AKIN
By Kani Xulam
19/03/2001
Clifton, New Jersey - March 17, 2001

Dear Friends and Fellow Kurds,

Please accept my apologies for not being with you tonight. As some of you know, I am
taking part in an ongoing Vigil across from the Turkish Ambassador's residence in
Washington, DC. As I sit in this cold cell -- we have named it, The Cell of Atonement for
Turkey's Political Crimes Against the Kurds -- I think of your celebration and send you my
warmest greetings to congratulate your Newroz. Newroz Pirozbe!

This is a night of joy. It was a day of hope. It is also a time to remember those who have
made the supreme sacrifice to keep our name alive or secure a future of freedom for our
kind. Kawa, Salahaddin Eyubi, Ahmede Xani, Seyx Ubeydullah, Celadet Bedirkhan, Seyx
Mahmut Berzinci, Seyx Said, Seyit Riza, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, Muhammed Qazi,
Abdurahman Kasemlou, Musa Anter, Mazlum Dogan and Zekiye Alkan are just a few of
the many who have often met violent ends so that we could live free.

I bow before the memory of these immortal Kurdish souls and urge you to do the same. Up
in heavens, I can almost hear them say, look at our children in a place called Clifton, they
are celebrating Newroz. They are all there. Gundi u Karker, Xundawan u Niviskar, Mir u
Xulam are present. Our children are awake. Our children are aware. And our children will
win. Newroz Pirozbe.

Sleep well, Ape Musa. Sleep well, Muhammed Qazi. Sleep well, Xuska Zekiye. We will
never forget your sacrifice. A free Newroz in Kurdistan is our promise to you as well as to
our children.

People often say that those who do not honor their heroes should not expect to be
remembered by their grand children. In our case, in addition to honoring those who died for
our collective will, we have Kurdish leaders who have been wronged for speaking on our
behalf and must honor while they are still alive. This audience is too well aware of the
machinations of our adversaries as well as some of their misguided friends who brand all
activities on behalf of the Kurds as criminal. The biggest criminals are those who have
dismembered our nation and pass as democracies. These cultivators of ill will with ill results
will be disappointed, however. We Kurds will see to it that a rest in peace sign is raised over
their sinister and abominable plans soon and forever.

Our ongoing vigil in the nation's capitol has the intention of exposing these misguided
policies of our enemies as well as cultivating the support of the people of good will across
this land. For the past 12 days now, we have kept a 24 hours a day vigil at Sheridan Circle
with placards bearing silent witness to the plight of duly elected but wrongly imprisoned
Kurdish parliamentarians. This audience knows too well, these children of Kurdistan, Leyla
Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan, and Selim Sadak.

These sons and daughter of Kurdistan are in jail because they wanted a better world for us
Kurds. They forwent their comforts, braced themselves for bullets, bombs and worst of all
insults to make it possible for our children to have free lives. They bore the name Kurd with
pride but without meanness. They asserted the higher laws humanity and violated the racist
ones. Speaking for myself, I am proud to share a generation with them. I hope you feel the
same.

Sharing a generation with them or feeling proud of them are in themselves not enough. We
have to do our share to bring about their freedom. The cell we have is staffed with volunteers
both Kurds and their friends. So far, we have had Kurds of New Jersey and New York take
part in our vigil. We expect Kurds of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
and California to follow suit.

This audience would be honored to know that we also have our American friends call us to
make reservations to be in our cell. They want to do their share to bring about the freedom of
Leyla Zana and her friends. A woman from Utah has reserved 48 hours for herself. Another
one from Tennessee has pledged to do a 24 hours stint. A group of students from St. Cloud
State University are making plans to attend our vigil and visit their representatives in the
United States Congress to seek the release of Kurdish representatives. A Dutch woman is
flying across an ocean to spend a night in our cell.

I am asking every one in this room to make an attempt to come to Washington, DC, to visit
our cell. I will even be more blunt and say that if Americans can find the time to do some
atoning in the cell to protest their country's contribution to the misery of the Kurds, it would
be wrong for Kurds to do less. A night of solidarity with the Kurdish leaders should be a
duty of all Kurds. And politically astute Kurds and their friends should also attempt to visit
their representatives before coming to Washington to urge them to support Representative
Filner's Kurdish resolution in the United States Congress and visit the participants of the
vigil at the cell.

As free Kurds, this is our debt to our Kurdish representatives.

It is often said, the march of freedom is a long one. Our vigil too will be lengthy and most
likely bloom into the summer and possibly fall. I hope to see you all there and again wish
you a joyous and happy Newroz.

Thank you.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com