Kurdish National Congress Statement on Iran Government Hangings.

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Executive Council of KNK

"On May 9 the death penalty through hanging was carried out against the Kurdish political prisoners Ferzad Kemanger, Eli Heyderiyan, Ferhad Wekili and Şirin Elem Hulu in the torture prison of Evin, not far from the Iranian capital Teheran. We condemn the inhuman and beastly method of murder carried out by the Iranian Mullah regime. All four political prisoners were tortured every day since their arrest because they were members of PJAK (The Free Life Party Kurdistan). They had no access to justice or defence.

There is no justice in Iran.

By misusing the Islam as a political instrument all murders are justified as being in the name of Allah, which in fact goes against everything the Islam stands for."

The fact that some international broadcasters use the excuse of PJAK membership in an attempt to legitimise these murders is just as illegitimate and inhuman as the act itself. Iran is politically trying to justify this crime against humanity by condemning PJAK. The death penalty is seen in this century as a crime against humanity and must be abolished. It does not matter against whom, or for what reason.

The PJAK became a historic necessity because of the beastly politics of murder in Iran against the Kurds and other opposition groups. It is not the reason for the backward, antidemocratic trouble in Iran, but clearly a result of this situation. It must be acknowledged that the murder of the four Kurds was carried out a week after the decisions of the first Conference of PJAK were made known. At this conference PJAK again called for an Iranian Kurdish dialogue for peace based on elementary rights of freedom for the Kurdish people.

By murdering the four members of PJAK Iran has chosen the confrontation and war against the Kurds. There are two reasons for this. It is an attempt to provoke the Kurds into war, and more importantly, Iran is using this politics of confrontation to encourage Turkey to go to war against the Kurds.

It is well known that since the start of spring Turkey is preparing a military offensive against the Kurds in northern Iraq. Iran hopes to profit from this in a military sense, because it is well known in Teheran that the manipulation politics known as “the Kurdish opening” which was introduced by the Turkish state under the leadership of the AKP government against the Kurds, has failed. The AKP government has, as part of this project, sought the support of Iran using a foreign policy based on “no problems with the neighbours.” Now Iran is using the existing anti-Kurdish coalition and encouraging its partner into war. Iran’s intention is clear, using a war against the Kurds to gain time for its own major power projects in the Middle East. Their aim is to balance its international political breakthrough.

We believe that no politcal power has the right to make politics based on crimes against humanity. The right to life is a universal and untouchable right. The death penalty is seen as a crime against humanity and must be abolished. We call on all people to oppose the attempts by Iran to use the murder of the Kurds for new escalations and a new wave of violence, and to fight together with us Kurds.

EU Tells Turkey: 'Stop Jailing Children!"

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Turkish parties under pressure to address child prisoners

Child prisoners are being locked up with adults

A major political row has erupted in Turkey over the plight of hundreds of children, many of them Kurds, currently languishing in the country's adult jails. The matter has also raised eyebrows in the European Union.

Political groups in Turkey are caught in a to-and-fro over hundreds of child prisoners currently serving time in adult jails. The children, most of whom are Kurds convicted of taking part in illegal demonstrations, are also causing concern in the European Union.

According to local human rights groups there are nearly 300 children in adult jails in Turkey, many of whom are serving decade-long sentences. Most are Kurdish children convicted under Turkey's anti-terror laws for throwing stones at Turkish security forces or participating in demonstrations in support of the banned Kurdish separatist group the PKK.

Hasan Dundar, 16, is currently out on bail but is facing 10 years in jail for taking part in such a protest. He says his treatment after being detained was inhumane.

"First we were taken to prison, and immediately paramilitary officers came and beat us for two to three hours," he says. "Then the guards took us inside and they started beating us. We were there for four days and during all that time we were beaten. Every morning, they came and beat us."

Human rights groups say that more than 1,000 Kurdish children are facing time in jail like Hasan

Many Turkish Kurds want their own Kurdish homeland

Wheeling and dealing

In a surprise move, the leader of Turkey's opposition National Action Party, which has been among the harshest critics of what it describes as Kurdish terrorism, has proposed an amnesty for all child prisoners.

But there are fears the amnesty call is an attempt to force the release of juveniles convicted of murdering a Turkish-Armenian journalist and an Italian priest. Both juveniles have links to nationalist extremists.

