After 30 years, Koma Amed held a historic concert in Amed, attended by hundreds of thousands of people. The group, whose preparations began months in advance and whose performance was eagerly awaited by millions, was welcomed with great enthusiasm upon arriving in the city. After visiting several institutions, the group performed their concert at Newroz Square, where hundreds of thousands watched live, and millions followed it on television. The group, which carries the spirit and traces of the 1990s, gave the audience an unforgettable night, while those attending called for more events that strengthen collective memory.
Speaking to ANF after the concert, group vocalist Süleyman Çarnewa shared his feelings of excitement and emphasized that in the ongoing process, the responsibility for peace falls mostly on artists.
A call to end longing
At the concert held on 25 October at Newroz Square, the group performed for two hours, in front of people of all ages. As thousands danced, chanted slogans, and gave the traditional “ululations” (zılgıt), the audience relived old memories and sang along to every song they knew by heart. The group members, moved by the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd, sang with deep emotion until the end of the concert.
Exiled Kurdish artists in Europe, including Şivan Perwer and Xelîl Xemgîn, sent video messages to the concert, expressing their hope for better times, open paths of return, and reunion with their people. They spoke of their long exile and their longing to sing again on their own soil, calling on the people to protect their language and culture.
Before and after the concert, Koma Amed visited many local institutions and met hundreds of people, receiving great interest and affection. Walking through the streets of Sur and revisiting old memories, the group said the experience enriched both themselves and the community.
People both moved and encouraged us
Süleyman Çarnewa described this return as a “rebirth,” both personally and artistically. “Setting foot on our own soil again after 30 years felt like being born anew,” he said, expressing the deep excitement he felt at the public’s and institutions’ warm reception. He added: “We saw how genuine, precious, and sensitive the people’s approach to their artists is. The welcome was extraordinary. This affection both moved and encouraged us. It showed us that the artistic struggle we waged in the 1990s was not in vain.”
Reconnecting with the past
Reminding that Koma Amed, founded in 1988, had never performed a concert in Amed until now, Süleyman Çarnewa said the concert carried deep historical meaning for them: “I once said in an interview that we owe a debt to Amed. With this concert, we are repaying that debt and celebrating our return to our homeland. This is like a holiday for us. Holding it at Newroz Square gives it an additional symbolic meaning. The concert was not just a musical event but the completion of an artistic process reconnecting us with the past. I see this concert as the completion of a half-finished chapter in our artistic history, a peak moment.”
Without peace, the voice of art cannot rise
The artist also commented on the peace process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February. Recalling that Kurdish artists showed great resistance against oppression and bans in the 1990s, Süleyman Çarnewa said: “In those days, we sang our songs without hesitation and stood by our people’s struggle for freedom. Peace concerns art and artists the most, because without peace, the voice of art cannot rise. Therefore, artists and intellectuals have a great responsibility. As Koma Amed, we will continue to create for peace, brotherhood, and the unity of peoples in the next phase. As a group, we will make songs for the brotherhood of peoples, for peace, and to prevent more bloodshed. We want to take these songs everywhere we can in Turkey and the region, to help heal the pains of the past.”