The Newroz message of Abdullah Öcalan was read out today at the Newroz rally in Amed (Diyarbakır):
Newroz Message
The Newroz epic has been celebrated for thousands of years by the peoples of the Middle East as a festival of resurrection, resistance, and spring. Newroz has revived the spirit of resistance and inspired the resurgence of our peoples.
The symbols and figures of Newroz reflect the spirit of this region. Dehaq is a symbol of a state-based system. The snakes on his shoulders, which devour the brains of two young men every day, embody the brutality of the Assyrian state, while Kawa the Blacksmith is the embodiment of resistance against oppression.
The religious, sectarian, and cultural wars that have been waged in the Middle East for a thousand years are the greatest blow to the culture of coexistence among its peoples. As each identity and each belief attempts to exist by retreating into its own shell and demonizing the others, the rift between our peoples grows deeper. Our shared values and culture are being disregarded, and our differences are being turned into a cause for war.
Today’s insistence on continuing outdated policies in the region has brought disaster. The divisions created by policies of repression, denial, and hostility - particularly in the Middle East – are being used as pretexts for imperial interventions.
While in Europe, three centuries of religious and sectarian wars were resolved with the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, in the Middle East, the continuation of these conflicts has caused profound tragedies for our peoples. But we can enable cultures and beliefs to coexist once again. It is within our power to transform the war and chaos that is being created in the Middle East into a spring of freedom for the people. We can reverse the tragedies that are being inflicted upon us and create an environment of freedom.
Today, the hidden pages of history are being revealed, and the possibility of peace between peoples and of democratic nation-building is increasing. As Sunni and Shia state traditions and nationalist traditions are overcome, free coexistence between peoples becomes a reality.
Today marks a new chapter. The path has been opened for the peoples of this region to live together freely.
The process we initiated on 27 February 2025 aims to revive the foundations of unity in keeping with the spirit of Newroz.
For this to happen, we need to believe that cultures and beliefs can coexist, that we can transcend narrow nationalist ideologies and unite on the basis of democratic integration, and that we can exist together. As in our history, we must realize that, today, we can overcome all forms of war, poverty, and barbarism.
The 2026 Newroz is the updating of this history in all its splendour. History is unfolding in present, providing an opportunity to reach a consciousness based on true cultural identity.
The meaning and power of Newroz are coming to the fore as a defining force of the present moment. This year's Newroz celebrations, and those of the years to come, are of historical significance.
The 2026 Newroz is being reborn via its own roots. It is becoming present and taking a major step toward democratic integration: it is becoming Newroz itself.
As in history, Newroz is experiencing a resurgence, asserting its influence in the heart of the Middle East. It is once again playing its role throughout the region as a symbol of democratic integration. This coming into being is already happening and will continue to unfold.
Up until now, Newroz has been celebrated with symbolic values. Today, Newroz represents not a dream or a utopia, but a real, developing communal life. Newroz is the day when we realize ourselves, both mentally and physically.
On Newroz, let us cleanse ourselves of the inadequate relationships and meanings that constantly plague us, and let us embrace life through real relationships, a profound depth of meaning, a new ethics of freedom, and a new aesthetic of understanding.
Let us put the philosophy of "Jin, Jîyan, Azadî" into practice in all our relationships, and achieve a free life. Let us understand that Newroz is no longer simply a moment of hopes, dreams, or theories, but a moment of realization. Let us respond to this moment of realization with a full understanding and a profound depth of meaning.
On the occasion of Newroz, it is in our hands to transform this year into a year of true freedom for all the peoples of the Middle East, and to establish the tradition of friendship and solidarity among peoples. This can be achieved by ending ethnic and religious-sectarian divisions and fratricidal conflicts, and by ensuring the unity of all cultures and religious beliefs on the basis of freedom and brotherhood.
In response to the massive social and ecological collapse created by capitalist modernity, we have developed the solution of democratic modernity, based on democratic politics, ecological principles, and women's liberation, all rooted in the spirit of freedom of Newroz.
Let us not allow the Middle East - a birthplace of different cultures - to be transformed into a battlefield by hegemonic powers. Today, as in the past, we can overcome, together, the obstacles that prevent this great culture from freely expressing itself and integrating on the basis of its true identity. There is no obstacle we cannot overcome if we leave behind the diseases of nationalism and sectarianism and embrace instead the millennia-old culture of solidarity among our peoples.
With such a spirit of unity, it is possible to bring about a democratic politics. If we want to crown the millennia-long struggle of the oppressed, the place to do so is not in the capitalist environment of the East or the West, but in the truly free environment of the Middle East. In these lands, we can update democratic integration through a genuine coming together and on the foundation of a new humanity, brotherhood, solidarity, and friendship.
I extend my best wishes to our people for the Eid al-Fitr, and hope that it will be an occasion for peace and brotherhood.
The 2026 Newroz is being celebrated, for the first time, by our peoples with the spirit of an ongoing process of democratic integration, as well as peace and brotherhood. I wholeheartedly embrace this spirit and the will it contains. I hope that Newroz, which this year has become truly worthy of being celebrated as a "New Day", will pave the way for a glorious march in the years to come. I wish peace to all our peoples. I greet you all with love.
Abdullah ÖCALAN
Imralı Prison
21 March 2026