Even the country's main pro-Kurdish party, the BDP, has been reluctant to support the idea.

"An idea that is abruptly put forward without any preparatory work, without involving the other party groups, may bring disadvantages as well as the proposed advantages," says Hasip Kaplan, a BDP member of parliament.

The ruling AK party is also likely to involve itself in the ongoing debate in a bid to gain support for its constitutional reform plans.

All the country's main opposition parties currently oppose those reforms, and observers say the only hope the AK party has of passing them is to secure the support of the BDP, which has not ruled out supporting the government, albeit for a price.

In a bid to gain the BDP's support, the AK party has begun addressing the issue of child prisoners in adult jails.

Prime Minister Erdogan's AK party has gotten involved

"We have important work to do when it comes to justice system for children," says Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin. "We are working both in terms of bringing child prisons up to modern standards and introducing legal reforms. We will soon make our plans public, as soon as we have finished our constitutional reforms."

Turkish EU accession

The European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, is also putting pressure on Ankara to end the practice of putting children in adult jails.

"There is no doubt we oppose such moves, that we make clear to our Turkish friends and colleagues that as part of the continuing reforms in the country it has to stop happening," says Richard Howitt, spokesman for the European Parliament's committee on Turkey.

Such mounting pressure from all sides is now giving hope for the hundreds of children languishing in adult jails and many more facing a similar prospect. But observers point out that despite such consensus, the wheels of reform in Turkey, can move painfully slowly.

© Hevallo,

An Interview with Murat Karayilan. March 2010.

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In the last few years it seems your goals have changed, you are no longer a separatist group. Why are you still fighting?

You are aware that the culture, the identity, all the national rights of the Kurdish people have always been denied. There has also been violence and oppression against this people. Because of that, the Kurdish people decided to protect themselves through struggle, through arms. But since 1999, August 2nd, we have been trying to solve the Kurdish question through peaceful means, because we believe that the Kurdish question can be solved not through war but only through political means. It's a social problem, so there can be only a political solution to it. So our struggle right now is a political, democratic struggle. What we want is a political, democratic solution within the Turkish borders. Our motto is: "A democratic Turkey for an autonomous Kurdistan".

What is the model for this autonomous Kurdistan?

I have a number of examples. Spain, Scotland, Belgium... we can give quite a number of examples in Europe. Through dialogue we could take all these examples and solve the issue. We are not asking much. The question can be solved with positive side effects for everyone.

Another example is France, the first nation-based State. Turkey sees France as an example, but there are different practices in Turkey. Whatever the French government has done for Corsica, all those rights, if given to Kurdish people, they will be accepted, there is nothing more. The problem is that AKP today says that yes, there are Kurdish people, but in the meantime they say that within the Turkish people there's a Kurdish people. Other than that there is no Kurdish people. This means there are many ethnic groups in Turkey, but they are all Turkish. It's a way of playing with words. The assimilation policy that has continued for the last 86 years is still going on.

Since there are many examples of autonomy in Europe, do you think Turkey can be a part of Europe?

If there are changes in Turkey, why not?

We believe that the Kurdish issue is the main issue which can change Turkey democratically.

If Turkey changes its approach to the Kurdish issue, if it changes democratically... then why not?

The government has proposed constitutional reforms. What do you think of that?

These changes cannot bring democracy in Turkey, because of the mentality, of the approach, which is still the mentality of the 12 September 1980 coup. AKP is just having problems with the judiciary, and they are trying to overcome this.

That's the only reason they are discussing the changes in the Constitution, nothing more than that. The mentality is the same, and this mentality cannot bring any democratic changes in Turkey.

But if the judiciary is less powerful, there will be no longer episodes such as the ban of DTP in Turkey. Isn't this positive?

It's not important at all. Of course it's positive, however for the Kurdish issue this has no relevance, because there will be no change on two crucial issues.

The first one is the 10 percent threshold in general elections.

The second is the law on terrorism. For example, they give a lot of prison sentences to children.

A woman can have a 7-year prison sentence just because she shouted certain slogans and carried a banner.

Erdogan is dealing with the problems they have, not the Kurdish people.

A few weeks ago Osman Öcalan said that if his brother was released and put to house arrest, PKK would disarm. Is this true?

That person has nothing to do with us, we do not have any relations at all, from time to time some people try to use him. So, it is not true. Whatever that person said has nothing to do with us.

