To the proud Kurdish people
To the guardians of the word, to the children of letters and light,
To those who have shouldered the burdens of a nation seeking its voice amid storms,
To those who turned journalism into a battlefield and the word into a citadel of freedom and dignity,

I greet you from the depths of pain, from the womb of suffering, from the silence of long years that tried to extinguish your light, but failed.
You are the ones who wrote history with pain, the future with honesty, and resistance with ink that never dries.

On this very day, the 22nd of April, 1898, the Kurdish word shone for the first time through the newspaper Kurdistan. A new banner for the Kurds was raised in the skies of Cairo—not a banner of iron, but of ink and thought.
On this day, the first issue of the first Kurdish newspaper in history was published, founded by the intellectual and visionary Miqdad Mithat Badrkhan, making the word a weapon, the letter a fortress, and journalism a rebirth of the Kurdish nation’s spirit in an era that sought to erase and marginalize it.

Today, 127 years later, we are not merely commemorating a historical occasion—we are reviving a collective consciousness and a long journey of national awareness that began with a modest article in Kurdistan and has not ended. It continues to write—on the walls of forgetfulness, on the maps of conspiracy, and on the conscience of the world.

Brothers and sisters,

Kurdish Press Day is a moment to renew our commitment to truth, to honor the blood of martyrs, and the dreams of those who passed without seeing a free Kurdistan, yet planted its seed within us.
It is also a day to hold ourselves accountable, to reflect on our path, and to question our political, social, and cultural realities.

And we say it with full sincerity and without evasion:
Kurdish unity has become a necessity of existence, not just a slogan.
Division is no longer a matter of differing “opinions,” but a bleeding wound tearing the Kurdish body from within.
There is no future for the Kurds without unity, no freedom without a common national project that transcends partisan divides and narrow loyalties, embracing all within a unified, inclusive vision.

To the Kurdish people in Syrian Kurdistan,

You have always been a thorn in the throat of tyranny and a renewed hope in the heart of suffering.
Your cause, despite all the sacrifices, continues to face exclusion and denial.
On this occasion, we renew our clear and unequivocal call:

It is time for constitutional recognition of the Kurdish people in Syria—as a people living on their historical land, as an integral part of the country, equal in rights and responsibilities, without guardianship or diminishment.

It is time to abolish the legacy of the racist 1962 census, that open wound in the memory of thousands of Kurds who were deprived of citizenship, land, and dignity.
It is time to return rights to their rightful owners, to allow the displaced to return to their homes, to restore confiscated lands to their people, and to resolve the issue of “flooded Arabs” in a way that brings justice without injustice to anyone.

If the new Syria truly wishes to be a state for all its citizens, it must first recognize the historical injustices inflicted on some of them—foremost among them the Kurdish people, who stood against terrorism, contributed to the defense of the country against extremism and fragmentation, and made unmatched sacrifices.

To Kurds everywhere,
To the free people of all times,

Our cause is not an isolated island, but intersects with the struggles of other peoples yearning for freedom in a turbulent Middle East where everything changes—except for Kurdish suffering.

We are not asking for the impossible, but for what is self-evident in the language of nations:
That we be treated as a people, not as scattered minorities;
That our language be respected, not fought;
That we be written into constitutions, not erased from them.

To Kurdish journalism, on this day, we say:
Be free, bold, and truthful;
Be a power of the people, not of regimes;
Be the conscience of our nation, not the echo of partisan interests.

The intellectual, the journalist, the bearer of the word—is not a follower, but a vanguard.
And there is no value in journalism that does not believe that freedom is the essence, and that the word is as responsible as the bullet.

Beloved ones,
Let us renew our pledge on this occasion—to be loyal to the letter as we were to the rifle; to be faithful to the dream as we were steadfast in the trenches.
Kurdistan is not a fantasy, but a project in formation—born from the rubble, writing its history with the ink and blood of its children.

Happy Kurdish Press Day to all of you.
May Kurdistan be ever closer to freedom, ever closer to the light.

Peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.

April 21, 2025

Dr. Adnan Bozan