Bijî Serok Apo, Kurdish for "Long live leader Apo," is a slogan used by supporters of

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

, the leader of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK). Apo is an abbreviation for Abdullah, but it can also mean 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 () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

, Germany on 11 May 1984, when Koma Berxwedan gave a concert in support of the PKK. The party organ Serxwebûn reported that the crowd shouted Bijî Serok Apo at the end of the concert. Since then, it has become a common slogan for Kurdish political activists. More recently, it was heard during a 2009 press conference in

Batman, Turkey Batman (; ) is a city and capital of Batman District in Batman Province, Turkey. It lies on a plateau, above sea level, near the confluence of the Batman River and the Tigris and had a population of 452,157 in 2021. It is populated by Kurds. ...

, where politicians of the

Democratic Society Party The Democratic Society Party (, 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 Socialist International. It was c ...

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

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

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

Die Linke Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

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 of The Left alongside Katja Kipping. Career Riexinger states he come ...

demanded Abdullah Öcalan's freedom, as well as peace negotiations. It has also been uttered during the annual

Newroz 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 20 is the main symbol of Newroz among the Kurds. In Zoroastrianism, fire i ...

celebrations in March, including 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, it is ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Prosecution

In Turkey

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

Turkish lira The lira (; Currency sign, sign: Turkish lira sign, ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey. It is also legal tender in the ''de facto'' state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. One lira i ...

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

ruled that the slogan is protected by

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides the right to freedom of expression and information. A fundamental aspect of this right is the freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart information and ideas, even if the receive ...

, which concerns

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 rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

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

In Germany

In Germany, the slogan is at times not protected by the freedom of expression. Depending on the police, use of the slogan is either investigated or permitted. Its shouting can lead to arrests and fines.

References

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

History

Prosecution

In Turkey

In Germany

See also

References