Newroz in London

THE KURDISH community of London gathered in Trafalgar Square last Saturday to celebrate Newroz, the traditional Middle Eastern spring festival. Newroz has been celebrated for many years in the capital but never before in London’s historic Trafalgar Square.
Stalls served Kurdish and Turkish food as people danced to music from the Kurdish rappers and folk groups performing on the main stage throughout the afternoon.
Kurdish flags and others bearing pictures of imprisoned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan were flown throughout the event. London Green MEP Jean Lambert and other MPs spoke to the cheering crowd, thanking them for the contribution that the Kurdish people have made to British society and encouraging them to be politically active in supporting candidates that take up the Kurdish cause.