The Labour and Freedom Alliance, which includes the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the Green Left Party, gathered on Wednesday with the family of Kurdish street musician Cihan Aymaz at the site of his racially-motivated murder on the previous day and held a press conference denouncing the government’s “politics of hate”, vowing that “the melodies of all languages and cultures will be played and sung freely on these streets.”
Aymaz was stabbed to death by Mehmet Caymaz, a Turkish nationalist, in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district on Tuesday evening for refusing to play the nationalist song “Ölürüm Türkiye’m” (“I Would Die for You, Turkey”).
The Alliance blamed the government for the murder, accusing it of criminalising the Kurdish language and culture, and consequently leading to racist attacks on street musicians who perform Kurdish music. They demanded that the government cease monopolising art and artists.
Green Left Party Kadıköy district co-chair Koray Türkay said that Aymaz’s murder was a result of the monist understanding that the Kurdish people have been fighting against for 40 years.
Aymaz’s uncle İbrahim Rıfatoğlu also spoke out against the racist nature of the attack, calling it an “atrocity” and a “murder by the paramilitary forces”. “This young man was murdered by the paramilitary forces because of his identity and the language he spoke, there is no other explanation,” he said.
A march was also held, starting from the spot where Aymaz was killed, with participants chanting slogans against fascism and in support of unity among people.
Aymaz was 30 years old and had been singing mainly Kurdish songs in Istanbul for two years. He was also a freelance courier and a volunteer worker for the HDP.
In Turkey, musicians who are perceived to be Kurdish or leftist are often subjected to a kind of “test” to prove their patriotism by performing the nationalist song “Ölürüm Türkiye’m”. Those who refuse or are unable to perform the song are sometimes subjected to violent attacks and even killed. This is not the first time a musician has been targeted in this way. In 2015, Kurdish singer Selim Serhed was killed on stage in Istanbul for singing in Kurdish. In October 2022, musician Onur Şener was murdered by bureaucrats affiliated with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by stabbing a broken glass bottle into his throat because he would not play the same nationalist song.
