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The murder on Tuesday evening (May 2) of 29-year-old street singer and cargo worker Cihan Aymaz, by the ferry port in the popular and crowded Kadıköy district of İstanbul was a terrific event.
The young Kurdish street singer was killed by another young man, requesting him to sing the song "Ölürem Türkiyem*." He reportedly responded by saying "OK, we will sing that one later," but the aggressor insisted that he sings the song straightaway.
The protest
The killing was protested by the Labor and Freedom Alliance yesterday who organized a press briefing in Kadıköy at the same place that Aymaz was killed.
Cihan Aymaz's family also participated in the protest. Mezopotamya Agency reported that Aymaz's uncle said, "Cihan has been murdered because of his [Kurdish] identity and because he sang songs in Kurdish," and that "they will not stop following up until justice is secured."
"We will create a life where our folk songs will be free, and there will not be any racist attacks at mother tongues," the banner carried read.
Koray Türkay, the Kadıköy district co-chairperson of the Green Left Party (YSP) said that the murder has occurred to the monolithic mentality that the Kurdish people have been struggling against.
Türkay said, "Cihan who was killed was a street musician. He was someone that everyone in Kadıköy knew, he made us all hear the Kurdish songs on the street, and in this way, he was someone who spoke out ."
Özlem Özdemir, who read out the statement of the Labor and Freedom Alliance, summarized the events that led to the killing of Cihan Aymaz.
"Yesterday Aymaz was playing his instrument and singing when as witnesses tell, a person comes and asks that he sings the song "Ölürem Türkiyem." When Cihan Aymaz, singing on the street in Kadıköy for many years now, and mostly in Kurdish, does not accept to sing this song, there is a quarrel and the murderer takes out a knife from his pocket and sticks it in Aymaz's heart, resulting in his death," Özdemir said and underlined that they "denounce this hatred which costs us the lives of such young people and which is a reflection of the hate policies pursued by the government."
The group marched chanting slogans in protest and after the march another musician, and Aymaz's friend Ahmet Bedirhan sang the folk song "Rındamın" which Aymaz used to be very fond of:
Kadıköy'de ırkçı bir saldırı sonucu katledilen sokak sanatçısı #CihanAymaz'ın arkadaşı Ahmet Bedirhan, Aymaz'ın en çok sevdiği "Rındamın" türküsünü seslendirdi. pic.twitter.com/jukZ8wx1Yc
— Zeynep Kuray (@zeynokuray) May 3, 2023
Aymaz's cousin, Mehmet Günhan has also spoken.
"People can walk around with a knife and kill someone so easily in a place like Kadıköy. Isn't there any security here? They believe that they will not have a heavy punishment and they can take a life so easily."
"People should not have to secure justice themselves," added and warned Günhan.
There was a minute of silence for Aymaz after the protest and flowers were left where he was killed.
The funeral
Cihan Aymaz's funeral was held in the Kayışdağı Mosque in Ataşehir, İstanbul. His family came together with those wishing to convey their condolences before the funeral.
His father Hayrettin Aymaz has spoken here. He said, "I don't know what to say. Who was my enemy so that my son was killed in the middle of Kadıköy, and with a knife? There is nothing to say. I work as a driver. I was on the road. I left my vehicle there and came back. If they are able to kill someone during the day and in a place like Kadıköy, it is difficult for us to live here."
* Ölürem Türkiyem (I will die, my country Turkey); a song popular for Turkish nationalists with lyrics that start with the words "I have devoted my life to the path of my country Turkey.
(AEK/PE)
