Kevana Zêrîn pays tribute to Martyr Mizgin and all martyrs of culture and art

The women's movement Kevana Zêrîn, commemorated the "Martyrs of Culture and Art" on 11 May.

The women’s movement Kevana Zêrin (affiliated to the Kurdistan Women's Freedom Party-PAJK), issued a written statement to mark 11 May, "Memorial Day of the Martyrs of Culture and Art". The statement said: "May is the month of martyrs in which heroic epics were written. We bow with respect in front of all the martyrs in the anniversary of of Martyr Mizgin (Gurbet Aydin)."

The statement continued: "This month, comrades such as Hozan Mizgin, Haki Karer, Halil Çavgun, Mehmet Karasungur and Ibrahim Bilgin fell as martyrs. May is also the month when comrades such as Shirin Elemhuli, Ferzad Kemanger, Ferhat Wekili, Ali Heyderyan and Mehdi Islami were executed by the Iranian regime. Executions show how scared the regime is. Leading revolutionaries such as Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Arslan and Hüseyin Inan, who led the revolutionary struggle of Turkey and defended the brotherhood of the peoples, also were executed in May. We are determined to continue the legacy of the martyrs."

The statement added: "Comrade Martyr Mizgin and the action she carried out after being surrounded by the enemy on 11 May 1992 is an example for us. She has left us the struggle of returning to human language, culture, history, land and her own essence. She has led us in our cultural struggle along a revolutionary path. She has taught us that we must take a stand against cultural genocide. She built her free female identity and left us many meaningful songs and poems. She resisted the invasion with her art. Thousands of Kurdish youth joined the ranks to carry the flag of Martyr Mizgin.

We promise to increase the struggle of Mizgin, Sefkan, Sîpan, Sarya, Berçem, Xelîl, Delîla, Ronahî and Yekta. We call on all artists and intellectuals who resist under the umbrella of Kevana Zêrin to speak out for a free life. Art is knitted with struggle. With these feelings, we remember all our martyrs with respect on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Martyr Mizgin's martyrdom."