The 23rd Munzur Culture Festival has officially begun at Seyid Rıza Square in Dersim. Organized under the slogan “Dersim is life; do not touch my nature, will, language, or faith,” the festival drew significant participation from political party representatives, civil society organizations, and many people from both Kurdistan and Turkey.
Ali Rıza Bilir, Chair of the Federation of Dersim Associations (DEDEF), expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the forest fires in Eskişehir.
Dismissed from office and replaced by a state-appointed trustee, former Dersim Co-Mayor Birsen Orhan emphasized that the Munzur Festival represents not only culture, faith, language, and a stance, but also serves as a festival of resistance against anti-democratic practices.
Orhan recalled that the festival was initiated by the people of Dersim in the 1990s as a response to government bans and said: “The Alevi identity still has no official recognition. Our cemevis are not granted the status of places of worship. Just as the Kurdish identity is denied, so is the Alevi identity.”
Birsen Orhan described the Peace and Democratic Society Process as an important opportunity and stated: “It is clear that Dersim will play a role in a democratic society, and it has embraced this process with great dedication. We will continue our struggle to democratize society and to defend the right to equal citizenship.”
Orhan drawing attention to the cultural destruction targeting native languages and stressed that their mother tongues are under a form of genocide. She referring to the state’s trustee policy and added: “When the trustee was first appointed, they shut down language institutions. The will of the people has been usurped in both Dersim Municipality and Pulur (Ovacık) Municipality. We call on everyone to embrace and protect this festival in response.”
The planned opening ceremony with drums and zurna was cancelled out of respect for those who lost their lives in the forest fires in Eskişehir.
Source: ANF News
