DİYARBAKIR - Egyptian independent politician Ramy Zohdy who participared in the Diyarbakır Newroz celebtations, underlined that this was the first time he was able to experience the Kurdish question first hand and told that Öcalan must be free.

 

Egyptian independent politician and businessperson Ramy Zohdy, who participated in the magnificent Diyarbakir Newroz, which was held with the slogan "Dem dema serkeftinê ye" participated by more than one million people this year, stated that it was the first time that he had come into contact with the Kurdish issue so closely, and that with his participation in the celebrations, he was able to know Kurds more closely. Zohdy shared his opinions about the Kurdish question, Turkey's policies in the Middle East, relations with Egypt and the his feelings about the Newroz celebrations with the Mesopotamia Agency (MA). Zohdy pointed out that peoples need a security guarantee so that they can freely practice their languages, religions and rights.

 

Drawing attention to the relation between the Arab people and Kurds, Zohdy said: "Right now the relations between Arabs and Kurds are better than ever before. Because now we mutually understood that we have no other choice. We live together on these lands, we must continue to live together. We must work together. We share the same land, the same culture. We must establish peace together. In the Middle East, we all live under the same flag in some way. Turks, Kurds, Syrians. As Arabs, we realize years later that the Arabs' vision for the future is not a good dream. Not right. And it will never succeed. We should have better relations with our neighbors. We must solve the Kurdish question and other problems together. We don't need any more problems."

 

'WE NEED A SECURITY GUARANTEE'

 

Speaking about the deepening war and crisis in the Middle East, Zohdy said: "All peoples, Arabs, Africans, Kurds, and even Europeans basically need a common life. For example, we need a security guarantee. We must be free in our religion. Our languages ​​should be free. We must develop our economy together. People need independence, freedom. What I saw here is that Turks are acting like they own the country and all its resources.  All peoples living here should have equal resources and equal rights. Otherwise, a life together will not be possible. Turkey belongs to all peoples living in Turkey. Syria belongs to all the peoples living in Syria. We Middle Easterners are like little countries inside a bigger country."

 

'ÖCALAN WILL BE FREE SOONER OR LATER'

 

Mentioning the Democratic Confederalism paradigm of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, which is the guarantee of a common life for all peoples, Zohdy said: "I believe Öcalan will eventually be free, sooner or later. Öcalan is fighting for freedom, for the rights of his country and people. This has happened before in South Africa. You know the example of Nelson Mandela. It has happened in South America and other places. In the end, right is right. The only demand of the people is the rights they should already have. We knew about the Kurdish question before we came here. However, we saw that we did not really see how deep-rooted and comprehensive this problem was. It is difficult to even imagine the problems the Kurds are experiencing here. We saw it with our own eyes when we came here for Newroz. This treatment of Kurds makes no sense. You cannot ignore the demands of a people in a country. This treatment is hundred percent unacceptable."

 

'ERDOĞAN IS THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEMS BETWEEN TURKEY AND EGYPT'

 

Zohdy said the following regarding the recent issues of Turkey and Egypt, "Recently, Turkey and Egypt are having some problems. The source of all these problems is Erdogan himself, the President of the country. If you stop anyone on the street in Egypt right now and ask what they think about Turkey, they will say, 'Turkey is our enemy'. They will say that they hate the Turks. This has never happened before. Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire for 600 years. There are many Turkish words in our language. Our cuisine is similar. Egypt saw Turkey as a model for a very long time. We said to ourselves that we should be like Turkey. Now we had to take a position against Turkey with the bad behavior and decisions of one person. Egypt is the largest country in North Africa. There should have been a way to cooperate with Egypt, not to be in conflict with Egypt. But when you look at it, Turkey is fighting with Libya, it is fighting with Syria. Fighting in the Mediterranean. What happened in the end? Erdogan lost, and he also made his country lose. He gained nothing from all this war and tension."

 

'HOW CAN HE MAKE PEACE WITH KURDS WHEN HE'S FIGTING ALL OF HIS NEIGHBORS?'

