The Turkish Ministry of the Interior has launched an investigation against participants of the annual Park Festival organized by the Migrant Workers' Cultural Association (Gik-Der) alleging “links to an illegal organization.”
The Turkish Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation against participants of the annual Park Festival organized by the Migrant Workers' Cultural Association (Gik-Der), which has been active for 34 years, alleging “links to an illegal organization.”
According to reports, the General Directorate of Security issued a confidential circular claiming that Gik-Der had links to an “illegal organization.” The document requested that those identified as having participated in the festival be detained and interrogated.
Over 30 people who sang folk songs, danced, drew pictures, or participated in children's activities at the festival have had arrest warrants issued against them. Among them are children and members of a women's choir.
Gik-Der is preparing to file a lawsuit for damages against Turkish state officials, describing the investigations as “absurd.”
At a press conference in London, Gik-Der Co-Chair Bedriye Avcil and lawyer Mehmet Ovayolu called for social solidarity against this criminalization attempt.
Ovayolu said, “Participating in the event in question cannot be considered a crime; this is completely unlawful. We will fight to put an end to these unjust practices and will begin legal proceedings against this criminalization and these baseless, unfounded allegations.”
Ovayolu noted that Gik-Der had been commended by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for its social solidarity during the pandemic.
The participants who were subject to legal proceedings as part of the investigation emphasized that “singing folk songs, dancing, or drawing pictures cannot be a crime” and that they would continue their legal struggle.
Müslüm Dalkılıç, Co-Chair of the British Alevi Federation, called for organized resistance against criminalization.
The Kurdish Community Center and the Confederation of European Democratic Rights stated, “Institutions are being investigated for defending the most fundamental rights of society. They want to create a climate of fear. We will never be intimidated, we will never give up. We will continue to fight.”
Kurdish writer Ali Poyraz stated that the system is trying to create distrust and suspicion within institutions, emphasizing that this criminalization can be prevented by embracing events and institutions.
