JINHA

ISTANBUL – Police in Istanbul prevented yesterday evening’s showing of the documentary “Sara,” which chronicles the life of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) co-founder Sakine Cansız.

Sakine Cansız was among the founding members of the PKK. She was assassinated, along with Kurdish woman activists Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris, in Paris on January 9, 2013. The Istanbul showing of “Sara,” the documentary of Sakine Cansız’s life, was scheduled to take place yesterday at the Atlas Cinema in the downtown Beyoğlu.

Yesterday, police called in artists from the Mesopotamia Culture Center (the group organizing the film screening) and told them, “We can’t guarantee your safety; you can’t show the film.” The culture center artists decided to cancel the screening to ensure that no harm came to the viewers.

“They impose self-censorship for their empire of fear. When it comes to Kurds, the movie house is shut down,” said “Sara” producer Elif Elgin Şimşek, making a statement outside the cinema to explain the situation to those who had come to watch the film.

(dek/sg/fk/cm)