The esteemed Iranian Kurdish filmmaker Mansour Karimian was laid to rest on Monday in a solemn funeral in Sulaimaniyah (Silêmanî), Iraqi Kurdistan.
Karimian was killed in a Turkish air raid in North and East Syria on 23 December. The refusal of the Iranian authorities to allow the director to be buried in his homeland led to a memorial ceremony being held in Sulaymaniyah today.
During the ceremony, a message on behalf of the Kurdish National Congress (KNK) read: “The martyrdom of Mansour Karimian reflects the common fate of all Kurds. Born in Rojhilat, martyred in Rojava and buried in the south”.
The Governor of Sulaymaniyah, Heval Ebubekir, expressed his grief in his speech: “Today we mourn. We must not remain weak. Unfortunately, over the past century we have not strengthened our unity and solidarity, nor have we developed a common national programme.”
Another message from Iranian Kurdish film artists conveyed a strong sentiment: “The Turkish state is the main enemy of the Kurdish people in the Middle East.”
Yunus Karimian, representing the grieving family, expressed frustration at the Iranian government’s refusal to allow the burial of the director in his in his home town of Sanandaj (Sînê), saying, “The people of Sînê and Silêmanî are brothers and sisters of the same mother, and this mother is Kurdistan”.
A joint statement from the Rojava Film Commune and cultural institutions of Iraqi Kurdistan vowed to continue the struggle with a commitment to Kurdish culture and art, and promised to carry on the fallen director’s legacy.
