The supporting musicians had held a press conference prior to the concert where the head of the Musicians Association of İzmir called to bring back reason in an environment where the musicians were under attack. He said, “We need to end this before deaths occur. We are calling on the government to reason.”
Turkish government’s attack on a music group is continuing relentlessly.
The crime the musicians committed was to sing folk songs of freedom, brotherhood, solidarity and struggle. Turkey, of course, does not allow such messages to be expressed freely.
The music Group Yorum has been under government attacks since its inception. However, after 2017 the government raised its assaults and started banning the group’s concerts, raiding their cultural center and outright charging them with ridiculous, fake, obviously made-up crimes.
The musicians were arrested during their trial where scandalous, unacceptable events happened showing how determined, or under orders, the judges were to put the musicians behind bars.
The only option left for the group members was to put their lives on the line to prove how stacked the courts were against them. They started a hunger strike. When that did not shake the top-down charade of justice staged in the courtroom, the hunger strike turned into a death-fast.
To support the musicians and to expose the travesty called “justice” in Turkey, other musicians stepped in. A concert was organized to support the musicians that was supposed to take place on March 12 in İzmir. However, not too many were surprised when the governor banned the benefit concert, similar to how the concerts of Group Yorum were barred. The concert was called, “Freedom for Art-We Want Group Yorum To Live.”
The supporting musicians had held a press conference prior to the concert where the head of the Musicians Association of İzmir called to bring back reason in an environment where the musicians were under attack. He said, “We need to end this before deaths occur. We are calling on the government to reason.”
The government banned concert to benefit the musicians on death-fast was supported not only by other musicians but also by labor unions, occupation associations and democratic organizations.
To announce the prevention of the benefit concert by the government, musicians called for a press conference. However, as expected, the government banned the press conference too.
The events around Group Yorum shows once again the level Turkish government is committed to stoop to prevent any criticism of the destruction it has brought upon its citizens.
Sendika.org News (M.B.)