JINHA

ŞIRNEX – The 'Freedom for Öcalan' march from the Cizre district of Şırnak to the main Kurdish city of Amed continues on the third day.

Activists demanding freedom for PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan are expected to walk 37 kilometers a day before reaching the main Kurdish city Amed for Newroz (Kurdish New Year) celebrations on March 21. 

After a 40-km walk yesterday, demonstrators joining the march reached the Nusaybin border in the evening, where they took a break and spent the night in the village of Yazyurdu (Qesirbelekê in Kurdish).

In addition to the locals, HDP and DBP executives (including Şırnak MP Faysal Sarıyıldız) HDP branch executives, co-mayors of DBP municipalities in the Kurdish region as well as representatives of many NGOs are joining the march.

Local people in the village put up the visitors, who resumed their march in heavy rainfall this morning. Before continuing their route this morning, marchers held one minute's silence for the victims of the Halabja massacre, to mark the 27th anniversary of the savage mass killing of thousands of Kurdish civilians with chemical weapons in the rebellious Kurdish town of Halabja.

Activists who are expected to reach Nusaybin this evening will be welcomed by local people with a rally, which will be followed by an activity in the garden of the Mittanî Culture and Art Centre.

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