 

Speaking about the demands of the people rising from the Newroz celebrations, Zohdy said: "How can a country that is fighting with all of its neighboring countries, make peace with the Kurds in its own country? It is possible to read the same backwards. If a leader does not respect the peoples in his own country, violates their rights, how can he be in peace with the neighboring countries? When we came here, we said to our own people, 'We are going to meet with the Kurds, not the Turks.' This is the situation we are in, this is what the common people in Egypt thinks about the Turks. We would be criticized if we said we came to meet with the Turks. On the other hand, I must say that many Egyptians do not know the story of the Kurds. They do know about the Kurds, but they do not know the Kurdish issue. Even if they are educated or not. For example, I am a famous politician in my country who is working on African relations. I did not know enough either."

 

'I LEARNED ABOUT THE KURDISH QUESTION LISTENING TO KURDS IN MY COUNTRY'

 

Stating that he met with Kurds from North and East Syria in Egypt and learned a lot from them, Zohdy said: "They told me about the Kurdish question. What they were telling was apalling. I asked over and over again. I said please spare me two hours and help me understand this issue. There is not much reading material on this subject in Egypt. If even a person like me, who researches and reads the issues thoroughly does not know enough about this, how could the common people know? I focused on this subject for four months. I sat, ate, held meetings with the Kurds I met. And as a result, I came here. I came to join the Newroz celebrations. I think and feel that I am on the same side as them. I heard Kurdish music at the Newroz celebrations. It was very nice. I want to come to Newroz again next year and celebrate Newroz here. Because Newroz means peace. It is not under the protection of any society."

 

'ERDOĞAN CAUSES AN EROSION OF REPUTATION'

 

Criticizing the AKP government's approach to the Kurdish issue, Zahdy continued: “Erdogan's issue with the Kurds is actually based on his own personal interests. In other words, I cannot explain this behavior with humanity or Turkishness. The Erdogan regime is a regime built entirely for its own benefit. As an outsider, my observations are in this direction. I don't know how well I'm reading it. This situation actually causes an erosion of reputation for Turkish people as well. He displays an aggressive behavior in Syria. And in the Mediterranean, it is the same in Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. He went to Libya, he doesn't come out. It's all about personal financial gain. Erdogan needs to sit at the table and respect other peoples and surrender their rights.

 

For example, he should not be hurting the relationship of Turkey with Egypt. He has been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood for 10 years. This is also about his business relations. Did it do any good for any of these countries? This is not an issue with Turkey. If Erdogan persues a correct policy, why is he having such serious problems with the Kurds, why are his relations with his neighbors so frayed? Look at Turkey in 2010, look at Turkey in 2022. Now Russia is talking about the Ukraine issue. He is supporting Russia. He is supporting Ukraine.  He is involved in Libya and has relations with Israel. He has relations with the Gulf countries, and sometimes does things against the Gulf countries. We have never seen Turkey like this before. I studied Turkish history when I was younger. Because once we belonged to Turkey. I've never seen anything like this. We knew a strong Turkey. So if you ask me, I find it difficult to respect such a country, such a policy as it is. As I am an educated person, I can see the difference between the peoples of Turkey and Erdoğan himself. But right now, as I said, the opinion of the Egyptian people towards Turkey is not very positive. At the moment, Egypt's view of Turkey is very bad and it has never been like this before.”

 

'I WILL COME TO NEWROZ CELEBRATIONS AGAIN'

 

Sharing his impressions and feelings about Diyarbakır Newroz celebrations, Zahdy expressed the following: “Amed Newroz made me feel very happy. It was very nice to see the happiness and enthusiasm in people's eyes. I had an amazing day. They said we could stay for an hour for security reasons. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. This was what I came here for. I was hoping I could stay all day. Before I came, I looked at the Newroz celebrations before from the internet. I was very happy to be with these people. I showed it to my wife. I said,  "Look. I'm going to be with these people." Normally, I never go into crowds. This is my personality. I don't like crowds. But I was very happy to be at Amed Newroz. I spoke with a coworker today. I told him about Kurdish music. It's a very powerful music. From now on, I will always listen to Kurdish music in my car. Little children, young people, women, old people, everyone was so beautiful.”

 

MA / Gözde Çağrı Özköse