ISTANBUL - Stating about the banning of their concerts on the grounds of "public safety", One of the MKM artists, Baran Bozyel said: "Those who disrupt the order are the ones banning our language, not us a crime is being committed."

 

The bans on the concerts and activities of the Mesopotamia Cultural Center (MKM), which was established in Istanbul on September 27, 1991 by a group of intellectuals, including Kurdish sage Musa Anter, continue. The "Em ê Bêjin (We'll Sing)" concert that MKM wanted to organize at Küçükçekmece Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Performance Center on December 17, 2022 was banned by the District Governor's Office on the grounds that it would "disrupt public order and general security". Baran Bozyel, one of the MKM artists, spoke about the recent bans on the concerts of Kurdish artists and organizations.

 

REASON FOR BANS

 

Stating that the Kurdish identity is the target of the bans on Kurdish culture, Bozyel said: "The reason for these bans is something beyond intolerance. The Kurdish people are increasing their struggle about their language and culture and there is an unstoppable flow right now. I think that the attacks develop in parallel with this."

 

Bozyel said: "If the system accepts the Kurdish language, it will have to accept the Kurds. It will legitimize the existence of the Kurds. That's why it doesn't want to legitimize the Kurdish language and bans it. However, our concerts are not banned just because we sing in Kurdish. We have an attitude; We criticize the existing system with our attitude and do not accept it. If we only made music in Kurdish and became the defender of the system, these bans would not exist. Therefore, both our political stance and the further development of the Kurdish mother tongue cause prohibitions and intimidate them.”

 

'THEY DISRUPTED THE ORDER NOT US'

 

Pointing out that their last concert was banned on the grounds of "disrupting public order", Bozyel said: "They are the ones who are disrupting the public order not us. If you are encouraging those people to revolt by ignoring a culture by banning a language. Then you are the one to blame. The state is committing a crime here. The attacks against Kurdish culture are not limited to Turkey. The attack on the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Cultural Center in Paris, the capital of France, on December 23. Just like the day our 3 female friends were murdered on January 9, 2013, a massacre took place in Paris. Condemnation is no longer enough, I curse it. Actually, we are in a history where there is a war of existence and non-existence and we are also struggling for existence and non-existence. This was not an act of a simple racist person. It was a planned assassination. This assassination was the joint plan of the international powers. We will continue to sing in Kurdish against the attacks. We will continue to sing our Kurdish songs and speak Kurdish."