MANNHEIM – In Mannheim, the Fedaî action of Şehîd Ronahî (Bedriye Taş) and Şehîd Berîvan (Nilgün Yıldırım) was remembered, who, in protest against the illegal policy of the German state towards Kurdish society, on March 21, 1994, set the Newroz fire at their ignited bodies.
The crowd gathered after the call of the Ronahî-Berîvan women’s assembly and marched to the place of commemoration with the slogans “Şehîd Namirin” and “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî”. After a minute’s silence, the commemoration continued with the speech by Cennet Taş, who spoke on behalf of the family.
Taş greeted everyone present and said: “I bring you greetings from Ronahî’s mother” and expressed that Şehîd Ronahî and Şehîd Berîvan will never be forgotten.
On behalf of the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E), Zeynep Bafe stated that the fire that Mazlum Doğan lit with three matches in the dungeon of Amed, Zekiye Alkan on the walls of Amed and the torch that Rahşan Demirel in Kadifekale increased by the action of Ronahî and Berîvan and that victory is guaranteed. Zeynep Bafe explained that the leadership attached great importance and value to this action, recalling Reber APO’s assessment that “Ronahî and Berîvan would not have burned themselves if freedom were easy”.
“The spirit, courage, commitment and determination of Ronahî and Berîvan are embodied in the Hevals resisting today in Zap, Avaşin and Metina,” said Zeynep Bafe, concluding her speech by saying, “We reaffirm once more our commitment to their memory”. The memorial event ended with the reading of the letter that the two revolutionary and self-sacrificing women had left before the action.
