A collective of 564 people, including musicians, art critics, writers, directors, actors, artists and academics, released a declaration titled “Let’s Be the Voice of Peace” in Istanbul and Diyarbakır (Amed). The declaration, announced at a press conference on Sunday, calls for the revival of the short-lived 2013-2015 peace talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Notable signatories of the declaration include writer Fırat Cewerî, actress Jülide Kural, musician Mikail Aslan, film director Sırrı Süreyya Önder, associate professor of theatre Süreyya Karacabey and composer and songwriter Şanar Yurdatapan.
In the proclamation, the group criticised the prevailing conditions in Turkey, describing a landscape in which legislative autonomy succumbs to pressure from the ruling elite, an independent judiciary loses its autonomy to a ‘one-man regime’ and educational institutions fall behind in promoting secular and free education. The appointment of trustees to universities and local councils, increasing violence against women, the escalating brain drain and the exodus of young people fearing an uncertain future are highlighted as key concerns.
Calling for a new narrative to address the challenges facing the nation, the artists and writers asserted their responsibility to break the silence. They argued for a fresh perspective in a climate where denial and assimilation exacerbate problems and violence is perpetuated as a political strategy.
The signatories particularly emphasised the need for dialogue and negotiation to resolve Turkey’s Kurdish question and called for reviving the ‘solution process’ that raised hopes for reconciliation in 2013.
“The possibilities for reconciliation were created through negotiations with Abdullah Öcalan, one of the interlocutors in the problem. With the consent of a large part of society, the process can begin again. Society has to have the courage for peace. It should not be afraid of dialogue and conversation,” the group said, urging the Turkish government to abandon its policy of oppression, isolation and war.
