Sarà un’estate ricca di eventi quella in programma su Planet Kurdistan. Si comincia a fine luglio con degli ospiti di eccezione. Dal 26 al 29 luglio, infatta, sbarcano su Planet K artisti e musicisti baschi. Il programma lo potete leggere qui accanto, cliccando sul logo appositamente disegnato dall’associazione Euskera che ha curato il programma.

A fine agosto invece attendiamo il coro dei bambini di Sur (municipalità di Diyarbakir-Kurdistan turco). Accompagnerà il coro il sindaco di Sur, Abdullah Demirbas da tempo impegnato tra le altre cose nella promozione della lingua kurda. Una attività la sua che gli è costata diversi processi e anche l’essere esautorato dal suo ruolo di sindaco. Ma alle scorse elezioni Demirbas è stato rieletto dai cittadini.

A settembre su Planet Kurdistan sbarcheranno invece il cinema e la letteratura. Due appuntamenti importanti di cui forniremo il programma dettagliato nei prossimi giorni.

A ottobre invece ci sarà una settimana organizzata dalle donne kurde che vivono in Europa e in Kurdistan. Concerti, dibattiti, film, readings e anche una sfilata di moda.

La prima settimana di novembre arriveranno a Venezia gli artisti del Mkm, il Centro Culturale della Mesopotamia.

Five hundred people for the opening of Planet Kurdistan on 6 June.

Former Mp Leyla Zana and DTP (Democratic People Party) co-chair Emine Ayna, officially opened Planet Kurdistan. Among the guests also Tahir Kamalizadeh (president of Knk, Kurdish National Kongress), Barzani Muhammed (president of the syrian PYD) and Haji Ahmadi (president of the kurdish iranian PJAK).

Leyla Zana remarked the importance of Planet Kurdistan: “For the first time – she said – we have the opportunity to present here in Venice, the most artistic of all cities, the kurdish art and culture which is often denied in our lands”.

Planet Kurdistan, azmûnxaneyek e ji bo dewlemendkirina nêrîn û projeyên derbarê çand û nasnameya Kurdî.
Ev piroseseke ku nêrînên hevbeş, ji bo kû bikaribê nunertiya hemû cûdahî û pirsgrêkên gelê Kurd bike. Planet Kurdistan, bibê bingeh ji bo pêşerojeke hevbeş.

PLANET K, platformek e înternêtiye. Bi rêya malpera xwe ya fermî www.planetk.org xebatên xwe ji raya giştî re aşkire dike. Her weha nawendek e di nav 53-pêşengeha nawneteweyi hunerî- Venice Biennale, li San Leonardo li Venice jî cîh digirin.
Bi hevkarîya hevbeş a mîmaran, dizayneran û grafîkeran Rebiennale, San Leonardo dibe ezmûnxaneyek ku di nav de hunermendên kurd- û bi hevkarîya Open Call, hemû kesên ku dûxwazin alîkarî bikin- dikarin hevûdû bibînin û nêrînên xwe bi hevûdûre parve bikin. Ji bo plansaazîyeke hevbeş a nasnameyeke çanda kurdî weke bingeheke hevbeş ji xwe re bi afirînin.

Venice Art Biennale, yek ji platformeke herî bi prestîje û saziyeke navnatewî ku ji bo hunera serdem, navendeke ku di nav da pêywendiya navbera huner û nunertîya neteweyi bi şêwazeke komplêx û bi awayekı berfireh digêhêjin hevûdu. Her welatek dikare bi serê xwe hunermendên xwe yên herî baş hilbijêrin ku nûnertiya pêşketinên hunera welatê xwe bikin. Di wê çarçovê de nunertiya hunera gelekî bêwelat, bi wateya proseseke xweserî ye. Divê huner ne wekî lîstokêk bê dîtin, belkî pêwîste kû weke îlhamek ji bo prosesa xwe nasandinê bêdîtin.Armanca PLANET K, giştina platformeke nû ye ji bo diyalog, danberhevî û berhemderanîn di nav hunermendên Kurd de ku li her çar parçeyên Kurdistanê dijîn, wek Iran, Iraq, Suriye, Tirkiye û herweha “beşa pêncemîn” ku kurdên diyasporayê nûnertî diki beşdarî bibin. Hejmara Kurdên diyasporayê ku li rojawayê Europayê dijîn, yekmîlyon û sêsed hezar in.Du hefteyan berîya ku Biennale bê vekirin, hunermend, fîlosof, dizayner, komelnas, rojnamevan û hwd. hemû kesên ku daxwazîyek e wan heye, ji bo dariştina prosesa fikrên hevbeş, bi hev re dikarin gotûbêj li ser sê pirsên bingehî bikin ku sentêza potansîyelê pêşeroja gelê Kurd e: Nasname, sînor û ziman.

