August 13, 2009 - 13:29 AMT
Turkish authorities try to thwart the will of musician Aram Tigran to be buried in Diarbekir
Well-known singer of Kurdish music Aram Tigran (Melikyan) died on August 8 in Athens. Born in 1934 in Turkey's region populated by kurds, Aram Tigran lived more than 20 years in Armenia (1966 - 1995). Aram Tigran combined features of the Armenian, Arab, Kurdish and Turkish musical culture.

As Ara Papian, director of the Modus Vivendi Center told a PanARMENIAN.Net, before the death Aram Tigran expressed his will to be buried in the Armenian cemetery in the town of his ancestors - Diarbekir in Turkey. Relatives of Aram Tigran turned to Turkey's foreign ministry for permission. In various countries permission of police and doctors is required. It turned out that in Turkey for dumping the foreign national the decision of the government is necessary. In fact, this complicated procedure is aimed at preventing millions of descendants of deported Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians from returning to their historical homeland, even after death.

On August 12, the minister of internal affairs of Turkey Beşir Atalay said that the request of relatives to bury the musician Aram Tigran in Diarbekir is denied.