This year's national Children's Day celebrated in Turkey on 23 April was shadowed by recent incidents of violence against children, abuse, rape and death besides punishments against children decreed by courts.
The Children's Day on 23 April is celebrated only in Turkey, even though neither the state nor the legislation protect children effectively. They are imposed to violence, sexual abuse and rape; they die from injuries caused by un-cleared land mines. As bianet, we publish our tally of violence and abuse against children on 23 April, the Children's Day.
1,486 children disappeared in March
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Istanbul MP Halide İncekara, Head of the Missing Children's Research Commission in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), announced on 4 April that a total of 1,486 children disappeared throughout the month of March 2010. According to MP İncekara, 1,085 children could be found, 401 children are still being searched.
29 March
Torture in prison: 14 children detained under provisions of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) in the Maltepe Children and Juvenile Prison in Istanbul started a hunger strike in order to force the transfer of two of their friends to hospital due to their poor health conditions. The prison guards are claimed to have raided the cell and beaten the children because of the hunger strike.
2 April
Suicide because of debt at private tutoring institution: A juvenile from Fethiye (western Mediterranean coast) who was preparing for the national entry exam for university committed suicide. The alleged reason for the suicide was the juvenile's private situation. The student's mother had to go to prison because the family was not able to pay their debt to the private tutoring institution. (The vast majority of students attend this kind of teaching institutions besides school to prepare for the national entry exams as part of the Turkish education system.)
6 years, three months, eleven days prison sentence: The Adana 7th High Criminal Court sentenced a 15-year-old to imprisonment of six years, three months and eleven days on the grounds of the child's alleged participation in a demonstration on 27 December 2009 in Adana. The juvenile was found guilty of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" according to the Anti-Terror Act and "committing a crime on behalf of a terror organization", "resistance against the police" and "harming public property" based on the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK).
7 April
Child tortured at home: A four-year-old child was tortured at home in the city of Patnos in the province of Ağrı in eastern Anatolia. Neighbours had taken the child to hospital. The child was supposedly beaten by his/her step mother. As a result of the hitting, the four-year-old lost 80 percent of its sight of the right eye.
Shot while doing homework: A 13-year-old child was shot during a conflict between two groups in the Tarlaşaşı Çukur district of Istanbul. The fifth grade student was doing homework in an internet café when the groups opened fire and the child was hit at the head. The 13-year-old died in hospital.
13 April
Children in detention: Nine children have been taken into detention in the city of Didim in the province of Aydın on the Aegean cost because they protested against the fist attack against Ahmet Türk, Co-Chair of the banned pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).
Dragged along the ground: A 14-year-old boy was dragged along the ground when the police in Hakkari (south-eastern tip of the country) arrested him in the course of a protest against the attack on Ahmet Türk. The child's cheek bone broke as a result of beating. Another 12-year-old child who was arrested in Hakkari was taken to the Van Training and Research Hospital for medical treatment.
20 April
Slapped at school: A six-year-old child was severely beaten by a teacher because of talking during the lesson. A trainee on duty in the class at the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Primary School in Antakya in the province of Hatay (eastern Mediterranean coast) recorded the incident with a mobile phone and sent it to the nationwide Turkish news channel NTV, where it was published the same day.
Seven girls raped in Siirt: Seven girls were raped for the duration of two years at a primary school in Siirt in south-eastern Turkey. The incidents came to light when a 14 year-old student had claimed to have been abused by deputy principle F.K. Statements of more than 100 men aged between 16 and 70 years old from all social stratums have been taken in the course of the investigation. 25 of the interrogated males were detained.
22 April
Beaten by the principle: A 14-year-old child was beaten by the school principle in the 70th Year Primary School in Erzurum in central Anatolia. The child was injured at the head. The child's family filed a criminal complaint at the prosecutor's office.
Death of a child one day prior to Children's Day: A 14-year-old child who was grazing a herd of animals in the rural town of Yeşilli in the province of Mardin (south-eastern Turkey) was killed by an un-cleared landmine. The mine apparently belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The prosecutor's office launched an investigation. (SP/VK)
İstanbul Üniversitesi Gazetecilik Bölümü mezunu. Gazeteciliğe 1998’de Milliyet‘te başladı. Sırasıyla Deutsche Welle radyosu (Bonn), Sabah gazetesi, Tempo dergisi, Akşam gazetesi ve bianet‘te çalıştı. Hrant Dink...
İstanbul Üniversitesi Gazetecilik Bölümü mezunu. Gazeteciliğe 1998’de Milliyet‘te başladı. Sırasıyla Deutsche Welle radyosu (Bonn), Sabah gazetesi, Tempo dergisi, Akşam gazetesi ve bianet‘te çalıştı. Hrant Dink Vakfı yayınları ve Agos gazetesi kitap eki Kitap/Kirk editörlüğünü yaptı. Son olarak Milliyet gazetesinde politika editörü olarak çalıştı. Yazılarını semrapelek.com adlı blogunda yayınlıyor.
Authorities in Niğde's Bor district have detained six suspects attempting to sell a medieval-era mummy, believed to belong to a Christian individual, officials announced.
The the provincial gendarmerie command conducted an operation on Mar 11 in the Kemerhisar town and searched the residence of one of the suspects, identified as H.G., discovering a mummified male figure.
