Festive Kurds want freedom for rebel chief Ocalan
More than 100,000 Turkish Kurds celebrated the ancient spring festival of Newroz on Tuesday with dancing, singing and calls for political reform and the release of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. Newroz, which means “new day” in Kurdish, has long served as a rallying cry for Kurdish nationalism and public celebrations that were illegal in Turkey until 1999, the year Ocalan was captured. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment. Full Story