MÊRDÎN - The fire lit by Rahşan Demirel has become louder every year. Demirel protested the Newroz bans in Kadifekale by self-immolation and left a note saying "I am informing Ismet Sezgin; Newroz will be celebrated, If not with tires, then with our lives." 

 

Newroz Festival, celebrated with various events by the people living in Mesopotamia and the Middle East, signifies resistance and resurrection for the Kurds. When Newroz is mentioned, the first names that come to mind are those who self-immolated against oppression and denial policies. Rahşan Demirel, who set her body on fire in 1992 against the massacres in Şirnex center and Cizîr (Cizre) and Nisêbîn (Nusaybin) districts, is one of these names.

 

Demirel, who was born on August 15, 1975 in the Nisêbîn district of Mêrdîn, migrated to Izmir with her family when she was only 1 year old. Despite her young age, she was at the forefront of the protests and became a well-known name for her resistance in Kadifekale. On March 21, 1992, she self-immolated in Kadifekale against attacks on Newroz celebrations in the cities of Kurdistan.

 

At the time Demirel self-immolated, the Minister of Internal Affairs was Ismet Sezgin. By Sezgin's instructions, Newroz celebrations of that period were banned. However, despite this, hundreds of people gathered around the Newroz fire and Demirel was also in the Newroz area.

 

DEMIREL'S NOTE

 

Demirel asked to her mother, Emine Demirel, against the ban decision, "Our people are being massacred in Cizîr and Nisêbîn, why don't we do anything?" And she went to the walls of Kadifekale and self-immolated. What remains of Demirel's action is written on a piece of cardboard box: "I'm making Newroz for myself in Kadifekale. I have to answer for Cizre, Mardin and Nusaybin. Take care of me. I am informing Ismet Sezgin; Newroz will be celebrated, If not with tires, then with our lives.!” 

 

SHE RETURNS TO THE LAND OF HER BORN

 

As the fire rises in the castle walls, the people flock to the castle, deliver Demirel's note to her family and appear before the police who want to take the body. Demirel's family did not give her body to the poliçe and  brought her to Nisêbîn, the land of her birth. However, the Battalion Commander of the time, Veli Küçük, prevented the funeral ceremony. Küçük confiscates the body and takes Rahşan's mother, Emine Demirel, into custody and tortures her. Rahşan's body is brought to Nisêbîn under military blockade and she is buried here. Rahşan's sister Nalan also lost her life years later, on March 8, 2014, while fighting in the ranks of the PKK.

 

'THIS LAND IS WORTH IT FOR THE SAKE...'

 

Mother Demirel described the days in question with the following words: "The Nusaybin Battalion Commander approached me, I recognized him as Veli Küçük. They were saying, 'Give us the body.' I insisted, 'I will take her to Nusaybin.' But they did not allow it. An ambulance came and took my daughter. We got in and set off towards Nisêbin. They took us to the police station. 'I'll die for my Turkey' was playing in all the cars at the police station. They beat me for hours because I wanted to take my daughter to Nisêbin and didn't give it to them. When I left the police station, I had many broken parts and ribs. Then Veli Küçük came to me again and said, 'They talk a lot about Rahşan, I want to look at her photo'... He looked at her and said, 'What a beautiful girl she is. For what? Is it worth it?' So I grabbed a handful of soil from the ground and poured it in front of his eyes, 'For the sake of this,' I said. 'This land is worth it for the sake of it…' He remained silent. We buried Rahşan under intense military siege in Nusaybin. We returned to Izmir."

 

OCALAN: TORCH ACTION

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan also attached great importance to the action in question. PKK Leader Ocalan said the following about the action, which he interpreted as a ‘torch action’: "There is a self-immolation in the Izmir castle. There is the resistance of a very young Kurd girl named Rahşan Demirel. Now there is the Mardin reality of a Kurdistan brought there. Patriotism is already effective. This young girl, on the one hand, has a passion for war and freedom, but on the other hand, she is quite weak. The organizational struggle affects reality. Newroz days are also experienced quickly and intensely. Obviously, she wants to devote herself to the freedom struggle and do something. But this is theoretically since she cannot find much strength and cannot get much opportunity to develop practice, her passion exceeds the theoretical and organizational level, but still she is committed to doing something, she turns to a different action. The shameful conditions in which our mass lives there are incompatible with her understanding of freedom and free life. When degrading living conditions combine with the revitalization and charm of Newroz, such a torch action emerges."