Nine Days in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey.

Diyarbakır is the biggest city in southeastern Turkey and is sometimes known as the Kurdish capital of the region. On March 21 Kurdish new year celebrations were held around the country; the biggest festival was in Diyarbakır, where an estimated 1 million people attended the formerly banned ceremonies. On March 28 local elections were held around the country. I went on the campaign trail with Osman Baydemir, a former human rights activist running for mayor in Diyarbakır. Baydemir is a "pro-Kurdish" candidate who ran from the pro-Kurdish party, DEHAP, which formed an election alliance with centrist-leftist party, SHP. This was the first election held after the lifting of emergency rule law in the region, and conditions were significantly improved from the prior elections. These are a few photos from the campaign trail. I was videoing and photographing Baydemir, and for the most part, children and adults would come up and ask me to take their picture. The "V" signs refer sometimes to the campaign for DEHAP/SHP, and sometimes to the banned Kurdish guerrilla organization, formerly known as the PKK. All photos are taken by me except for the photograph of the Newroz torch, taken by French lawyer  Elsa LePennec. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.) Baydemir won his campaign and is now mayor of Diyarbakır.

Girls pose for a photo on Esat Cad., Diyarbakir.	Traveling by pickup to Newroz (Kurdish New Year) Festival, March 21, 2004.
Newroz festival, March 21, 2004, Diyarbakır.	Osman Baydemir, mayoral candidate from the pro-Kurdish DEHAP/SHP, campaigns in Kulp.
Women in Kulp pose for a photograph. We took several photos and more women asked to be pictured each time.	The universal campaign strategy: kiss the child. Osman Baydemir campaigning at a Friday market in Diyarbakır.
A DEHAP/SHP supporter in Diyarbakır.	The Newroz fire burns at the Diyarbakır celebrations. (This photo by Elsa LePennec.)
Map of Turkey. See Diyarbakir in the southeast. (Map: CIA World Factbook).