ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul, Wednesday criticized a police decision to ban the performance of the Kurdish version of an Italian play in the city, describing it as unacceptable. “A most wanted member of a terrorist organization is free to make a statement on TV but a group of Kurdish performers are banned from performing a play for Kurdish speakers. This is not acceptable,” said the mayor, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). “I am really concerned and irritated to see this,” he added. Istanbul governor Ali Terlikaya said in a tweet late Tuesday that they banned the performance of Beru (Faceless) play at Istanbul Municipality City Theatre on Tuesday because “it contains PKK propaganda,” despite the play being a translation of an Italian work. He denied that the play was banned for being in Kurdish. The PKK is an armed group struggling for increased political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has waged a fight against the Turkish state for decades. Most of the government’s crackdowns on Kurdish politicians and journalists and activities are attributed to the group. Imamoglu criticized the governor for claiming that the play makes propaganda for the PKK, saying the play has been played in Turkey 20-30 times before in different languages. “Where have you been all this time if it propagates for a terrorist organization?” he asked. Istanbul police and district governorship informed the Teatra Jiyana Nu (New Life Theatre) group that they could not perform Beru on Tuesday on the ground that it “disrupts the public order” hours before its scheduled time of performance. Beru is a comedic play translated from "Trumpets and Raspberries,” a work by Italian satirist, playwright, and Nobel-prize-winner Dario Fo. Nazmi Karaman, the director of Beru, says the reason the play was banned is the language it is being performed in. “We believe that it was banned because it would be the first Kurdish play to be performed in a state theatre,” he told Rudaw English on Tuesday evening, referring specifically to Istanbul Municipality City Theatre, which has not had a play performed in the ethnic minority’s language in its over a century of existence. “The content of the play has nothing to do with the ban. It criticizes capitalism,” he added. Ali Babacan, leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), told reporters on Wednesday that if the play was banned for being in Kurdish “it is unacceptable,” warning that “no one shall try to return Turkey to the 1990s” when the Kurdish language was almost totally banned in the country. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) also criticized the ban, saying it targets the Kurdish language. “Their animosity against our language and culture has no limits. However, their attacks against our language and culture compel us to speak and preserve Kurdish more. Our language is our honor and presence,” tweeted the party on Wednesday.
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