At the beginning of February this year we proposed a road map for the solution of the Kurdish question in peaceful terms.

4 main steps need to be done:

All the operations - military and political - have to be stopped.

Since a lot of politicians have been arrested - some MPs, some mayors, members of the party, over 1.500 politicians - they have to be released.

We believe Abdullah Öcalan can play an effective role in the peace process, so he should be put to house arrest
after these 3 conditions are fulfilled, then the dialogue can start immediately

So, at that time, will the PKK disarm?

If the dialogue starts, this matter of arms can be taken as part of the dialogue, it can be discussed.

We are not only 3 or 5 people, we are thousands of people, so what is the situation of this people going to be?

How will the disarmament take place? On what conditions? Once the dialogue starts, we can discuss all these things there.

Öcalan is seen by Turks as a symbol of this war, of terrorism, so even if the government wanted to give him an effective role, it would be very difficult for them, they would meet a lot of resistance, so how do you propose to do that?

Such claims were already made before.

For example, in South Africa, with the Mandela case, or for Yasser Arafat in the Palestinian case.

But in the end if they hadn't spoken to Mandela, they wouldn't have solved the issue. The same happened with the Palestinian issue. Both Mandela and Arafat were seen as terrorists, terrorist leaders.

So, first of all Turkey has to change its language.

Second, they have to make sincere steps, in order to solve the Kurdish issue. There is no terrorist leader, Abdullah Öcalan is not a terrorist at all. This is only a name given to the opposition.

Today millions of people - as you saw during the Newroz in Diyarbakir -shout "we are PKK".

That's the reality, that's the approach of the people, and using other words, other languages is not going to help solve the Kurdish question.

But I don't believe the real problem is Turkey. The problem is Europe and the US. They are the ones who are affecting the solution period.

In what sense?

While the armed struggle was going on, the European countries never put our organisation's name in the list of terrorist organizations. But in 1999, we decided to change our strategy, Abdullah Öcalan at that time went to Europe in order to open a pathway for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue - as you know he has been to Italy.

At that time Mr D'Alema and the Italian government were approached frankly by Abdullah Öcalan. D'Alema even went to Germany to speak with Schroeder regarding the Kurdish issue and Abdullah Öcalan, he said Europe should make a conference on the Kurdish issue, but Germany didn't accept.

After an international conspiracy our leader Abdullah Öcalan was illegally captured and given to Turkey. So at that time the European countries never approached the issue to solve it peacefully and democratically - they could, at that time, but they did not, and after 1999 our organisation made a declaration that as a new strategy we were going to find a peaceful and democratic solution.

After the declaration we made, we announced that we were giving up arms. The EU in 2002 put us in the terrorists list.
This period showed us that the EU does not want a peaceful and democratic solution of the Kurdish issue. And for all these years the EU has given support to Turkey, militarily and politically.

The same occurred with the US.

It's Official: Turkey Breaks International Landmine Ban!

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ISTANBUL, Turkey, April 16 (UPI) -- Records indicating the Turkish military planted banned landmines in a southeastern province a year ago were published in a Turkish newspaper Friday.

The Taraf daily published military documents showing M2A4 anti-personnel mines were planted on the outskirts of the province of Sirnak on April 9, 2009, despite Turkey's voluntary agreement to be mine-free by March 1, 2014, Zaman reported.

Turkey signed on to the Mine Ban Treaty, or the Ottawa Treaty, along with 155 other countries in 2003. Turkey agreed to completely destroy its landmine stocks by March 1, 2008, although the process is still ongoing, the report said.

The treaty also calls for the country to be swept and cleared of all mines by March 1, 2014.

However, because the treaty is voluntary, there is no punishment for non-compliance.

Last May, seven Turkish soldiers were killed by a landmine in the same region and suspicions were published the mines had been planted by the banned separatist Kurdistan group known as the PKK. A subsequent investigation determined the mine belonged to the Turkish military, the report said.

There was no immediate response from military officials about the report. Source:

UPI

No Change for Kurds in Turkey's Newly Proposed Constitution.

By New York Times.

Turkey’s governing party moved this week to further reduce the power of the country’s staunchly secular old guard, submitting a series of amendments to Turkey’s military coup-era 1982 Constitution, but passage is far from assured.

