Nurcan Yalçın/JINHA

AMED – With Abdullah Öcalan's birthday approaching, marchers have announced a four-day march to end in his birthplace, calling for the jailed PKK leader's freedom. The march will start on March 31.

Celebrating April 4, the PKK leader's birthday, in his native village of Amara has become a traditional for Kurds, who have marched into the village for celebrations for the last 11 years. In 2009, Turkish soldiers opened fire on the march to Amara, killing two.

This year, 66 musical artists will take the stage to honor Mr. Öcalan's 66^th birthday for the celebrations, located in the Halfeti region of Urfa province.

TUAD-FED, an association that works in solidarity with the families of prisoners, will take the lead in the preparations this year. TUAD-FED members will be leading the four-day march, which will set out from Urfa and Adıyaman.

TUAD-FED organizer DilekÖzer says they are ready for thousands of guests from all four parts of Kurdistan to celebrate the day. She explained that the holiday is not just about celebrating an individual.

"This isn't just a normal day," said Dilek. "It's important that people will be attending with the knowledge that this is about celebrating the birth of a people's reinvigoration."

They will also honor MahsumKaraoğlan and Mustafa Dağ, the two killed in the 2009 attack.

This will be the third major "freedom for Öcalan" march this year. An earlier march crossed Europe. Another, ending at Newroz in Amed on March 21, set out from the town of Cizre.

(fk/cm)