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Lunedì 18 maggio alle ore 12 si svolgerà presso la ex sala giunta della Provincia di Roma (secondo piano) via IV novembre, la conferenza stampa di presentazione di Planet Kurdistan, promosso da Marco Polo System.
Planet Kurdistan fa parte del progetto Krossing, evento collaterale ufficiale della 53. Esposizione internazionale d’Arte-La Biennale di Venezia.
Per la prima volta il Kurdistan è presente alla Biennale di Venezia.

Planet K vuole essere prima di tutto un terreno di confronto e produzione tra gli artisti provenienti dalle quattro nazioni in cui è stato diviso il popolo kurdo – Iraq, Iran, Siria e Turchia -, ma anche dalla ‘quinta’ parte, più recente, in cui il popolo kurdo è stato costretto a vivere, quella rappresentata dall’esilio. La diaspora kurda infatti è una realtà di oltre 1milione e trecentomila persone soltanto nell’Europa occidentale.

Partecipano alla conferenza stampa:

Pietrangelo Pettenò, presidente Marco Polo System (promotore Krossing – Planet K)
Azad Nanakeli, artista kurdo
Carlo Pesaresi, Assessore alla cultura Provincia di Ancora, Ciscase
Massimo De Grandi, Arci Venezia
Fayik Yagizay, rappresentante europeo DTP, Partito della società democratica

Sarà presente Cecilia D’Elia, assessore alla cultura della Provincia di Roma

MEP Luisa Morgantini (Vice-President of the European Parliament), MEP Vittorio Agnoletto (Coordinator of the Friendship Group EP-Kurds) and Marco Polo System invite you to a press conference to present PLANET KURDISTAN, an official side event organised in the framework of the “53rd Biennale di Venezia – International Art Exhibition “Fare mondi – Making Worlds”. The press conference will take place on:

WEDNESDAY 1st April, at 16h00 / 4pm
European Parliament Press Room – BRUSSELS
(IT – FR – EN interpretation)

For the first time, Kurdistan will feature at the “Biennale di Venezia” (7th June – 22nd November, 2009), the well-known international art event, as a cultural entity. This is an historic occasion for the Kurdish people, who live in the four different countries (Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria) between which their land has been divided, as well as the Kurdish diaspora (in Western Europe alone, there are some 1.5 million Kurds). The event attempts not just to present the works of participating artists but also to build a working environment in which the artists will have the opportunity to make a clear statement on the complexities of the Kurdish context and to reflect on elaborating a cultural identity for Kurdistan. The event is being organised under the patronage of the Venice City Council and Province of Venice. Planet Kurdistan is the result of continuous exchanges between different realities, Kurdish and non-Kurdish, and has been jointly produced thanks to, among others, the efforts of former Kurdish MP, Leyla Zana.

Speakers:
Bahman GHOBADI, Kurdish film director
Pietrangelo PETTENÒ, Marco Polo System, President
Ilter REZAN, Kurdish artist
Burhan JAF, Kurdistan Regional Government’s representative
Press contacts:
Gianfranco Battistini, +32.475.646628 (European Parliament, GUE/NGL)
or planetkurdistan@gmail.com or www.planetk.org (from 1st April, 2009)

