MADIMAK HAS BEEN BURNING FOR 30 YEARS

PRESIDENT ÖMER GÜNEL: 'THE FIRE THAT BURNED IN SİVAS YEARS AGO HAS NOT DIED OUT IN OUR HEARTS'

33 people who were murdered in Sivas on July 2, 1993 were commemorated in Kuşadası. Speaking at the commemoration program organized in cooperation with Kuşadası Municipality, Kuşadası Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation and Davutlar Cemevi, Mayor Ömer Günel said, "The fire that burned in Sivas many years ago has still not gone out in our hearts today."

A commemoration program was organized in Kuşadası for 33 people who were massacred in Sivas on July 2, 1993, when the Madımak Hotel, where writers and intellectuals attending the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Activities were staying, was set on fire. In this context, first in the Historical Caravanserai, Izmir Katip Çelebi University Faculty of Social Humanities faculty member Assoc. A conversation was held with Mehmet Ersal and educator writer Ali Balkız as speakers. In the interview, writer Ali Balkız, one of the survivors of the Madımak Hotel, told the participants what he experienced that day. Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Ersal talked about the problems faced by citizens of the Alevi faith in Turkey and their solutions.

'WE WILL NEVER LET YOU FORGET'

Making the opening speech of the commemoration program, Kuşadası Mayor Ömer Günel said, “Today, we came together to commemorate those who lost their lives on the 30th anniversary of the Madımak Massacre. On July 2, 1993, our intellectuals, artists and people were massacred. The fire that burned in Sivas many years ago has not gone out in our hearts today. I commemorate with respect and mercy all our intellectuals who were murdered for their ideas and beliefs. The defendants of this incident, which took place 30 years ago, have still not been punished and the incident has not been brought to light. For this reason, we will never forget the Madımak massacre and we will not let it be forgotten,” he said.

Making a press statement about the Madımak massacre, Kuşadası Hacı Bektaş Veli Anatolian Culture Foundation Kuşadası Branch President Erdal Kılınç said, “33 of the hundreds of people who went to Sivas within the scope of the Pir Sultan Abdal commemoration events were brutally murdered by a reactionary and murderous herd. This massacre took place as a result of a highly planned and organized effort, with the connivance and further guidance of state forces. Before the massacre, reactionary and Sharia organizations targeted our intellectuals who would come to Sivas by distributing leaflets containing hatred and hostility for weeks. As can be clearly seen, the Sivas Madımak Hotel massacre was a planned massacre carried out by the triggermanship of the murderer group. We Alevis know that if there was real secularism in Turkey, this massacre would not have happened. "Madımak has been burning for 30 years," he said.

GREAT INTEREST IN ERDAL ERZİNCAN

The commemoration program of the Madımak massacre continued with the concert of Erdal Erzincan and Özgür İnce, one of the important names of Turkish Folk Music, held at İsmail Cem Friendship and Peace Square. Kuşadası residents showed great interest in Erzincan, which is among the best performers of baglama art in the world. The master artist, who sang his popular folk songs for the people of Kuşadası, ended his concert with a 'şelpe' show performed with his fingertips, without using a plectrum.