Nazeri is a singer from the Kurdish province of Kermanshah, western Iran. He is credited as the first person to incorporate the poetry of Sufi poet Rumi into both Kurdish and Persian music. He was due to perform in the Turkish city of Konya, where Rumi is buried.
Nazeri has previously performed at a yearly-held concert in Konya commemorating Rumi’s life and work, but refuses to do so this year in light of Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria in October.
“In solidarity to the suffering and plight of Syrian Kurdish women, men and children, and as a sign of respect to the brave and dear people of mine, my concert in Konya will not be performed,” ISNA reported Nazeri as saying in a statement, “because Mawlana [Rumi] was the harbinger of human consciousness, who called for peace and friendship throughout the world.”
Following months of threats, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria on October 9, to uproot and push back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from its border by 32 kilometers. It seeks to resettle up to three million Syrians who had sought refuge in Turkey in the resulting ‘safe zone.’
Operations have largely come to a halt, following ceasefire deals with both the US and Russia. However, a large stretch of land, that stretches from the two border towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ayn) and Tel Abyad (Gire Spi) and villages, with a depth of 30 kilometers, are now controlled by Turkey.
Turkey’s President Recep Teyyip Erdogan announced Monday that work has commenced to settle one million Syrian refugees in areas it now controls.
“We have started work on settling one million people in the two cities of Tel Abyad [Gire Spi] and Ras al-Ayn [Sari Kani],” Erdogan was quoted as saying in a speech at the Islamic Cooperation Organization in Istanbul by state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
Operation Peace Spring was met with international condemnation, with hundreds of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands more displaced from northern Syria as a result of the operation.
Nazeri is the second prominent Kurdish artist from Iran to snub a concert in Turkey since it launched its invasion.
World-renowned classical musician Keyhan Kalhor cancelled a concert in Istanbul in October in response to the operation.
Other Kurds outside northeast Syria have also engaged in acts of solidarity with those subjected to the invasion. Iraqi Kurds launched a boycott campaign of Turkish goods in October, while Kurds and their allies worldwide have protested Turkey’s operation.
