TURUT: MAKERS OF THE VIDEO HAVE NO CHARACTER
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
19.09.2007
Folk singer Ýsmail Turut has condemned the makers of the video set
to his song and broadcast on YouTube; the controversial images and
lyrics that eulogized the suspects in the murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink have already caused the Ýstanbul Chief Prosecutor
to begin an investigation into the song and the video.
Ýsmail Turut "I’m so bothered by the video. It’s so despicable. The
ones who made it have no character. It’s not suitable with my character
and beliefs. I condemn the makers of the video. My song doesn’t have
any relation to Hrant Dink or his murder," the singer said yesterday.
The video, set to his song "Don’t Make Any Plans," is threatening,
showing the body of the slain editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly
Agos to the lyrics, "If a person betrays the country, he is finished
off." Turut said he talked to his lawyer and will do whatever necessary
to find the makers of the video and have them punished.
He also said he was disturbed by the Jan. 19 murder of Dink, saying:
"I wish he hadn’t been killed. Nobody can take another’s life. I’m
a Muslim and that’s my belief."
Indicating that he reads the columns of almost every Turkish writer,
including Dink, Turut said he hadn’t agreed with Dink’s views,
but nor did he agree with his murder. "You don’t have to agree with
somebody’s views, but you can’t kill him because you don’t agree with
him," he elaborated.
Asked by Today’s Zaman about his song’s ultra-nationalistic tone,
Turut, a Black Sea regional folksinger, said he wanted to draw
attention to his region: "I desired to attract attention to the games
being played with the Black Sea region. I have similar songs in my
other recordings. This one is misinterpreted. I received a lot of
congratulatory messages from the public after my recording was released
a week ago." Turut claimed that Greece and Russia have designs on the
Turkish Black Sea region and plans to divide the country and that’s
what concerns him.
The Ýstanbul Police Department prepared a file on Monday consisting of
the video and related news before sending it to the Chief Prosecutor’s
Office for investigation. Ýstanbul Press Prosecutor Nurten Altýnok
said the investigation will involve both an inquiry into those who
posted the video on YouTube and the lyrics, regarding whether or not
they constitute a crime. Turut and lyricist Ozan Arif will also be
investigated. The Human Rights Association (ÝHD) and the Association
of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER)
have also announced that they will collectively file a lawsuit against
Turut and Arif.
Turut said he will testify today at the Sultanahmet Court in Ýstanbul.
A prominent member of Turkey’s Armenian community, Dink campaigned
for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but was hated by nationalists
for describing the killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as
genocide — a charge that Turkey rejects. Dink’s murder shocked the
nation and more than 100,000 people marched at his funeral, chanting,
"We are all Hrant, we are all Armenian."
Dink’s family asked prosecutors to take judicial action against
the police on charges of protecting Dink’s murderer in July. The
application concerned members of security forces who took "souvenir
pictures" with the 17-year-old self-confessed killer, O.S., after he
was captured in the northern Black Sea city of Samsun, a day after
shooting Dink in Ýstanbul, on Jan. 19. Footage leaked to the media at
the time showed officers posing with the hit man as he held a Turkish
flag, unleashing accusations that some officials may secretly approve
of the murder. The video set to Turut’s song also shows a re-enactment
of the pictures of Dink’s alleged murderer posing in front of the
Turkish flag after he was captured.
Is it freedom of speech?
Meanwhile Ankara Bar Association President Ahsen Coþar said he
doesn’t want to believe reports that one of his colleagues, the
Ýzmir Bar Association president, supported Turut’s right to sing
that song. "If he supported Turut’s right to sing such a song —
as Turut and the writer of the lyrics are under investigation —
it is very unfortunate for us. Turut and Arif’s unlawful acts are
being investigated. He shouldn’t be making a statement about it. It’s
unfortunate that a bar association’s president does something like
that," Coþar said yesterday.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency late on Monday, Ýzmir Bar
Association President Nevzat Erdemir supported Turut’s right to
sing his song saying there was nothing wrong being "patriotic" and
expressing one’s feelings through a song. Erdemir yesterday clarified
his position to the Cihan news agency, explaining that he doesn’t
support Turut but his right to freedom of speech.
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