From Bianet
Erol Onderoglu
16 march 2009

In 2008, 82 people were tried under Article 301, 44 under the Anti-Terrorist Law, 23 under Article 216, 47 for “insulting” and 15 for “alienating the public from military service”. Freedoms of press and expression have been damaged by political polarisation, the lack of a solution to the Kurdish issue and the intolerance of criticism.
In 2008, the political landscape in Turkey became more polarised and the Kurdish question was not resolved. Both government and army displayed intolerance towards criticism of their performance and questioning of rights violations. Freedom of expression and of the press both took a considerable step backwards.
In the last year, 82 people were tried under the controversial Article 301, concerned with the “denigration” of the state and state organs; 5 people were convicted.
“Insult” cases on the rise
23 people stood accused of “inciting hatred and hostility among people. 74 people, among them 4 caricaturists and 47 journalists, were tried for “insulting” others. In total, the compensation claims in these insult cases amount to 1 million 885 thousand 500 TL (around 855,711 Euros).
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has become a claimant for such compensation. He has targeted the Doğan Media Group, saying in public, “Do not buy these newspapers”. Claims by him and his family have resulted in the convictions of Perihan Mağden (Radikal newspaper), Cemal Subaşı (Tempo magazine), Mehmet Çağçağ (Leman satirical magazine); he is also claiming compensation from Melih Kaşkar (Milas Önder newspaper).
It is thus not surprising that Turkey is ranked 102nd out of 173 countries by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in terms of Freedom of the Press.
BİA Media Monitoring Report
The annual media monitoring report of BİA (Independent Communication Network) provides information on 506 court cases, in which a total of 854 people from 305 newspapers have been affected. This number shows that social tensions are rising. A total of 435 journalists, writers, publishers, human rights activists, politicians and children were taken to court in 2008 because of their opinions. In 2007, this number stood at 254.
The 113-page BİA Media Monitoring Report reports on the state of the freedoms of press and expression in chronological orders, under the following headings: “Attacks and threats”, “Detentions and arrests”, “Press freedom and the freedom of expression in court”, “Adjustments and seeking justice”, “European Court of Human Rights”, “Reactions to censorship” and “RTÜK practices”.
Taraf faces 70, Doğan Media Group 200 trials
The sudden increase in prosecutions is due to many media organs being taken to court for “violating secrecy”, “revealing classified information” and “attempting to influence the judiciary” when reporting on the events of Dağlıca, Aktütün and Ergenekon.
In Dağlıca, in the southeastern province of Hakkari, 12 soldiers were killed and 8 kidnapped by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in October 2007. In Aktütün, in the same province, 17 soldiers were killed in October 2008. The Ergenekon investigation is looking into the formation of a clandestine ultra-nationalist organisation aiming at overthrowing the government.
The Taraf newspaper, which has followed a line of aggressive questioning of army policies, has been taken to court 70 times. Newspapers of the Doğan Group have faced over 200 court cases since June 2007 for similar publications.
“Influencing the judiciary”
Court cases concerned with “attempts at influencing the judiciary” rose by 100 percent compared to 2007. Alper Turgut, journalist of the Cumhuriyet newspaper was sentenced to a 20,000 TL (around 9,000 Euros) for announcing in an article that a torture case was barred because too much time had lapsed. Two human rights activists and five journalists were acquitted after reporting on the death of 11-year-old Mizgin Özbek in Batman.
Article 301
82 people were taken to court under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. In 23 cases the Ministry of Justice withheld permission for a court case, so they were dropped. However, the Ministry did grant permission in a case against writer Temel Demirer and one against 10 activists in Eskişehir, with up to 2 years imprisonment looming. 23 files are still awaiting Ministry decisions. In 2008, publishers Ragıp Zarakolu and Fatih Taş, lawyer Eren Keskin, magazine owner Aziz Özer and work inspector Niyazi Uslay were convicted under the article. In 2007, 55 people were tried under Article 301.
Article 216
Of the 23 people tried under Article 216 for “inciting hatred and hostility” , academics Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran and Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu, Barış Pehlivan from CNN Türk, politicians Nurettin Yılmaz and Sertaç Bucak, radio journalist Cemal Doğan and publisher Songül Özkan were acquitted. However, publisher Erol Karaaslan is facing a second trial over the Turkish translation of Richard Dawkin’s “God Delusion”. In 2007, 23 people were tried under Article 216.
“Alienating the public from military service”
In the last year, 15 people, 9 of them journalists, were on trial for “alienating the public from military service”. Bülent Ersoy, Yıldırım Türker, Perhian Mağden, Cezmi Ersöz, Gökhan Gençay and İbrahim Çeşmioğlu were acquitted, but publisher Ragıp Zarakolu and eight other people are still on trial.
Detentions
A total of 37 people, 28 of them journalists have spent al lor part of 2008 in prison, mostly in relation to Ergenekon, PKK and Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) accusations. Within the year, 15 of them were released.
The Ergenekon investigation has led to the imprisonment of Vedat Yenerer, Adnan Akfırat and Serhat Bolluk; in the MLKP case, radio journalist Füsun Erdoğan, İbrahim Çiçek and Sedat Şenoğlu are in prison; accusations of PKK connections have resulted in detention for Ali Buluş of the DİHA news agency, as well as for Faysal Tunç and Behdin Tunç. The court cases are continuing and it is currently not clear whether the detentions are due to journalistic or other activities.
Politician Mahmut Alınak, who was tried for his opinions, went to prison twice after refusing to pay a fine. Journalist Hacı Boğatekin, who had levelled accusations at a prosecutor, was released from prison after 109 days.
In 2008, 34 people were taken into custody, among them 13 journalists (for instance İlhan Selçuk, Mustafa Balbay, Ufuk Büyükçelebi and Soner Arıkanoğlu). Barış Keskin and Burak Özgün from Olay TV were detained for hosting Serpil Aslan, representative of the Socialist Platform for the Oppressed (ESP). They stand accused of spreading illegal propaganda.
Threats and attacks
Two years after the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, the role that public officers palyed in his murder is still not clear. Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran and the Agos newspaper continue to receive threats. The police violence against reporters in Istanbul on 1 May and in Hakkari on “Newroz” has gone unpunished.
In 2008, 7 media institutions, 23 people (20 of them journalists) were attacked; 2 institutions and 7 journalists were threatened.
In 2007, 34 journalists and 12 media institutions were attacked; 22 people and 6 media institutions were threatened; 3 Internet websites were sabotaged.
European Court of Human Rights
In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Turkey to pay a total of 183,810 TL (93,680 Euros) compensation and legal costs to 27 people who had appealed for the court because of violations of the freedom of expression. This is a decrease compared to the sum of 218,080 TL of the previous year. However, the second half of 2008 saw a rise in ECHR convictions.
The ECHR decrees concerned Hıdır Ateş, Hünkar Demirel, Ahmet Gemici, Sacit Kayasu,Bülent Falakaoğlu, İsak Tepe, Kadriye Kanat, Gülşen Bozan, Sevim Salihoğlu, Mehmet Zeynettin Unay, Sakine Aktan, Abdullah Yılmaz, Erdem Kılıç, Hasan Buran, Mehmet Kutlular, Yalçın Küçük, Ecevit Piroğlu, Mihriban Karakaya, Zeynel Abidin Kızılyaprak, Mehmet Mustafa Yalçıner, Mehmet Emin Albayrak, Şanar Yurdatapan, Fevzi Saygılı, Nizamettin Taylan Bilgiç, Serpil Kurtay ve Fevzi Saygılı.

