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Cancellation Calls for Kurdish Spring Festival in Saitama Renew Tensions
Why a conflict over a spring musical festival is renewing tensions between Kawaguchi and Saitama cities and the local Kurdish population.
Problems are heating up between local officials in Kawaguchi and Saitama and the area’s large Kurdish population. At one point, Saitama city officials threatened to ban the Kurds from using a park for their Newroz festival in March after complaints from locals. Meanwhile, it’s come out that the mayor of Kawaguchi has been weighing proposals that would crack down on “lawbreaking” Kurdish residents while benefiting others.
Festival feud
Officials received demands to ban Kurds from using a public park from locals citing concerns. Last July, riot police swept in after 100 Kurds gathered around a local hospital. Hospital workers were treating the victim of an attempted murder by a Kurdish male
“We got calls saying, ‘Don’t lend the park to Kurds’” beginning on January 4th, a director at the Saitama Park and Greenery Association tells Tokyo Shimbun.