A number of the 26 amendments, if passed, would strike at a center of power for the old elite, the judiciary, by opening up its appointment process and expanding its membership.

For generations, Turkey’s judiciary has been controlled by a small class of hard-line secularists with a rigidly nationalist ideology, and the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, has long urged that it be changed. The amendments require 367 votes out of 550 to become law, more than the governing party has. At the same time, the secular opposition party is having trouble gathering the 110 votes needed to kill the package in the Constitutional Court.

Some liberals criticize the measures for falling short of what is needed for deeper democracy in Turkey, while opponents of the party, Justice and Development, say the amendments are an effort by its leader, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to consolidate his power. But supporters say the changes would start to bring Turkey in line with European countries.

“When you actually look at what the amendments propose, you see that all changes are copied from examples that function quite well in E.U. member states,” said Joost Lagendijk, senior adviser at the Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University and a former European Parliament member.

The current constitution, which enshrines Turkey’s secular mandate, has been amended several times since it was put in place, and most Turkish intellectuals argue that it should be scrapped entirely.

But Mr. Erdogan’s past efforts to change it have met with ferocious criticism. His party commissioned a new draft in 2008, which was written largely by a group of intellectuals, but was forced to scrap it after the secular opposition party filed suit against Justice and Development, which is Islamic-inspired, and a high court threatened to ban the party.

The government argues that the changes are necessary to break away from a troubled past of military coups and strong control of the state by a small coterie of unelected officials in the bureaucracy and the judiciary. Critics of the newly proposed amendments fear that the key changes — the way appointments are made to the constitutional court, the main watchdog of secularism in Turkey, and to the Senior Council of Judges and Prosecutors, responsible for judicial appointments and monitoring court officials — would damage Turkey’s founding principles. They do not trust Mr. Erdogan, whose party arose from a class of Muslim entrepreneurs that upper-class secular Turks long looked down upon.

“The secular democratic state in Turkey is in danger,” said Sabih Kanadoglu, the chief prosecutor of the Court of Appeals, another powerful court.

Other changes include trying military officers in civilian courts and making it harder to ban political parties.

If Mr. Erdogan fails to pass the changes in Parliament, he has said he will bring them to a nationwide referendum, though some have criticized that approach as too black and white for the complexity of the amendments.

The disagreement follows a long-running divide in Turkish society between the broad sector of society that supports Justice and Development and secular Turks, who believe Mr. Erdogan is dismantling the old system to establish a new one that empowers him.

At the same time, liberals who were hoping for bolder change expressed disappointment. One of the principal authors of the 2008 draft, Ergun Ozbudun, a professor of law at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, noted that the amendments offered no concessions, for example, to ethnic or religious groups, whose rights in Turkey have been routinely abused.

“The desire deep in their hearts was probably to go more courageously,” Professor Ozbudun said by telephone, “but they are maybe afraid of the opposition and constitutional court.”

Nor do the amendments lower the steep 10 percent threshold that political parties must meet to claim seats in Parliament, one of the liberals’ central demands. The threshold keeps smaller political parties, including those that represent ethnic groups like Kurds, out of Parliament

Ibrahim Kaboglu, a professor of constitutional law at Istanbul’s Marmara University, said the changes would expand the president’s powers, for example by allowing him to choose more members of the constitutional court, and he said he worried that the court, a bastion of secular resistance, would soon be packed with Mr. Erdogan’s allies.

“They seem to be in a rush to fill both institutions with judges and members who are closer to their political line to secure their future,” Professor Kaboglu said, referring to the Constitutional Court and the Senior Council. Source: New York Times.

Dark Clouds Gather over Kurdistan! War or Peace?

For those who are not able to follow the situation in Turkey and the Kurdish issue.

Very generally, the situation is not looking good. The Turkish state continue to deny the basic realities of the situation and are building up a massive military presence in Kurdistan.

There is talk of changing the Turkish Constitution but not substantially and not addressing the Kurds basic demands.

Abdullah Ocalan has opposed the changes as they stand as they do not go far enough.

The BDP are behind him as are the worldwide Kurdish Movement.

The choice seems now clearer than ever.

War or Peace?

The Kurdish side has bent over backwards in its attempts to begin a peace process.

There have already began clashes and the Turkish side are determined to push the Kurdish side into war.

Armenians and Kurds in Los Angeles Unite to Call for Freedom for Berivan!

