Nine Kurdish youths in Mersin, southern Turkey, were arrested on Monday for dancing to Kurdish music and chanting slogans. While in custody, the Turkish police forced the youths to listen to an ultra-nationalist anthem, recorded the incident and shared it online, a move criticised as psychological torture.
The youths, detained for allegedly engaging in “terrorist organisation propaganda”, had posted a video on social media showing them dancing to Kurdish music and chanting pro-Kurdish slogans on Mersin beach on 16 June. The arrests, coming more than a month later, have been criticised as part of a forced and racist campaign against what many consider a fabricated crime.
Ali Bozan, MP for Mersin from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, condemned the incident at a press conference on Wednesday. He revealed that the detainees were forced to listen to the ultra-nationalist song ‘Ölürüm Türkiyem’ (Die for You Turkey) in a police vehicle, with footage showing their faces one by one, which was shared on social media by the police. “Forcing detained Kurdish youths to listen to ‘Ölürüm Türkiyem’ in a police van and recording this to share online is psychological torture,” Bozan stated. The nationalist song is often used in detention centres and jails to oppress dissidents.
The incident has exposed the extent of nationalist fervour within the Turkish government, including the Interior Minister, who publicised the detentions with a video. Bozan highlighted the hypocrisy, questioning, “Mr Minister, were you aware that the footage of the dancing Kurdish youth is from Eid al-Adha, more than a month old? What was the need to create a heroism story over an old event? True heroism would involve not fostering discrimination among people.” Bozan’s remarks suggest that the delayed response and use of old footage indicate that the detentions were politically motivated rather than based on genuine legal concerns.
The youths were targeted for dancing to a song that, while praising the Kurdish guerrilla, has become a common part of Kurdish civilian life, including at weddings and social events. Bozan emphasised that chanting “Biji Serok Apo” (Long live Öcalan), referring to Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), is legal under European Court of Human Rights and Turkish Constitutional Court rulings. He argued that the real steps towards peace involve releasing the detained youths and lifting Öcalan’s aggravated isolation to initiate meaningful dialogue.
“In Mersin, you have systematically tortured Kurdish youths. By circulating an old footage, what are you trying to hide? If you want to write a real story of heroism, stop fostering inter-community discrimination. Strive for genuine peace in this country. Start by releasing the youths. The crucial next step is to end Abdullah Öcalan’s aggravated isolation and begin dialogue [for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue]. We call once again for the immediate start of the peace process,” Bozan said.
The incident underscores broader issues of discrimination and mistreatment of Kurdish individuals in Turkey. The Association of Lawyers for Freedom, representing the detained youths, plans to file a criminal complaint against the police for inciting hatred by playing “Ölürüm Türkiyem” and sharing the footage online.
