Turkish police launch crackdown on women activists ahead of Newroz celebrations
"It is no coincidence that these detentions took place after International Women's Day (Mar. 8) and just before the Newroz celebrations (Mar. 21)."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish police on Wednesday arrested 24 women activists as part of an investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in 2021, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement Thursday.
"Among the detainees are Filiz Buluttekin, the former co-mayor of the Sur district who was replaced with a government-appointed trustee; Fatma Yıldızhan, the secretary of Health and Social Service Workers' Union (SES) in Diyarbakır; and Adalet Kaya, who is the Chair of the Rosa Women's Association," the HDP said.
Feleknas Uca and Hişyar Özsoy, Co-spokespersons of HDP's Foreign Affairs Commission, said in a statement, "it is no coincidence that these detentions took place after International Women's Day (Mar. 8) and just before the Newroz celebrations (Mar. 21)."
"Citing these celebrations as a justification, the government criminalizes women who are fighting for women's freedom and justice," the HDP spokesperson said. "Women's organizations continue to resist despite all the pressures. They will not kneel in the face of this misogynistic political attitude but will continue their struggle for women's freedom."
Preparations for Newroz in 2022 are fully underway in Diyarbakir (Amed) under the slogan, "Now is the time to succeed."
It's expected that several Kurdish artists will participate in Newroz in Amed, including Rojda, Azad Bedran, Servet Kocakaya, Kazo, and other well-known artists, including the French artist Eléonore Fourniau, who sings in Kurdish.