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010

Armenian and Kurdish Youth to Protest Turkish Human Rights Abuses

By Asbarez Staff on Mar 18th.

Mount Ararat

The Mountain that Unites the Kurds and Armenians.

LOS ANGELES–A coalition of human rights activists will mobilize at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles on March 24 to demand the release of a 15 year-old Kurdish girl jailed in Turkey for 8 years on charges of terrorism.

The demonstration, set to begin at 2pm, is being organized by the United Human Rights Council in conjunction with the Armenian Youth Federation, ARF Shant Student Association, American Kurdish Information Network, Kurdish American Youth Organization and Kurdish Community of Southern California.

“Turkey’s Kurds today are experiencing the same oppression, subjugation and mistreatment that the Armenians faced a century ago under Ottoman rule,” explained Shirnian. “We have built a strong coalition with Armenian and Kurdish youth groups throughout the country and are standing united against Turkey’s human rights violations, especially the political repression and imprisonment of innocent children.”

Berivan was found guilty of “crimes on behalf of an illegal organization” after prosecutors alleged she had hurled stones and shouted slogans at a demonstration in the south-eastern city of Batman in October 2009.

She is among a growing number of Kurdish youth being tried and jailed in Turkey on charges of terrorism. The prosecutions come amid increased political tension in the Muslim country as it faces a fierce backlash from an impoverished Kurdish minority outraged over government sponsored terror and oppression.

“With over 2,600 minors serving time in Turkish prisons, the recent arrest of Berivan comes as no surprise,” said UHRC chairperson Sanan Shirinian. “Kurdish children are being systematically imprisoned for merely singing their native songs, peacefully voicing concerns within their communities or simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Though the Kurds represent the largest linguistic minority in Turkey, comprising approximately 20% of the population, they have been subject to methodical oppression since the 1920’s.

“The Turkish government and military have been oppressing the Kurdish minority for decades, subjecting them to poverty, denying them their human rights, banning their political parties, and waging a brutal war on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),” said Shirinian.”These injustices should not go unnoticed and the perpetrators should be made to account for their repressive policies.”

The PKK has been fighting for equal rights and liberation in the southeast of Turkey since 1984. Turkey characterizes their struggle for freedom as terrorism and has dealt with it as such, clamping down on the country’s Turkish population and using military force and counter-insurgency techniques to destroy the organization.

The government recently announced steps to reconcile with Kurds by expanding greater cultural rights in an effort to end the conflict that has led to the disappearance and death of thousands of Kurds. Those steps, which include cosmetic reforms and pledges for equality, have been criticized by Turkey’s Kurds as hollow.

“Berivan’s arrest and prosecution come as a direct result of those hollow reforms,” said UHRC activist Nora Kayserian, noting that her arrest came at a demonstration against a government ban in December of the only Kurdish political party in the country, the Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).

The forced closure of the party and the subsequent late-night arrest of some 60 Kurdish political leaders sent shock-waves throughout the country, sparking weeks of demonstrations and violent clashes across Turkey.

“Turkey claims to be a country devoted to democracy, yet principles of democracy are not implemented,” added Kayserian. “The cycle of oppression committed against the Kurds is clear evidence that Turkey is far from being a democratic state..”

The United Human Rights Council (UHRC) is a committee of the Armenian Youth Federation. By means of action on a grassroots level the UHRC works toward exposing and correcting human rights violations of governments worldwide, and aims to foster dialogue and collaboration between peoples who share this common vision. More information can be obtained by emailing: uhrc@ayfwest.org

Kawa and The Story of Newroz!

"Then all the saved children went, under darkness, to the very furthest and highest mountains where no one would find them. Here, high up in the safety of the Zagros Mountains, the children grew in freedom. They learnt how to survive on their own. They learnt how to ride wild horses, how to hunt, fish, sing and dance. From Kawa they learnt how to fight. One day soon they would return to their homeland and save their people from the tyrant king."

A long time ago in between the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris there was a land called Mesopotamia.

Above a small town and tucked into the side of the Zagros Mountains, there was an enormous stone castle with tall turrets and dark high walls. The castle was cut out of the mountain rock. The castle gates were made from the wood of the cedar tree and carved into the shapes of winged warriors.

Deep inside the castle lived a cruel Assyrian king called Dehak. His armies terrorized all the people of the land.

