Turkey: Armenian folk ensemble among groups banned from festival

Organizers of an outdoor festival to be held in Turkey's Kurdish-majority of Dersim announced on Monday that the governorship did not allow the participation of three groups in the festival.

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They said the governorship stated it was "inappropriate" for the bands Yorum, Isyan Atesi and Armenian folk ensemble Veradardz to perform at the Munzur Culture and Nature Festival.

The three groups will not take the stage, but the festival will be held, organizers added.

The festival was cancelled by the organization committee last year after a similar ban was imposed on Group Yorum and Group Isyan Atesi, both performers of political songs.

The members of the two groups had also been banned from entering the province, and when they tried to defy the ban they were stopped at a bridge near the city and denied crossing.