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ALERT - TURKEY
6 June 2008
Three members of children's choir face charges of "making propaganda
for a terrorist organisation" after singing Kurdish song in U.S.
music festival
SOURCE: Initiative for Freedom of Expression (Antenna-TR), Istanbul
(Antenna-TR/IFEX) - Three children, members of the Diyarbakir Yenisehir
Council Children's Choir, will stand trial for singing a march in Kurdish
while performing in the U.S. The indictment, dated 3 April 2008, seeks the
imprisonment of three children under the age of 18 for up to five years
each.
The choir attended the World Music Festival in San Francisco between 3 and
7 October 2007, and there sang a march in Kurdish: "Ey Raqip".
The Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor's office opened a case against three
members of the choir: Servan Yilmaz, aged 16; Gökhan Ok, aged 17; and Veysel
Mamuk, aged 16. The indictment argues that the children sang with Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) flags in the background, and that the song they sang
has been adopted as an official march by the PKK. The indictment quoted
the defence statements of the children, and said that the children took to
the stage in San Fransisco and sang "Ey Raqip" after their
teacher, Duygu Özge Bayar, taught them the song in one day because the
audience requested it.
The children's lawyer, Baran Pamuk, noted that the song was written by the
Iranian-Kurdish poet, Dildar, 68 years ago. Pamuk says: "That song
was accepted as the national anthem of the Mahabad Kurdish Republic, which
was proclaimed in 1946 and lasted for one year, and it is now used as an
official anthem by the Northern Iraq Kurdish Federal Government. However,
it is not possible to accept that a poem written 68 years ago is the
propaganda tool of an organisation. The founders of the organisation in
question were not even born yet at the time the poem was written. There is
no mention of that organisation in the song."
The teacher of the choir, Duygu Bayar, stated: "We shared our culture
there, at the festival. We sang various songs showing the styles of
Diyarbakir. Churches and the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association
contributed to our repertory of songs. If performing these songs is
separatism, then we are guilty of promoting separatism."
The children are charged with "making propaganda for a terrorist
organisation" and will appear in court on 9 June 2008.
For further information contact Sanar Yurdatapan at the Initiative for
Freedom of Expression, Nacak Sok. 21/11, TR-34674, Istanbul, Turkey, tel:
+90 216 492 0504 / 532 7545, fax: +90 216 492 1840, e-mail:
antenna@superonline.com,
sanar@antenna-tr.org,
Internet:
http://www.antenna-tr.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of
Antenna-TR. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit Antenna-TR.
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