At a concert in Alanya (district of Antalya, southern Turkey) on 22 July last year, singer Ferhat Tunc had said, "Just as every soldier who dies in this country is counted as a child of this country, so every guerrilla who is killed is a child of this country. My heart burns for every dead soldier, my heart bleeds for every dead guerrilla."
Tried under Anti-Terrorism Law
Tunc is being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for this comment, and is first due in court on 4 October at the Izmir 10th Heavy Penal Court.
Comments on deaths in Mercan Valley
In addition, the Malatya Public Prosecution has begun an investigation into Tunc for "spreading propaganda for the Maoist Communist Party (MKP)". AT a concert on 12 August 2006, he had dedicated a song to "the 17". The fact that members of the audience chanted "Dersim [the old name for Tunceli] is proud of you" has been interpreted as proof for his crime.
Tunc's statement
Giving a statement at the Istanbul Public Prosecution, Tunc said that his speech at the first concert was expressing his opinion that the people of Turkey should coexist peacefully. As for the "17", he said that he had known most of the MKP members who had been killed in the Mercan Valley (in Tunceli province) in 2004 since their childhood, and that he was not able to ignore the event. When he had expressed his feelings about the gravity of the event in his song, he had not aimed at spreading propaganda.
"No to war"
Tunc had said at the second concert, "We have to overcome and destroy the fears that are imposed on us. There are conflicts in our country, there are deaths. In order to oppose them, we first have to overcome our fears. We want to sing our peace songs on our own land, without fear, without worry. For that to happen, the conflict has to end and we have to work towards that with all our efforts. Let us all say no to war." Then he sang his song entitled "No to war".
Tunc is also being tried for being part of a human rights delegation which freed private Coskun Kirandi after he had been kidnapped by the PKK. He has also received death threats by a group calling itself the "Turkish Revenge Brigade" (TIT). (EÖ/AG)
