JINHA

RIHA – Selma Irmak, speaking before hundreds of thousands at Newroz celebrations at the Suruç-Kobanê border, gave her response to Turkish president Erdoğan's remark that "there is no Kurdish problem:" "Kurds don't need to ask anyone for victory; they will take it."

After the Newroz (Kurdish New Year) fire was lit, Selma Irmak kicked off her speech by greeting the architects of the victory in Kobanê, the YPG/YPJ. She noted that the revolution for women in Rojava was developed through the paradigm of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. She said that the Kurdish people didn't need to ask anyone for their freedom, but would take it themselves.

"First we will liberate our leader, then all of our lands," she said. "Now no one can discount our language, our identity. No one will give us a position without status anymore."

The revelers watched a video message from the YPJ, which was greeted with the immense crowd's simultaneous cry of "long live the resistance of the YPJ/YPG."A veritable army of journalists jockeyed around the celebrations as the MKM (Mesopotamia Culture Center) Revolutionary Songs Chorus took the stage, singing in both Turkish and Kurdish.

Ertuğrul Kürkçu, the People's Democratic Congress (HDK) Co-Speaker and the representative for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) from Mersin, took the stage next. He said the Rojava revolution had awoken all oppressed people of the world.

"Erdoğan goes and says 'there's no Kurdish problem, what are you missing that you don't have?'" said Ertuğrul. "I'll tell you what's missing. In every home here, there's a young person missing. There are houses missing, there are villages missing. But Kurds will take whatever's missing themselves."

Ertuğrul said that in the elections on June 7^th, Kurds would come together with other oppressed people to overcome the high electoral threshold of 10% that attempts to keep opposition parties out of Parliament.

Enver Müslim, Kobanê Canton's co-president, said that the struggle against Daesh gangs in Kobanê was a struggle for all humanity. All the many communities living in Rojava had a part in the democratic autonomy system in Rojava. He called it the "best system for a democratic Syria."

"Congratulations on this victory for all of us, from all of us," said Enver. "Happy Newroz to all."

Figen Yüksekdağ, the General Co-Chair of the HDP, greeted the Kobanê resistance and said that those who wished to bring Kobanê to its knees were now themselves in total disorder.

"Kobanê will open the door to resistance for the whole world," said Figen. "We promise once more to our martyrs, to those we've lost—we have just begun to win. The victory in Kobanê is the first link in the chain. We will wipe the fascists out of Rojava. Here in the Middle East we will win; the peoples of the Middle East will win. The Kobanê resistance is the first forerunner."

Referring to the AKP statement early in the resistance that Kobanê "had fallen and was going to fall," Figen said, "Now they have fallen." She recalled Erdoğan's statement asking, "what are you so happy about, Kobanê was destroyed," and said that everyone would take their part in the resistance of Kobanê to prove this discourse wrong.

Figen, too, responded to the remark that "there is no Kurdish problem."

"Your biggest problem is the Kurdish problem," she said, "and the problem of freedom, the problem of democracy, the problem of conscience, the problem of humanity. The peoples of Turkey want a new life and a new Turkey."

The speech was frequently interrupted by cries of the slogan "the Suruç Plain is the plain of Apo's followers," referring to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

"Mr. President, this people doesn't need your charity," Figen said. Referring to the upcoming elections, she said, "Wait and see; we will win on June 8^th. We are going to work and struggle to win."

The singer Cevdet Bağca closed out the celebration.

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