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11 detained in ‘Ahmet Kaya protest’ against pop singer

Türkiye Materials 30 October 2013 16:18 (UTC +04:00)
11 detained in ‘Ahmet Kaya protest’ against pop singer
11 detained in ‘Ahmet Kaya protest’ against pop singer

Turkish police detained 11 people in the Western province of Manisa for throwing fork and stones at pop singer Serdar Ortac during a concert, Dogan news agency reported.

A scuffle took place among the audience after some people opened a poster of Kaya in protest of Ortac, who was on the stage for a concert organized as part of the Republic Day celebrations in Manisa on Oct. 29.

A group of people threw stones and forks at Ortac during the concert as Ortac had done so at Kaya in 1999, upon Kaya's announcement of his wish to sing in Kurdish.

Ortac 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 took the stage at the annual Magazine Journalists Association (MGD) awards ceremony to receive the honor of the musician of the year

Before singing a song at the ceremony, Kaya said, "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."

This speech drew a hostile reaction from famous figures in the ceremony, including famous pop singer Serdar Ortac, 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, Kaya died of a heart attack in Paris, where he is now buried.

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