Ahead of Sunday’s general election in Turkey, Leyla Zana does not need to campaign at all.
The diminutive 50-year-old woman is guaranteed to win a seat in parliament, such is her legendary status among the Kurds of the south-east. But people in the little town of Hazro want to see and meet her, and she seems happy to oblige.
Leyla Zana fizzes with energy. She is generous with the hugs demanded by old Kurdish women in lacy white headscarves, and with kisses for the proffered babies. But her mind seems focused on the message, and it is a tough one