All had been well before Dehak''s rule in Mesopotamia. Previous kings had been good and kind and had encouraged the people to irrigate the land and keep their fields fertile. They ate food consisting only of bread, herbs, fruit and nuts.

It was during the reign of a king called Jemshid that things started to go wrong. He thought himself above the sun gods and began to lose favour with his people. A spirit called Ahriman the Evil, seized the chance to take control. He chose Dehak to take over the throne, who then killed Jemshid and cut him in two.

The evil spirit, disguised as a cook, fed Dehak with blood and the flesh of animals and one day as Dehak complimented him on his meat dishes, he thanked him and asked to kiss the king's shoulders.

As he did so there was a great flash of light and two giant black snakes appeared on either side of his shoulders. Dehak was terrified and tried everything he could to get rid of them.

Ahriman the Evil disguised himself again, this time as a physician and told Dehak that he would never be able to rid himself of the snakes and that when the snakes became hungry Dehak would feel a terrible pain, which would only be alleviated when the snakes were fed with the brains of young boys and girls.

So from that dark day onwards two children were chosen from the towns and villages that lay below the castle. They were killed and their brains were taken to the castle gates and placed into a large wooden bucket made from the wood of a walnut tree and held firmly together by three thin bands of gold.

The bucket of brains was then lifted by two strong guards and taken to the wicked Dehak and the brains fed to the hungry snakes.

Since the snake king began his rule over the kingdom, the sun refused to shine. The farmer’s crops, trees and flowers withered. The giant watermelons that had grown there for centuries rotted. The peacocks and partridges that used to strut around the giant pomegranate trees had left. Even the eagles that had flown high in the mountain winds had gone.

Now all was dark, cold and bleak. The people all over the land were very sad.

Everyone became terrified of Dehak. They sang sad and sorrowful laments that expressed their pain and plight. And the haunting sound of a long wooden flute could always be heard echoing throughout the valleys.

Now there lived below the king’s castle a blacksmith who made iron shoes for the famous wild horses of Mesopotamia and pots and pans for the people of the town. His name was Kawa.

He and his wife were weakened by grief and hated Dehak as he had already taken 16 of their 17 children.

Every day, sweating hot from the oven, Kawa banged his hammer on the anvil and dreamed of getting rid of the evil king.

And as he banged the red hot metal, harder and harder, the red and yellow sparks flew up into the dark sky like fireworks and could be seen for miles around.

One day the order came from the castle that Kawa’s last daughter was to be killed and her brain was to be brought to the castle gate the very next day.

Kawa lay all night on the roof of his house, under the bright stars and rays of the shining full moon thinking how to save his last daughter from Dehak’s snakes. As a shooting star curved through the night sky he had an idea.

The next morning he rode on the bare back of his horse, slowly pulling the heavy iron cart with two metal buckets rattling on the back. The cart climbed up the steep cobbled road and arrived outside the castle.

He nervously emptied the contents of the metal buckets into the large wooden bucket outside the enormous castle gates.

As he turned to leave he heard the gates unbolt, shudder and slowly started to creak open. He took one last look and hurried away.

The wooden bucket was then slowly lifted by two guards and taken into the castle. The brains were fed to the two hungry giant snakes that grew from Dehak’s shoulders.

When Kawa got home he found his wife kneeling in front of a roaring log fire. He knelt down and gently lifted her large velvet cloak. There, under the cloak, was their daughter. Kawa swept back her long thick black hair from her face and kissed her warm cheek.

Instead of sacrificing his own daughter, Kawa had sacrificed a sheep and had put the sheep’s brain into the wooden bucket. And no one had noticed.

Soon all the townspeople heard of this. So when Dehak demanded from them a child sacrifice, they all did the same. Like this, many hundreds of children were saved.

Then all the saved children went, under darkness, to the very furthest and highest mountains where no one would find them.

Here, high up in the safety of the Zagros Mountains, the children grew in freedom. They learnt how to survive on their own. They learnt how to ride wild horses, how to hunt, fish, sing and dance.

From Kawa they learnt how to fight. One day soon they would return to their homeland and save their people from the tyrant king.

Time went by and Kawa’s army was ready to begin their march on the castle. On the way they passed through villages and hamlets. The village dogs barked and the people came out of their houses to cheer them and give them bread, water, yogurt and olives

As Kawa and the children drew near Dehak’s castle both men and women left their fields to join them.

