The Union of Kurdish Artists called for participation in the rally to be held on 4 January under the slogan “Hope and Freedom” to demand the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. In a press conference at the Dicle Culture and Arts Association about the rally to be held on 4 January at Amed Station Square, a banner reading “Mafê heviyê mafê çand û hûnera azad e / The right to hope is the right to free culture and art” was displayed.
Union member Saliha Ayata read the statement on behalf of the artists’ union. Pointing to the importance of culture and art for the people, Ayata said: “Art is not merely an aesthetic form; it is a people’s memory, language, pain, and hope.”
Ayata added: “When culture and art are silenced, society is silenced as well. History has shown us time and again that attacks of assimilation first target language, then aim to erase memory, and ultimately weaken society. When society is weakened, occupation and colonization become easier.”
Calling for participation in the rally, Ayata continued: “In Kurdistan, Kurdish culture and art have been surrounded by denial, assimilation, and bans for a hundred years. The mother tongue was banned, songs were silenced, films were censored, theaters were closed, and artists were either forced into exile or imprisoned. The main reason this happens in the field of art is this: art reveals the truth; art does not obey. Today, as Kurdish artists, we have come together for a truth that has emerged. On February 27, we embraced and defended the call of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. Since then, the Freedom Movement and the Kurdish people have taken many historic steps toward the Process of Peace and a Democratic Society. We invite the Kurdish people, artists, students, young people, everyone, to the rally.”