A group of men disrupted a concert in İstanbul on Monday after a singer performing at it was targeted by the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on social media, the Turkish press reported on Tuesday.
The incident took place while Suavi, a socialist folk singer known for his protest songs, was on stage during a concert organized by the Beykoz Municipality in İstanbul.
A group of men approached the stage, chanting, “We don’t want terrorists in Beykoz,” while making thecontroversial Grey Wolves salute, which is associated with a Turkish ultranationalist group known as the Grey Wolves, seen as the paramilitary wing of the MHP.
Police intervened and prevented the group from reaching the singer.
A day before the event, the Beykoz branch of the MHP had called for Suavi’s concert to be canceled in a social media post, accusing him of “aligning with those who oppose the indivisible unity of the [Turkish] homeland and the nation.”
After the incident, the branch quoted a tweet posted by Suavi in which he said, “The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on,” in reference to the protest during the concert, and said, “He [Suavi] learned his lesson.”
The MHP has been increasingly exerting influence over the Turkish government and spreading racist propaganda abroad.
Over the years MHP supporters have protested, disrupted or attacked artists, intellectuals and activists who are seen as promoting ideas contrary to its hardline nationalist stance. These actions often target leftist figures, Kurdish sympathizers or those advocating for peace and minority rights.
The party formed an alliance with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP) after a 2016 coup attempt, supporting the presidential system of governance and influencing policies, particularly on security and Kurdish issues.
