TEV-ÇAND Europe condemned the Madımak Massacre and paid tribute to those killed. "We reiterate our promise to further expand our culture, language and art, against the cultural genocide imposed on our people."
The European Kurdish Culture and Art Movement (TEV-ÇAND) made a written statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the murder of 33 intellectuals and artists on 2 July 1993 at the Madımak Hotel in Sivas.
TEV-ÇAND Europe said: "The search for truth and freedom of the Kurdish people has been met by the Turkish rulers in every period of history with a policy of massacre, war, genocide and exile.
The opposition against those who have political values has been deepened by segregating society with a policy of racism and religion, and the process of social killings has been kept on the agenda. This policy is even worse when it comes to Kurdish Alevis. 2 July is just one of these crimes against humanity."
The statement continued: "The 2 July Sivas Massacre is not a secular-anti-secular, progressive-reactionary conflict as the official ideology says. It targeted those who defended the freedom of their people. It is the continuation of the systematic massacre policies inherited by the monist and racist Turkish state from the Umayyad, Abbasids, Seljuk and Ottomans against Kurdish Alevis who are in search of truth and freedom."
The statement added: “The Turkish state on 2 July killed the Kurds who want freedom and equal citizenship, the workers who were fighting for their rights, the women and all the other components of society. The massacre of Madımak wanted to leave the entire society speechless, silent and breathless with its brutality. 30 years have passed, but it has not been able to stop the struggle of the Kurdish people, the meeting of Kurdish Alevis with the Freedom movement, or the screams of those who want to be a voice for their people. Longing's voice has crossed the mountains, Nesimi's sayings have become an ocean; Hozan Mizgîn merged with Hozan Sefkan, Hozan Serhat and Mir Perwer.
We, as the Kurdish Culture and Art Movement Tev-Çand, once again condemn the Madımak Massacre that the Turkish state carried out on 2 July in Sivas. We pay tribute once again to all the martyrs who lost their lives.
Against the cultural genocide imposed on our people, we reiterate our promise to further expand our culture, language and art."
