recent article written by Heather Pringle presents some of the forensic archeology work and forensic evidence used to convict Saddam Hussain. The article's title is Witness to Genocide. You can also read the CNN blurb 'Idealist' tried to halt Saddam's Kurdish slaughter. The videos included in the blurb are quite informative.

Newroz and Kurds

In the history of every peoples, there are days that define their character and history. For Kurds, Newroz means new day (sun) and symbolizes the end of oppression and tyranny and represents the harbinger of brighter days. A story older than 4,300 years and has been passed down for generations. It's said that Newroz is the oldest celebration.

A god named Zarvan had two sons. One was Hurmuz (Hormuz, Hormuzd), who spread fertility and light, and the other was Ehriman (Ahriman) an evil who spread darkness and barrenness. The epic story of Newroz is eventually the fight between Hurmuz's son Zerdust or Zeratusht, commonly called Zoroaster who was sent to the earth and Hurmuz' brother Ahriman, the jealous evil spirit.

There are many slightly varying versions of Newroz Legend. The common theme in all of them is a cruel oppressor, an Assyrian King named Dehak (supported by Ehriman), and a hero who frees his people, a blacksmith named Kawa (supported by Hurmuz). After killing Dehak, Kawa informs the people of Ninowa of Dehak's death by lighting a fire.

Mark Campbell has published a recounted version in KurdishMedia.com on 19/12/2002. The article is worth reading and can be found at http://www.newrozfilms.com/the_legend_of_newroz.htm There is also an article by KNK on the History of Newroz.

Presenting Newroz simply as a spring festival is stripping it off its true meaning for Kurdish people.

Newroz is the symbol of resilience of Kurdish people,
Newroz is the symbol that oppressors will never prevail.

Her bîjî Newroz, 21 times!

Newroza we pîroz be. You guessed it, 21 times!

Education in Kurdish is not Possible

Mr. Erdogan, a prime minister, keeps bringing up Turks in Germany as a justification that Kurds should not have their basic right of using their native language. He says the Turks living in Germany don't have right to have education in their native language. Well, Mr. Erdogan, as someone who complains about imperialism, you should be aware of a few things.

• The Turks in Germany are migrant workers. Nobody moved them there by force. They went willingly. As the saying goes in Turkey, "the guest shall eat whatever he gets, not what he expects".
• The Kurds in Turkey are home. Those lands have been their home for thousands of years. They are indigenous to those lands. If anything, Turks arrived much, much later and since 1923 they are trying to impose their rules on their landlords. Hypocritical, isn't it?

Your party members talk about how many Kurds live in Izmir and Istanbul and show that as an example of "equality". You kick people out of their homes, raze their villages, migrate them by force, and then turn around and say how nice, Kurds are free to go wherever they want. How come we kick you out of your house, confiscate all your belongings and set you free to go wherever you want? As the defender of "mazlums" how come you didn't say a word to the Governor of Trabzon province who treated Kurdish seasonal workers like second class citizens? That governor of yours was demanding "travel papers". Hypocritical, isn't it?

So, since we started talking about hypocrisy let's come to the issue of Kurdish names and the banned letters of q, w, and x (for Kurds). A trademark is official and a detergent named Mintax has been in Turkey for ages produced by HES Kimya A.Ş. I wonder what you would say about the trim of vehicles branded as "Lux". Even your European friends don't know how to defend certain things you say. They want you to be the energy gateway (a glorified term for a mosquito's proboscis) for them, but I am sure they are aware of the fact that unless Kurds agree, their proboscis can't go deep enough to feed them. What a role for someone to assume!

Zerkesorg is Born

Zerkesorg is born. March is a month during which Kurds have suffered terribly. Perhaps that's why Newroz has such a special place on every Kurd's heart. In less than two weeks, Newroz will be here! Start planning for it, it's worth celebrating. More to come.