By the time they were approaching the castle Kawa’s army had grown to many thousands.

They paused outside the castle and turned to Kawa.

Kawa stood on a rock. He wore his blacksmith’s leather apron and clenched his hammer in his hand. He turned and faced the castle and raised his hammer towards the castle gates.

The large crowd surged forwards and smashed down the castle gates that were shaped like winged warriors and quickly overpowered Dehak’s men.

Kawa raced straight to Dehak’s chambers, down the winding stone stairs, and with his blacksmiths hammer killed the evil snake king and cut off his head. The two serpents withered.

He then climbed to the top of the mountain above the castle and lit a large bonfire to tell all the people of Mesopotamia that they were free.

Soon, hundreds of fires all over the land were lit to spread the message and the flames leapt high into the night sky, lighting it up and cleansing the air of the smell of Dehak and his evil deeds.

The darkness was gone.

With the light of dawn, the sun came from behind the dark clouds and warmed the mountainous land once more.

The flowers slowly began to open and the buds on the fig trees burst into bloom. The watermelons began to grow, as they had for centuries before. The eagles returned and flew on the warm winds amongst the mountain peaks.

The peacocks fanned their beautiful plumes that glinted in the hot spring sun. Wild horses with long black manes galloped over the dusty flat plains. Partridges perched and sang on the branches of the pear trees. Small children ate ripe walnuts wrapped in fresh figs and the smell of freshly baked bread from the stone ovens reached their noses with the help of a light breeze.

The fires burned higher and higher and the people sang and danced around in circles holding hands with their shoulders bobbing up and down in rhythm with the flute and drum. The women in bright coloured sequined dresses sang love songs and the men replied as they all moved around the flames as one.

Some of the youngsters hovered over the flute, drunk with the sound of the music, their arms outstretched like eagles soaring the skies.

Now they were free.

To this day, on the same Spring day every year, March 21st, (which is also Spring Equinox) Kurdish, Persian, Afghan and other people of the Middle East dance and leap through fires to remember Kawa and how he freed his people from tyranny and oppression and to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

This day is called Newroz or New Day. It is one of the few ‘peoples celebrations’ that has survived and predates all the major religious festivals.

Although celebrated by others, it is especially important for the Kurds as it is also the start of the Kurdish calendar and celebrates the Kurds own long struggle for freedom.

Mazlum Dogan and Newroz.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

Mazlum Dogan was born in Teman, a village outside of Mazgirt in the province of Dersim, in 1955. He went to school in Karakocan. In 1974, he passed the university entrance exams and won the right to go to Hacettepe, an ivy league level school, in Ankara, Turkey.

At Hacettepe, Mazlum Dogan met with other Kurds who introduced him to politics.

What began as a casual introduction soon became a vocation.

Reading became the passion of his life.

Those who knew him well have said that he read up to 500 pages a day.

Learning opened his eyes to the cruel world of oppression that reigned all around.

He vowed to fight injustice, if need be with his life.

In the Autumn of 1979, he was in Viransehir, Riha, organizing the Kurds for political rights.

On September 30, 1979, he was arrested and later placed in the infamous Diyarbakir Military Prison along with thousands of others Kurds.

For three years, he endured abuse, torture, and humiliation.

A political prisoner, he was ordered to wear a prison uniform. He refused.

A Kurd, he was beaten to sing the Turkish national anthem.

He let his body take the beating but did not let his lips sing the anthem.

Other, more cruel indignities followed suit.

Torture continued against the Kurdish prisoners 24 hours a day and the screams never stopped.

But outside the jails there was silence.

Silence of the world and indifference to the suffering of the Kurds.

Yes, it was a deafening silence.

The world was indifferent to the suffering of the Kurds.

One by one, in the Diyarbakir Military Prison, the Kurds were beaten into submission.

There were times when the torture never stopped. No one could think of a way out. Only Mazlum Dogan did.

On Newroz day of March 21, 1982, he did the ultimate.

He bid us all a farewell by setting himself on fire in the hope that his action would ignite the resistance of the Kurdish people.

It did!

And in so doing, he became a light, a star if you will, and shined on the darkness that had become the Kurdish world.

A bereaved nation took in its sorrow and has since honored him as the new Kawa of the Middle East.