Former Diyarbakır Mayor and Kurdish leader Mehdi Zana passed away
Mehdi Zana began his political education as a tailor shop worker and would eventually go on to become a defining voice in Kurdish politics. After a long political career, the former Diyarbakır mayor and activist passed away at the hospital this weekend at the age 85.
Zana passed away while receiving intensive care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Following a ceremony in front of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, his funeral was held at Grand Mosque (Ulucamii). The funeral, accompanied by a cortege, was well-attended by community members and political leaders. He was ultimately laid to rest at Yeniköy Cemetery in Diyarbakır.
Zana, who dedicated his life to the Kurdish movement, was sent off in a coffin adorned with flowers and wrapped in yellow, green and red — the colors of the Kurdish flag.
Who was Mehdi Zana?
The former Diyarbakır mayor was given the surname “Bilici” upon birth but changed it to the Kurdish equivalent “Zana,” meaning “wise.” He first learned about politics while working in a tailor shop owned by Kurdish political activist Niyazi Tatlıcı.
Zana launched his political career with the left-wing Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) in 1963, helping establish the Silvan branch, where he served as branch president for two years. He was also a member of the Revolutionary Eastern Cultural Hearths (DDKO), an association of mostly Kurdish students later outlawed after the 1971 military coup.
Zana was initially elected mayor of Diyarbakır in 1978 after running as an independent, but was imprisoned shortly after during the 1980 military coup. He experienced heavy repression throughout his political career, spending a total of about 16 years in Diyarbakır, Aydın, Afyonkarahisar and Eskişehir prisons, where he experienced immense torture. He was recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. Zana spent about 10 years in Sweden as a political exile, but returned to Turkey in 2004. He was known for his left-wing, pro-Kurdish advocacy.
Kurdish leaders pay their respects
On social media the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party released the following statement:
"We learned with great sadness that Mehdi Zana, one of the valuable names of the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom and democracy, has passed away. Condolences to his family, loved ones, and the Kurdish people.
Our debt to his struggle and memory is to definitely build an honorable peace in which peoples will live equally and freely.
We bow with respect before his memory and struggle."
President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani also paid his respects, referring to Zana as one of the leading figures of the Kurdish movement in Turkey.
"He was one of the leading figures of the Kurdish political struggle in Turkey,” said Barzani. “He dedicated many years of his life to defending the rights of his people and paid great prices for this cause."
Zana’s funeral ceremony was notably attended by DEM Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak and many Kurdish politicians and activists, including his wife Leyla Zana, who is also a leading Kurdish political figure. She served as a deputy of the former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
At the ceremony, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Serra Bucak spoke on Zana’s legacy. Bucak said that Zana himself is deeply ingrained in the city’s historical culture and memory. She also said that despite all of his time in prison the bond between Zana and his people never severed.
"The legacy left by Mehdi Zana is not merely a memory belonging to the past, but a living value that guides our present and our future,” said Bucak. “Being elected is not just representing an office; it is protecting the city's memory, language, culture, and democratic politics to the very end."
"Diyarbakır will never forget you, Brother Mehdi. As long as the people's will and the struggle for freedom exist, the mark you left will continue to live on as well," Bucak said.
(İK)