Orsola Casagrande

Amburgo. Quando Duvara karşı (contro il muro, in italiano tradotto con un improbabile la sposa turca) è arrivato sugli schermi del festival di Berlino nel 2004, in molti hanno avuto un sussulto. La durezza, la rabbia, di quel film rimandavano ai lavori di Yılmaz Güney. Il regista di Duvara karşı, era un giovane film maker turco nato in Germania. Fatih Akın oggi è uno dei registi più apprezzati, sospeso tra Europa e Turchia, tra Occidente e Oriente. “Un collegamento”, come ama definirsi lui stesso, che non a caso ha scelto proprio un ponte, quello sul Bosforo, come immagine del film che è seguito a La sposa turca, Crossing the Bridge. The sounds of Istanbul, un documentario sulle tracce dei mille suoni di Istanbul. Un altro modo per dimostrare che nonostante la paranoia dei seguaci di Kemal Atatürk, la Turchia è tutt’altro che una. Ci sono mille turchie in Turchia e in Europa. Ad Amburgo, dove è nato e cresciuto (nel quartiere turco-kurdo di Altona), Akın sta lavorando al suo nuovo documentario, sulla lotta di un villaggio del Mar Nero (il villaggio dei nonni di Akin) contro il governo che vorrebbe avvelenarlo con una discarica. Anche questo documentario, come Crossing The Bridge, segue un lungometraggio. Il nuovo film di Akın si chiama Yaşamın karşı kıyısında dall’altra parte della vita, ed è la seconda parte della trilogia su amore, morte e il diavolo, iniziata con Duvara karşı. Leggi il resto di questo articolo »