Rally for Kurdish banned in Van

In Van, a rally organized by the HDP on the occasion of a campaign by the Kurdish Language and Culture Network for Kurdish to be an educational and official language was banned by the governor.

In the province of Van, a rally organized by the Kurdish Language and Culture Network for Kurdish to be an educational and official language was banned at short notice by the governor. The provincial association of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the organizer of the event, had planned to march to the rally site, the park in the city center named after the Kurdish intellectual Musa Anter, who was murdered by death squads of Turkish counter-guerrillas. At all three rally points - the HDP headquarters, the Art Avenue (Sanat Sokağı) and Ehmedê Xanî Park - the participants are besieged by police.

Among those present in front of the HDP building are the DBP (Democratic Regions Party) co-chair Keskin Baydemir, and members of parliament. The ban on the rally is protested with Kurdish music played over loudspeakers and applause. Negotiations between politicians and the police have so far been inconclusive. Several journalists were also expelled from the square by the police. The situation is tense.

In the Kurdish city of Cizre, a rally with the same content was held yesterday despite the ban. Another event is planned for next Monday in Amed (Diyarbakir).

 

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