Evvel July Grup Yorum Concert Diaries in Hatay
We started the preparations for our concert on July 16 days in advance. We decorated many neighborhoods of Antakya and Samandağ with our posters. We have put out 4000 posters in Tomruksuyu, Yaylıca, Samandağ center, Tekebaşı, Çöğürlü, Sutaşı, Değirmenbaşı, Aknehir, Yeşilyazı, Cavecık, Kurtderesi, DenizAlanı, Antakya center, Değirmenyolu, Harbiye, Gümüşgöze, Yeşilpınar, Saman. We hung it on our walls in Armutlu, Sümerler, Aşağıokçular, Yukarıokçular, Samandağ road, Ekinci, Kuzeytepe, Dikmece, Serinyol and Çekmece regions. As the posters we hung were torn up at night by the cops, cowardly and secretly, we were hanging more and more. We distributed 5000 papers that we printed with the slogan “We want justice”. We gave interviews to local newspapers (Sovtna, Atayurt, Ayna, Samandağ Newspapers) for the concert call. We shared our work on various sites on social media. We made a broadcast as a guest on Melodi Radyo, and in this broadcast we talked about the pressure and bans that Grup Yorum has suffered.
The Diary and Detention of the 1st Day of July
We went to the field to set up our stands on Thursday, July 11th. And collectively, we prepared our tables with Grup Yorum scarves, Özgür Prisoner products and books. We put on our Grup Yorum aprons and hung our banners that read “We are the People, We are Right, We Will Win, Grup Yorum is the People, They Can’t Be Silenced” on the back of our stands. A friend of ours went on a hunger strike to protest the ban on concerts. That’s why we hung a blueprint “I’m on Hunger Strike for the Lifting of the Grup Yorum Concert Ban”. Our friend on the hunger strike put on the Grup Yorum apron and placed the signature sheets we had prepared for the lifting of the concert ban on his desk. After a short while, Riot Police, Political Branch and Security Branch police gathered in a very crowded manner at our stands. They ended the hunger strike and asked us to take off our aprons. We said we would not remove them, and we explained that they would get away from here immediately, that we would not allow them to spread terror, and that they could not intimidate us with pressures and bans. After discussions, they wanted to seize our hunger strike table. When we didn’t, hundreds of police rushed over us, and they wanted to detain us with torture. Our friends from the Revolutionary Party-Partisan-SYKP, one of the other left groups, were also detained because they embraced us, and 8 people were taken to the police station. In the detention where Devrim Deniz Karataş, Furkan Ersöz and Sever Işık were taken, torture marks and bruises were seen in many places of our friends. We were released from the hospital after 5 hours of detention.
Diary and Detention of the Second Day of July
We went to the festival area to set up our stands on Friday, July 12. We completed our preparations and set up our tables. We hung our banners and put on our aprons. Before we opened our desks, hundreds of police were waiting in full gear with TOMAs and detention vehicles. That day, other leftist groups were going to make a joint press statement for us to protest the attack yesterday. While the press text was being read, the police announced that they would not allow the action, otherwise they would attack. But despite everything, the action continued, whereupon the vile police attacked with all their might. We resisted with our slogans. “SHOULDER SIDE AGAINST FASCISM, GROUP COMMENT IS THE PEOPLE, IT CANNOT BE SILENCED, LONG LONG LONG LONG REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY, MUSCULAR SILENT HALLAYLAR CONTINUES! 3 of our friends were detained with batons and torture while shouting the slogans. While Devrim Deniz Karataş, Elvan Altınarı and Furkan Ersöz were taken into custody, bruises and wounds were seen in many parts of our friends. The arm of a friend of ours was bandaged due to a bruise. Our friends were released after 6 hours of detention. 5 of our friends from other leftist groups were detained.
Diary of the 3rd and 4th Days of Previous July
We went to the festival area on the 13th and 14th of July and opened our tables. We hung our banners. The police again blocked the area around the stands and were there to intimidate the public with TOMAs and shields. We distributed hundreds of leaflets in front of the police all day that day to call for the Grup Yorum concert. We had agitations. Even if the police harassed them, they could not attempt to be detained as a result of the ownership of the people. We fought enthusiastically to protect our position by selling and dancing halay all day. Pınar Aydınlar, who came to the concert for the song of the festival, said from the stage that “Grup Yorum condemns the ban on concerts, Grup Yorum is the people’s artist and they will not be silenced by pressures and intimidation policies”. Then she supported Grup Yorum by singing the songs DağlaraGel-Gündoğdu-Le Hanım. Thereupon, the policemen gathered quickly. They started to prepare their tear gas-shields and batons for the attack. However, they did not dare to attack due to the intense ownership of our stands by the people. On the last day of the festival, friendly institutions held a march against sexual abuse of children. We also showed solidarity by participating in this march. At one point, the police came to our book stand and wanted to harass them. We told them that these books were not for sale to them, that the enemies of the people could not even touch them, that they came here with the aim of causing unrest and incidents, that they should leave immediately, otherwise we would shout to expose them. Thereupon, the police left the area without further discussion. On the last day of the festival, GrupYorum members appeared on Radio Melodi, gave an interview and had a concert.
