Grup Yorum member Ibrahim Gökçek is on the 312nd day of death fast in the neighborhood of Küçük Armutlu. His father, Ahmet Gökçek, who waits by his son's bed looking at his body fading away, asked for his son's demands to be listened to.

Speaking to the ANF, Ahmet Gökçek called on people to show sensitivity reminding everyone that time is running out.

Gökçek said that his son is now suffering from a variety of problems connected to the long period of fast. Saying that Ibrahim is still conscious and that they are talking during the day, Gökçek emphasized that his son frequently tells him that he has hope and wants people to try harder and push harder for their demands to be accepted. 

Underlining that these demands are affordable, Gökçek said: "These children are not on death fast because they want to die. These children want to sing and give concerts freely. It is not normal for an artist to not be able to perform concerts. It is such a need to produce and give concerts for artists, just as a person needs air and water to live. They want these bans lifted: it is difficult to think of something more natural than this."

Emphasizing that they do not expect anything from the state, which is the basis of this injustice, but from the people, Gökçek said that people should make an extra effort to push for the lifting of these bans.

Gökçek said: "The cultural center where these children work has been repeatedly under pression, they were beaten and their instruments broken. This repression must end and justice must prevail. For this, people should put pressure on the government: we are not asking for justice for our children alone, but for everyone."

Gökçek pointed out that their children had waited for 4-5 years for their demands to be met, and went on hunger strike as a last resort. "They have arrested all members of Group Yorum. Some of them had to go abroad due to pressures. 

Ibrahim is the eldest of Ahmet Gökçek's  three children. He was born in 1980 and has been a bass player in Grup Yorum for 16 years.

Gökçek added: "These children love life, not death. Helin Bölek loved living, but we lost her. Ibrahim says the same thing in all our conversations. He says that they will give concerts again and this time they will address a million people. He has never lost hope. Of course, when their demands are met, they will stop this action. Because they want to live. They want to sing and go back to their concerts."

Ahmet Gökçek emphasized that he expects tens of thousands of people to go to Grup Yorum concerts during this period. He said there are very weak voices from other artists and underlined that these voices should be much stronger.

Recalling that these are not unacceptable demands, Gökçek finally called on everyone to do whatever they can.