Bijî Serok Apo

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.

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.^[5]

In 2014, it was shouted during a march against the terror designation of the PKK in Cologne, Germany.^[6] The phrase is also used by fighters of the Peoples' Defense Units (YPG).^[7] 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.^[8] It has also been uttered during the annual Newroz celebrations in March, including in Diyarbakır^[9][10][4] and Istanbul.^[11]

Prosecution

In Turkey

In Turkey, the slogan can lead to prison sentences^[12] and fines.^[13] The slogan is not prohibited per se, but is often viewed by the Turkish authorities as demonstrating support for the PKK.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[13] 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.^[16] The slogan was also shouted during the July 2022 HDP congress in Ankara.^[14]

In Germany

In Germany, the slogan is at times not protected by the freedom of expression.^[17] Depending on the police, use of the slogan is either investigated or permitted.^[18] Its shouting can lead to arrests^[19] and fines.^[20]

See also

• Biji Kurdistan