The annual Munzur Culture and Nature Festival marked its twenty-first iteration in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority province of Tunceli (Dêrsim), commencing on 3 August and due to conclude on 6 August.
This year’s event, held under the banner of “Defending Nature and Life Against Mining Plunder”, seeks to denounce the escalating environmental impact caused by the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) expanded mining operations.
Named after the revered Munzur valley in Tunceli, which holds sacred significance for the predominantly Kurdish and Alevi population of the region, the festival draws participation from Alevi institutions, political parties, NGOs, and a multitude of citizens.
In the lead-up to the festival, the Tunceli Governorship issued a ban preventing three scheduled music groups from performing. Renowned Turkish protest music bands, Grup Yorum and İsyan Ateşi, along with the Armenian dance ensemble Veradardz, were denied stage access on grounds of “unsuitability”.
Aligning with a broader pattern, Munzur Fest’s ban aligns with similar restrictions imposed on several music festivals nationwide during the summer.
Addressing the obstruction of the three bands’ participation, Tunceli Mayor Fatih Maçoğlu affirmed during his opening speech on Thursday, “We do not accept the obstruction of our festival that has become integrated with Dêrsim, no matter the cost.”
The musicians who will perform at the festival this year are listed as Erdal Erzincan, Metin-Kemal Kahraman, Pınar Aydınlar, Pervin Chakar, Apolas Lermi, Grup Munzur, and Grup Vardiya.
Echoing the sentiment that the festival has “defied bans over the years” to reach this point, Ayten Kordu, the Tunceli MP from the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP), emphasised the event’s significance in “conveying the beliefs and culture of those residing in the lands of Rea Haq.”
On the anniversary of the Yazidi massacre in 2014, Kordu recalled the women and children who fell captive in the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS), saying, “We recognise the ISIS mentality from the Dêrsim massacre, from the missing women of Dêrsim. We, Alevi women, are the ones who understand Yazidi women the best.”