Bijî Serok Apo is a slogan used by sympathizers with

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

, the leader of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK) and can be translated into ''Long live leader Apo'' (Apo as abbreviation for Abdullah). Apo can be translated also into uncle. The slogan can lead to prosecution in Turkey and Germany.

History

Its origin can be traced back to a concert at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

, Germany from 11 May 1984 when Koma Berxwedan gave a concert in support of the PKK. The party organ Serxwebûn reported how at the end of the concert the crowd shouted Bijî Serok Apo. Since it has become a common slogan for Kurdish political activists. It has been present during the press conference in

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, where politicians of the

Democratic Society Party The Democratic Society Party ( tr, Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP, Kurdish: ''Partiya Civaka Demokratîk'', PCD) was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considered itself social-democratic and had observer status in the Soci ...

(DTP) read out a press statement on the 10th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Öcalan. In 2014 it was shouted during a march against the terror designation of the PKK in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany. The phrase is also used by fighters of the Peoples' Defense Units (YPG). In 2016 at a Kurdish festival in Cologne with 30'000 attendants where the party

Die Linke The Left (german: Die Linke; stylised as and in its logo as ), commonly referred to as the Left Party (german: Die Linkspartei, links=no ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of th ...

politician

Bernd Riexinger Bernd Riexinger (born 30 October 1955) is a German politician of the left party Die Linke and member of the Bundestag representing Baden-Württemberg. From 2012 to 2021 he was co-chairperson of The Left alongside Katja Kipping. Career Riexinger s ...

and demanded Abdullah Öcalans freedom and peace negotiations, the slogan was also shouted. It is also often shouted during the annual

Newroz Newroz or Nawroz ( ku, نەورۆز, Newroz) is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 21 is the main symbol of Newroz among the ...

celebrations in March in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

, and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Prosecution

In Turkey

In Turkey, the slogan can lead to a prison sentences and fines. The slogan is not prohibited per se, but is often viewed as showing support for the PKK by the Turkish authorities. In 2009 two Kurds were sentenced to a fine of 500 and 600

Turkish lira The lira ( tr, Türk lirası; sign: ₺; ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. One lira is divided into one hundred ''kuruş''. History Ottoman lira (1844–1923) The lira, along with t ...

after having shouted the slogan during a press conference opposing the closure of the DTP. In December 2019, the

European Court of human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

ruled that the slogan is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention of Human rights which concerns on

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. In 2022, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas was prosecuted for a tweet of 16 November 2013 in which he wrote Bijî Serok Apo. In July the slogan was also shouted during the HDP congress in Ankara.

In Germany

In Germany the slogan is at times not protected by the freedom of expression. Depending on the police, the slogan can lead to an investigation or can also be permitted. Its shouting can lead to a prosecution and fine.

References

{{Reflist Abdullah Öcalan Political catchphrases Kurdish language Kurdish words and phrases