A new initiative against censorship was born during the 3rd Freemuse World Conference in Istanbul on 26 November 2006: Artists from Turkey launched the SSS initiative - Sanatta Sansüre Son - which means "End to Censorship on Arts".
The launch took place right after a session which had presented strong testimonies by Turkish musicians and composers who have faced censorship, torture and jail in Turkey. The initiative to create SSS came from young Turkish musicians, and also artists from other fields have joined, as well as presidents of three influential professional organisations.
The launch of Sanatta Sansüre Son. Photo by Mik Aidt
Several musicians taking part in the conference similarly have already initiated various collaborations.
During the session on music censorship in Turkey, Selda Bagcan spoke about her ongoing problems with the Turkish authorities. Photo by Anna Schori
Video documentation
Watch the video interview with Turkish composer and human rights activist Şanar Yurdatapan who gives his impression of the session on Turkey at the conference: Video interview with Şanar Yurdatapan
More information All details about the third Freemuse World Conference which was held in Istanbul on 25-26 November 2006 can be found here: Conference site
The Malatya Criminal Court has sentenced the band members of Grup Munzur to 10 months imprisonment for singing a Kurdish song at a concert held in June 2008
Artists, human rights activists and scholars join Freemuse in an appeal to the Turkish government for the dismissal of the latest court case against Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç
Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç faces imprisonment of up to 15 years regarding charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK organisation", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party
A Kurdish song has been banned, and Kurdish singers are being arrested for singing - or just singing along to - specific Kurdish songs, accused of making propaganda
Diyarbakır High Criminal Court banned 13 members of Bahar Cultural Centre from performing arts for one year and gave them 10 months prison sentence each
Ferhat Tunç made a formal deposition at a Public Prosecution Office due to an investigation filed against him about a speech he made at a music festival in 2009.
In a court in Diyarbakır, the Kurdish singer Rojda Şenses was charged with one year and eight months imprisonment for ‘conducting propaganda’ in two separate concerts
Eight months prison sentences were issued by Turkish authorities to two police officers who beat up a 28-year-old café worker for playing an Ahmet Kaya song
Tunceli Prosecution Office has filed a case against folk singer Pınar Sağ and poet Mehmet Özcan charging them with two years prison sentences for "praising crime".
Ferhat Tunç was one of the artists who performed in Istanbul on 8 November 2009 in front of 200,000 people protesting for the rights of a religious minority
A statement in favour of a new plan on how the Turkish government should approach the Kurdish issue turned fans of the popular Turkish pop diva Sezen Aksu up against her
On 21 March 2009, a broadcasting editor of a local radio station Dünya in Adana, southern Turkey, was acquitted in a trial brought for the airing of the Kurdish song 'Keçe Kurdan'
Singer and tv host Bülent Ersoy was acquitted of charges against her for having made anti-military remarks during a tv programme broadcasted in February 2008.
Turkish musician Fuat Talay explains (in Danish language) about his personal experiences with music censorship in Turkey which led to his imprisonment and exile