Authorities stated that five additional suspects have been detained and that the investigation is ongoing.
Following the operation, Niğde Governor Cahit Çelik shared footage of the raid on social media, congratulating the law enforcement. "We commend our gendarmerie teams for their dedicated efforts in preserving our country’s cultural heritage and congratulate them on their successful operation. We reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding our historical legacy."
The mummy was determined to belong to a Christian individual from the medieval period, the governor added.
📌Niğde İl Jandarma Komutanlığımız tarafından, kültür ve tabiat varlığı kaçakçılığıyla mücadele kapsamında gerçekleştirilen başarılı bir operasyon sonucunda, Bor ilçesi Kemerhisar kasabasında tarihi bir mumyayı satmaya çalışan şahıslar tespit edilerek yakalanmıştır.
Edip Akbayram, a pioneer of Anatolian rock, dies at 75
A key figure in Anatolian rock and protest music, Akbayram stood out from the 1970s onward with songs addressing social issues. He created a unique style by blending folk music with rock and Western musical elements.
One of the leading figures in Turkey's Anatolian rock and protest music, Edip Akbayram, has passed away at the age of 75 while undergoing treatment at a hospital in İstanbul.
The artist was hospitalized on Jan 9 due to suspected internal bleeding caused by a fall from his bed. He underwent surgery on Jan 10.
İstanbul Provincial Health Director Assoc. Prof. Abdullah Emre Güner announced Akbayram's death late yesterday.
A key figure in Anatolian rock and protest music, Akbayram stood out from the 1970s onward with songs addressing social issues. He created a unique style by blending folk music with rock and Western musical elements.
The artist achieved great success with songs like "Aldırma Gönül" and "Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz," earning Altın Plak (Golden Vinyl) awards for these works.
In 1972, he won the Altın Mikrofon music competition with his song "Kükredi Çimenler," gaining widespread recognition. He interpreted works by folk poets such as Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Pir Sultan Abdal, and Karacaoğlan.
Having won over 250 awards throughout his career, he founded Dostlar Orkestrası in 1974.
Edip Akbayram & Dostlar
With his music shaped by the political climate of the 1970s, Akbayram became an artist embraced by leftist circles. In 1979, he married Ayten Hanım (Akbayram), and they had two children, Ozan and Türkü.
Following the 1980 military coup, Akbayram was among the artists whose music was restricted. Between 1981 and 1988, his compositions were banned from being played on the state broadcaster TRT. One of his most well-known songs was "Bekle Bizi İstanbul," adapted from a poem by Vedat Türkali.
From the 1990s onward, he resumed his career and continued to influence audiences with songs like "Güzel Günler Göreceğiz."
In recent years, he maintained this stance and continued to take a critical position. During the 2023 Turkish general elections, he expressed his opposition to the "one-man" rule and supported the opposition alliance. He consistently spoke out against pressure on artists and stood in solidarity with dissident figures.
He voiced support for those imprisoned in the Gezi Trial, calling for justice, and remained committed to workers' rights on significant days like May 1.
When he received the Friendship Award on the 56th anniversary of the death of poet Nâzım Hikmet Ran, he responded to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remark calling dissident artists "fake artists."
"They call us fake. I sat at home and took stock: in my 50-year artistic career, I’ve seen 10-12 presidents, 8-10 prime ministers, and countless ministers come and go. The so-called 'artist drafts' are those who refuse to bow down and pursue the truth. I consider this an honor," he said in an interview with T24.
Akbayram in the 1970s.
In a 1995 interview with Express magazine, Akbayram reflected on his rendition of Can Yücel's poem "Bizim Deniz," written for Deniz Gezmiş, a socialist revolutionary executed after the 1970 military intervention, and shared his thoughts on the political climate: "March 12 [1970 military intervention] was a period that subjected our youth, thoughts, books, intellectuals, and, most importantly, our democracy to torture under military rule. The people suppressed by Mar 12 and Sep 12 have yet to fully reclaim their identity and individuality. Young people were lined up like laundry on a clothesline.
Can Baba, with his poet's sensitivity, wrote Mare Nostrum (Bizim Deniz) for Deniz Gezmiş and his friends. This meaningful and honorable poem was beautifully composed by dear Mazlum Çimen, the son of Nesimi Çimen, who was burned alive in Sivas. It was up to me to interpret it.
In the music video, the little boy represents the innocence of Deniz's childhood. The child who played young Deniz Gezmiş is the grandson of Nesimi Çimen, whom I remember with respect. The poem has Deniz Gezmiş’s eyes in it, as well as footage from the protests of the '68 generation. But we couldn't fully express everything we wanted to. When you present something too sharp, society reacts.
I don't know how much it will reach the people. TRT doesn’t air it anyway. Private TV channels are capitalist institutions, as you know. So, we thought we shouldn't make it too sharp but rather deliver our message gradually."
Born on Dec 29, 1950, in Antep, Akbayram passed away on Mar 2, 2025 at around 7.30 pm at the University of Health Sciences Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment.
Most well-known albums
Edip Akbayram (1974) Nice Yıllara Gülüm (1982) Aldırma Gönül (1984) Dün ve Bugün (1998) Senden Haber Yok (2008)
