The Madımak Massacre continues to be commemorated in Bornova on its 32nd anniversary with various events. The commemoration program, which began recently with the “July 2nd Land of Poets Oratorio,” continued with a concert by Metin Kahraman, a powerful voice of protest music.

Bornova Municipality commemorated the Madımak Massacre—where 35 people, including some of Turkey’s leading intellectuals and artists, were burned to death on July 2, 1993, in Sivas during the Pir Sultan Abdal Commemoration events—through the songs of Metin Kahraman.

At the concert held in cooperation with the Alevi Power Union Platform at the Aşık Veysel Recreation Area Open-Air Theater, the multilingual repertoire and unique interpretations of Metin and Kemal Kahraman offered emotional moments to the people of Bornova.

“The oppressor’s cruelty grows, but we do not kneel”

Speaking at the event, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Council CHP Group Spokesperson and Bornova Municipal Council Group Deputy Chair Av. Yağmur Yurdakul Özkan emphasized that those killed at Madımak were intellectuals who dedicated their lives to freedom, modernity, science, and art. Özkan stated:

“Those massacred at Madımak were there to commemorate Pir Sultan. They would have exchanged ideas, sung a few folk songs, and performed the semah. But instead, they faced people gathered with cans of gasoline, intent on burning them alive. Sadly, Madımak became a tomb for the bright faces of our country.”

Highlighting that the Madımak Massacre was neither the first nor the last, Özkan added:

“The oppressor’s name and the methods used may change, but oppression still continues. As the oppressor’s cruelty increases, so does our effort, our labor, and our determination to resist. They think they can make us kneel with oppression. But as Pir Sultan Abdal said: ‘Go on, Hınzır Pasha, your wheel will fall too; do not trust the sultan, he too will fall one day.’ We will not kneel.”