The remains of the Kurdish artist Ayşe Şan were buried in Diyarbakır (Amed), the largest Kurdish-majority city in southeast Turkey, fulfilling her final wish, 29 years after her death in İzmir on 18 December 1996.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party welcomed the fulfilment of Ayşe Şan’s final wish, noting that the artist had returned to her homeland 29 years after her death. “Her will has been honoured and she will now rest peacefully in the soil of her country,” the party said in a statement. It thanked the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality for enabling the repatriation and burial, and added that Şan’s legacy would endure: “Her Kurdish voice will live on forever in our hearts.”
Hundreds of people attended the ceremony at Yeniköy Cemetery, including members of the DEM Party, municipal co-mayors, writers, intellectuals, artists, and representatives of civil society organisations.
Ayşe Şan’s coffin was taken from the cemetery morgue and carried to her grave by women. During the procession, mourners chanted “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) and held placards featuring her portrait.
Following the burial, Kurdish artist Sarya Ertaş performed a kilam, a traditional Kurdish song.
Her son, Murat Kersen, addressed the crowd: “Ayşe Şan now belongs to the Kurds, to her people.”
Politician Yüksel Avşar expressed a mix of sorrow and relief as he reflected on the fulfilment of Şan’s final wish. Avşar lamented that her return had not occurred three decades earlier, sparing her years of exile. He emphasised that the Kurdish people would embrace her.
Speaking on behalf of the Kurdish Women’s Union (Yekitiya Jinên Kurd), Zeynet Dinçer expressed thanks to everyone who helped bring Şan’s remains home.
Serra Bucak, co-mayor of the Amed Metropolitan Municipality, stated:
“We will embrace Ayşe Şan. We thank the Kurdish Women’s Union and her friends for bringing Ayşe Şan here in 2025. We will preserve her memory here. Today, Ayşe Şan is finally at home in her homeland, her motherland. For this, we are honoured and proud.”
Diyarbakır’s co-mayor, Doğan Hatun, also paid tribute: “The 29-year longing has ended. The soil of Amed is your mother’s soil. We have ended this pain and fulfilled your wish. We will also carry out the final wishes of our other friends.”
MP Serhat Eren celebrated Şan’s cultural contributions and determination, “She went as far as Baghdad to sing in Kurdish. She faced great hardship in her life, but she never bowed her head. She resisted. She worked hard for the development of the Kurdish language.”
The ceremony concluded with prayers at the graveside.
