TO ALL ARTISTS, ORGANISATIONS, INTELLECTUALS, POETS, ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN THE WORLD OF ART: GIVE A SIGNATURE FOR GRUP YORUM!
Grup Yorum was established in 1985 in response to the depoliticisation created by the 1980 military coup in Turkey. Since its establishment, it has adopted a socialist-revolutionary line. It made the music of the poor peoples. It has always been on the side of the oppressed and on the side of those who resist. It called on the poor to organise against capitalism and fascism. Since the first years of its establishment, Grup Yorum has been involved in strikes to boycotts, rallies to factory and school occupations, and has always been beside the workers, the civil servants, the students, the poor peoples. Grup Yorum released its first album in 1987. Since then it has released 23 albums and 2 concert DVDs. Millions of its albums have been sold.
Since the first day of its creation, it has been the target of all those who have been in power. They tried every way to silence Grup Yorum. Concert bans, censorship, detention, arrest… The group had to fight against these pressures while also producing. The Turkish media started to refer to the group as “Prison singers”… Despite all the obstacles, the songs of Grup Yorum managed to reach millions of people. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands attended the concerts. In the 25th year concert in 2010; Inonu stadium in Istanbul was filled with 55 thousand people; the group broke the record in Turkey of the most ticketed concert. In the 2014 Bakirkoy Concert, which was held in the Bakirkoy Public Market square, there were close to 1 million people… Whichever city the group visited, venue halls and the public squares were bursting with people. This success didn’t just occur in Turkey, thousands joined the concerts outside of the country too. 15,000 spectators attended the concert held in Germany in 2014. Grup Yorum not bowing down to those in power, its intransigency and its aesthetic success resulted in millions embracing it.
However, since 2015, the AKP government wants to destroy Grup Yorum with a special policy. Without exception, all concerts were beginning to be banned. The Idil Cultural Centre, where the group carries out its work, was raided 10 times in the last year. And in this raid, all the instruments, everything in the cultural centre was destroyed, books were crushed under the feet of police. Arrest warrants were issued against all members. In 2017, the number of imprisoned members of Grup Yorum had reached 12. After only being allowed to take their place in court a year after they were imprisoned, they were released in their first court hearing on the grounds that they did not commit any crimes, but they were arrested by the police at the exit gate of the prison and jailed again with a new investigation.
Today, 7 Grup Yorum members are in jail. Arrest warrants are still continuing for 3 members. Without exception, all members of Yorum are being sentenced to tens of years in prison. All concerts are banned and the cultural centre continues to be raided. Against all these events, Grup Yorum members are on a death fast. The hunger strikes which began with 5 members in May 2019, now continues with the death fast resistance of 2 members. İbrahim Gökçek, the imprisoned guitarist, changed his 200-day hunger strike to a death fast on January 3rd. Helin Bölek, one of the singers of the group, changed her 222 day hunger strike to a death fast on Jan 19th.
The demands of the Death Fast are:
– Remove the concert bans
– Release our imprisoned members
– Remove the arrest warrants
– Drop the lawsuits filed against Grup Yorum members.
– Stop raiding the Idil Cultural Centre
We urge everyone who says that they are against attacks towards art, who defends freedom of expression and who wants to tell the AKP government to stop, to become a signatory in this campaign.
To support Grup Yorum in its struggle and to raise its voice, to get it demands accepted as soon as possible and to bring the death fast to an end, to embrace Grup Yorum which resists against AKP fascism for its art; Give a signature!
Grup Yorum Solidarity Committee @freegrupyorum
__________________________________________________________________________________________
“- Remove the concert bans
– Release our imprisoned members
– Remove the arrest warrants
– Drop the lawsuits filed against Grup Yorum members. – Stop raiding the Idil Cultural Centre”
—
Grup Yorum has been on hunger strike, and now a death fast with these demands for over two hundred and fifty days.
These demands can be accepted!
And with this signature, I want these demands to be accepted immediately.
I support Grup Yorum!
AN END TO ATTACKS TOWARDS ART!
Link for the petition
