JINHA

RIHA – Marchers are on the road across Northern Kurdistan to converge on Abdullah Öcalan's native village of Amara to demand his freedom for April 4, the jailed PKK leader's birthday. Two separate marches will converge on the village.

Hundreds of marchers set out from the city of Urfa for the village in the province yesterday, spending the night in the border town of Suruç, known as the center of the Kobanê vigil. They stayed the night in the neighborhood of Aligor, where they gave condolences to families mourning martyrs there. They set out again today. They plan to pass through the village of Almaşar, on the slopes of Mount Ararat.

In Adıyman, marchers gathered this morning at the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) building, wearing t-shirts with the jailed leader's face printed on them. Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Adıyman Province Co-Chair Fahriye Akbaba said the march is demanding freedom for Öcalan, Kurdistan and the imprisoned.

The marchers will pass over the gigantic Atatürk Dam in Adıyman province to visit the village of Gogan (Göklü in Turkish). They plan to be at the celebrations in the town of Halfeti on April 3 and to reach Amara on April 4.

A third march will set out from Antep to join the Urfa marchers.

The Peace Mothers Assembly in the city of Batman, two provinces away, have called for all Kurdish women to join the celebrations in Amara on April 4.

"The birthday of our leader is also the birthday of the freedom struggle of Kurdish women," said Peace Mother Lalihan Kurt, who is the mother of two guerrilla fighters, one of whom was martyred. Lalihan said she would be in Amara to continue her children's struggles.

"Women used to have to bundle themselves up and behave carefully around men," said Peace Mother Feleknas Batur, the mother of three martyred Kurdish fighters. "But now we can hold our heads high and it's thanks to our leader. That's why the Amara celebrations this year are more important than ever.

(za/zd/fk/cm)