|
Kurdish woman activist arrested in Turkey
14.2.2012 |
|
|
|
February 14, 2012
ISTANBUL, — Hundreds of Kurdish activists
have been arrested since 2011, among them
politicians, writers, journalists and campaigners in
Turkey. Activists in Turkey have told us more than
one hundred were
arrested in
anti-Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) operations in
the early hours on Monday.
According to figures from ANF, more than 400 have
been arrested since the beginning of February.
House raids and arrests were carried out in 16
different cities. Mizgin Müjde Arslan was among
those arrested on Monday, she was born in Mardin ( 8
June, 1981). Arslan is a filmmaker, and writer,
currently doing researching aspects of Kurdish
stories as a PhD student. She has contributed to
both the Turkish and Kurdish cinema. She is
currently working on ‘I flew, you stayed’ which is a
story inspired by her childhood. Her father died as
a freedom fighter when she was very little, and has
been a source of inspiration for this film. In 2009,www.ekurd.net
she became the editor on the first book on Kurdish
cinema. The book, ‘Kurdish Cinema: Rootlessnes,
Border and Death’ has been published in Turkish,
with plans to translate it into English and Kurdish.
I spoke to Arslan’s friend, Beri Shalmashi, a
Kurdish writer and director based in Holland. She
expressed her frustration and dismay with Turkey’s
arbitrary arrests of Kurdish activists “It is sad to
see how such a beautiful country as turkey is still
two-faced”. Shalmashi added, “As a filmmaker, it
hurts to see how colleagues in Turkey can’t speak
the tongue of their heart, when for a moment it
seemed like things were actually changing in a
positive way.”
The international media has disregarded and ignored
arbitrary arrests of Kurdish journalists, writers
and activists, which has given Turkey the green
light to continuously arrest Kurds with little
accountability. Shalmashi explained “I am
disappointed to see how little knowledge and
attention there is, on an international level, for
these hundreds and hundreds of arrestment and
Turkeys policy towards the Kurdish issue throughout
the last few years, and this winter in particular.
The events lately are obviously no casualties.”
Arslan is currently doing research as a PhD student
in the field of cinema.
Profile: Mizgin Müjde
Arslan
Arslan was born in 1981 in Mardin, Turkey. She
received her undergraduate degree from Dicle
University Biology Department. She got her MA degree
from the Faculty of Communication in Marmara
University from Department of Cinema. In the past
she has worked as a journalist in DIHA (Dicle News
Agency), “Yedinci Gündem” and “Gündem” newspapers.
She has written essays on culture and cinema, which
have been published in various magazines and
newspapers. After her first short film “Son Oyun”,
she directed other short films “Nora” and “Tov” and
a documentary film called “Kirasê Mirinê: Hewîtî”.
She is also the author of the book, “Rejisör Atıf
Yılmaz” (Director: Atıf Yılmaz) and “Kürt Sineması:
Yurtsuzluk, Sınır ve Ölüm” (Kurdish Cinema:
Statelessness, Border and Death) and “Yeşim Ustaoğlu:
Su, Ölüm ve Yolculuk” (Yesim Ustoglu: Water, Death
and Journey).
Filmography
2006 Son Oyun / The Last Game, short fiction, 2006,
13’ (Producer, Scriptwriter, Director)
2009 Tov / The Seed, short fiction, 2009, 14’
(Producer, Scriptwriter, Director)
2009 Kirasê Mirinê: Hewîtî / A Fatal Dress:
Polygamy, feature documentary, 2009, 45’ (Producer,
Scriptwriter, Director)
2010 Kamkasa Vit Vit, 2010, 28′ (Producer,
Scriptwriter, Director)
2010 Şarê, 2010, 12’50’’ (Co-director, co
scriptwriter with Irfan Taşkın)
Awards
Son Oyun / The Last Game
Marmara University Short Film Competition – Best
Cinematograpy Mention Award
PAM Environment Film Festival – Encourage Award
Tohum Short Film Festival – Love and Friendship
Award
Mediterranean Short Film Festival of Tangier –
Mention Award
Boston Documentary and Short Film Competition – The
Best Short Film
Tov / The Seed
Boston Documentary and Short Film Competition-
Mention Awardİstanbul Environment Film Festival,
Secondary Award
Please sign this petition
calling for the release of Mizgin Müjde Arslan.
By Ruwayda Mustafah Rabar
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
kurdishrights.org
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|
®
