“Serê Salê” (New Year) celebrations were held in various provinces of Turkey on 13 January, which is considered to be the New Year by the Kurds.

This year the festival was organised in several cities in Turkey including Ankara, Mersin, Batman (Elih) and Diyarbakır (Amed).

The Dicle Culture and Art Association in Sur, Diyarbakır, organised a ceremony marking the Kurdish New Year. Celebrations begin with colourful scenes, costumes and dancing and were met with enthusiasm by the people in the ancient city of Sur in Diyarbakır.

Tevgera Jinên Azad (TJA) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Mersin Youth Assembly also organised a Serê Salê celebration in Mersin’s Akdeniz district.

Meanwhile, in Turkey’s capital, the Ankara Free Students Initiative organised a Serê Salê celebration under the heading, ”We Keep our Culture Alive in the face of Assimilation”.

The ‘Batman Is Here Platform’ in the Kurdish province of Batman in eastern Turkey, organised a Serê Salê celebration in a hall attended by many from the city. There were concerts, dengbej (traditional Kurdish folk singing) shows and theatrical performances in the event. During the new year celebrations, people dressed in traditional clothes and called for peace and an end to the massacres targeting the Kurds.

There are plans for Serê Salê to be celebrated every year from now on as a festival among Kurds.