Derince Municipality in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, Turkey banned world-famous Kurdish singer Aynur Doğan’s concert, which was due to be held on May 20. The municipality run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said it had concluded after a review that the concert would not be “appropriate,” without specifying the reason.
Journalist Mehveş Evin reflects on the reasons behind this ban and discusses the implications for the state of democracy in Turkey.
Mehveş Evin / Kısa Dalga
They banned Aynur Doğan’s concert, if you ask them, they are not “racist”… After all, racism is peculiar to the West…
Sunni Turks are always victims, in fact, they face hostility and discrimination and the reverse is out of the question.
Look, Armenians, Jews, Kurds, Alevis, how wonderfully believers and non-believers live together in fraternity!
After all, isn’t TRT’s Kurdish channel the proof of how democratic and libertarian Turkey is? What else would it be?
If a concert or event is cancelled, there is always an explanation. The number one excuse is ‘terrorism’. If not, they find another way.
Therefore, Kocaeli’s Derince Municipality may decide that the Aynur Doğan concert is “inappropriate” even though the concert tickets have been on sale for 40 days.
So what are the criteria of being “appropriate”?
Under normal circumstances, an answer can only be given within the framework of certain rules and laws.
However, the circumstances are neither normal nor the decisions taken are in accordance with the law or the rules.
That’s why sneaky tactics are used:
We cannot publicly ban Kurdish music, but we will do our best to ensure that Kurdish music cannot be performed and heard in public.
We will not even allow the Kurds to play at their own weddings. That’s how it is, we will gradually wipe out Kurdish language…
Explicit and implicit censorship of Kurdish
11 years ago, Aynur Doğan faced a racist provocation at the İKSV Jazz Festival.
The artist, who took the stage with Buika, La Shica and Sandra Carrasco, had to leave the stage due to booing and objects thrown onto the stage while singing in Kurdish.
This shameful incident, which calls to mind what was done to Ahmet Kaya in 1999, took place in Turkey in 2011.
Doğan has proven himself to be a world-famous musician in the past years, and has gone about her own business.
She gives concerts in the most distinguished music halls with the most respected orchestras and artists from Norway to Germany, from London to the USA. Her last concert in Istanbul was sold out.
But her concert is deemed to be “inappropriate” by Derince Municipality of Kocaeli. As a result of the intervention of a handful of racists today, as it was the case 11 years ago.
11 years ago, the mentality of a few people among the audience is now determined to take over everything.
Doğan is not alone. From street musicians to opera singers, every artist who sings in Kurdish is censored either explicitly or implicitly.
The world-famous soprano Pervin Chakar also announced on social media that they could not find a hall because they had Kurdish songs in their repertoire.
What kind of frustration, what kind of fear is this? Will the country be divided with Kurdish songs?
Of course, the rulers are aware of this nonsense. But the free expression of Kurdish in the theater, on the stage and on the street is against their own practices. Not legally, of course, who is talking about the law?
So do they do? They ignore the basic rights of the Kurds. They restrain the representation of the Kurds in politics with prison sentences, bans, trustees and fake trials.
And yet, a Kurd, anything reminiscent of being Kurdish is considered as a threat. They want to silence the women’s voice, which is flowing loudly in Kurdish, because it reminds them of their own injustice and guilt. Kurds can exist as long as they can be controlled.
It’s not just about Kurdish. Similar methods can be applied to anyone who is not like them.
The cancellation of Eskişehir Fest, the ban on live music at midnight, the restraint of concert sponsorships, the removal of a graffiti in Museum Gazhane, the ruining of the lives of those who drink and put their photo on Instagram on qadr night, an administrative investigation into the traditional “Cow Feast” of a university etc…
Secular and libertarian segments of society are carefully squeezed between four walls. Shall we be glad that “for now, they do not intervene in our houses?” Shall we assume that “everything will be ok” after we share the song of Aynur Doğan and go to bed at night?
And they say they don’t ban anyone’s language! They don’t interfere with anyone’s lifestyle or right to choose! You are free in this country as long as you are out of sight and out of ear, as long as you digest and swallow everything that the people at the top say. Who do you think you are kidding?
*The article is translated to English by SES, Equality, Justice, Women Platform.
Source: KısaDalga