11 detained in ‘Ahmet Kaya protest’ against pop singer

MANİSA

Police detained 11 people for throwing forks and stones at pop singer Serdar Ortaç during a concert organized as part of Republic Day celebrations in Manisa on Oct 29. DHA photo

Police have detained 11 people in the western province of Manisa for throwing forks and stones at pop singer Serdar Ortaç during a concert, in retribution for the musician's similar act toward legendary protest singer Ahmet Kaya in 1999.

A scuffle took place among the audience after a group of people opened a poster of Kaya in protest at Ortaç, who was on stage for a concert organized as part of the Republic Day celebrations in Manisa on Oct. 29, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Ortaç left the stage and the concert was cancelled due to security concerns while the police detained 11 people for throwing forks, stones and plastic bottles at the stage.

On Feb. 10, 1999, Kaya performed at the annual Magazine Journalists Association (MGD) awards ceremony to receive the "musician of the year" award.

Before singing a song at the ceremony, Kaya announced that he would sing a song in Kurdish. “I thank all the people of Turkey for the award. I also have a statement; I will sing a Kurdish song on my next album, which I will release in the near future. I will also make a music video for this song. I know there are brave television stations that will air this music video. If they don’t air it, I don’t know how they will face the Turkish public,” he said.

This speech drew a hostile reaction from famous figures in the ceremony, including Ortaç, who has been reviled by parts of society ever since for his actions in denouncing Kaya.

“You must accept the Kurdish reality,” Kaya said as guests began flinging knives and forks at him.

The incident led to Kaya’s prosecution, forcing him into exile to France. On Nov. 16, 2000, he died of a heart attack in Paris, where he is now buried.