Bijî Serok Apo
Slogan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bijî Serok Apo, Kurdish for "Long live leader Apo,"[1] is a slogan used by supporters of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Apo is an abbreviation for Abdullah, but it can also mean uncle.[2][3][4] The slogan can lead to prosecution in Turkey and Germany. In 2024 the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled out that pro Kurdish nationalist slogans including Bijî Serok Apo are protected under freedom of speech laws.[5]
History
Its origin can be traced back to a concert at the University of Cologne, Germany on 11 May 1984, when Koma Berxwedan gave a concert in support of the PKK.[2] The party organ Serxwebûn reported that the crowd shouted Bijî Serok Apo at the end of the concert.[2] 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, where politicians of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) read a press statement on the 10th anniversary of the abduction of Abdullah Öcalan.[6]
In 2014, it was shouted during a march against the terror designation of the PKK in Cologne, Germany.[7] The phrase is also used by fighters of the Peoples' Defense Units (YPG).[8] In 2016, the slogan was shouted at a Kurdish festival in Cologne, where 30,000 attendants and Die Linke politician Bernd Riexinger demanded Abdullah Öcalan's freedom, as well as peace negotiations.[9] It has also been uttered during the annual Newroz celebrations in March, including in Diyarbakır[10][11][4] and Istanbul.[12]
Prosecution
In Turkey
In Turkey, the slogan can lead to prison sentences[13] and fines.[14] The slogan is not prohibited per se, but is often viewed by the Turkish authorities as demonstrating support for the PKK.[15] In 2009, two Kurds were sentenced to a fine of 500 and 600 Turkish lira after shouting the slogan during a press conference opposing the closure of the DTP.[16] In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the slogan is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which concerns freedom of expression.[14] 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.[17] The slogan was also shouted during the July 2022 HDP congress in Ankara.[15]
In Germany
In Germany, the slogan is at times not protected by the freedom of expression.[18] Depending on the police, use of the slogan is either investigated or permitted.[19] Its shouting can lead to arrests[20] and fines.[21]