Beytocan, who was arrested during the September 12 military coup in 1980 and spent six and a half years in prison, had to immigrate to Sweden in 1991 after his first album was banned in Turkey.
Kurdish musician Beytocan, who had been receiving cancer treatment in Sweden for a long time, passed away at the age of 68 in Stockholm this morning.
According to Mezopotamya Agency, Beytocan had recently undergone a major surgery, where a part of his right jaw was removed and replaced with a piece from his leg.
Throughout his music career, Beytocan released four albums. His album "Bîst û Yekê Adarê" (March 21) was banned in Turkey. In an interview he gave before his passing, he talked about conducting his music projects under challenging circumstances.
Arrested during the September 12 coup
Born in 1955 in Silvan, Diyarbakır, Beytocan was arrested during the military coup on September 12, 1980, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He spent 6.5 years in prison and was released in 1987. After his release from prison, Beytocan began his music career in Istanbul and worked with celebrity musicians like Orhan Gencebay and Selami Şahin.
In 1990, Beytocan released his first album, and a year later in 1991, he had to migrate to Sweden.
Returning to Diyarbakır after 23 years in 2014, Beytocan released albums such as "Axîna te Nalîna min" (Your sigh, my cry), "Te nadin min" (They don't let me have you), and "Etûna Dilê Min" (Oven of my heart) in addition to "Bîst û Yekê Adarê" (March 21).
An ostrich that escaped from a gas station in Diyarbakır was found three days later in the same neighborhood where it was raised.
The bird had been given as a gift to a local businessman but managed to break free, eventually returning to familiar surroundings.
A year ago, Abdulvasi Ateş brought two baby ostriches from Samsun as a gift for his father, Fesih Ateş, who lives in Diyarbakır’s Yenişehir district, Güzelköy neighborhood. Ateş raised the birds until Feb 11, when he gave one of them—a female—to his relative, Fırat Özateş, who owns a gas station in Diyarbakır’s Sur district.
However, just one day later, the ostrich escaped from the station’s yard, jumping over a wire fence and running toward the Diyarbakır-Silvan highway before disappearing from sight. A search was launched to locate the runaway bird.
On Feb 15, the ostrich was spotted near Güzelköy neighborhood, where it had been raised. Local residents recognized the bird and returned it to Fesih Ateş.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Ateş said the ostrich had developed a strong attachment to him. “No matter where I went, it would follow me. It’s such an emotional animal,” he said.
He recounted how the ostrich had initially returned to his neighborhood but was scared off by dogs before a neighbor took it in for safekeeping.
“I was devastated when it went missing. I prayed for it to come back. When I finally saw it, I hugged it and kissed it,” he said. “The happiness I felt was like a parent finding a lost child. I’m an emotional person, and when I saw it, I just had to hug it.” (TY/VK)
David R. Mellor is from Liverpool, England. He spent his late teens homeless on Merseyside. He is currently writing and performing in Turkey. His work...
David R. Mellor is from Liverpool, England. He spent his late teens homeless on Merseyside. He is currently writing and performing in Turkey. His work has been featured by the BBC and the Tate, and his published collections of poetry are What a Catch (2013), Some Body (2013), Express Nothing (2019) and So This Is It (2020). His collection of stories An Englishman in Turkey – Türkiye’de Bir İngiliz is recently published in Turkish.