Ban on Kurdish theater play brought to Parliamentary agenda

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Mardin MP Pero Dündar has submitted a Parliamentary question regarding the ban on the "Tartuffe" theater play to be staged in Kurdish in southeastern Mardin province.

Addressing the Parliamentary question to Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, HDP's Pero Dündar has recalled that the theater play to be staged by the Amed City Theater in a hotel in Mardin on December 5, 2021 was banned by the Governor's Office of Mardin.

Dündar has underlined that the ban on meetings and demonstrations imposed once every 15 days in the province has been cited by the Mardin Governor's Office as the reason for the ban on the theater play.

Referring to the statement of the Amed City Theater, HDP's Dündar has noted that "as the hotel where the theater play was to be performed was not given a permit for the event, the 'Tartuffe' play to be staged in Mardin was cancelled for reasons beyond the theater group's control."

According to Pero Dündar, "the organizers of the event also applied to the Governor's Office for the necessary permits; however, the program was not allowed to take place on the excuse of coronavirus."

"The organizers said that they made another application by changing the play's date; but, this time, the Governor's Office pressured the hotel officials to not let the theater play be staged," Dündar has added.

The organizers of the event have reportedly stated, "The hotel officials called us and said that they terminated the contract and would pay back our down payment. When we asked the reason why, they answered, 'We don't want to go against the Governor's Office."

'What is the reason for this discrimination?'

Against this backdrop, HDP Mardin MP Dündar has asked:

1) What is the reason for banning the Kurdish theater play to be staged by the Amed City Theater in Mardin?
2) Isn't the ban on the Kurdish play an attack on the Kurdish language and culture?
3) Is it true that the hotel officials were pressured by the Governor's Office of Mardin?
4) Did your Ministry play a role in this ban?
5) Will your Ministry make a statement about the issue?
6) While no indoor theater event is banned, why is a theater play to be staged in Kurdish banned? What is the reason for this discrimination?

(AÖ/SD)