Erdogan targetting music
Turkey
15 Jul 2018
/ 09:14
Some comments about the latest developments in Turkey. By Makis Martinis
In 1935 the first post-Ottoman President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk asked the distinguished German composer and music educationalist Paul Hindemith to completely reform the country’s musical education system and bring it in line with western Europe. Today, in 2018, the first ….. post-Ottoman Sultan of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is taking steps in the opposite direction in the field of literature and the arts – including music.
Having limited the responsibilities of Parliament and abolished the position of Prime Minister, having ‘cleaned up’ the armed forces and security forces, the judiciary and diplomatic systems, the academic and educational systems as well as the unfavourable mass media, he has now turned to Culture. Up to now this ‘Stalinist’ persecution has been ‘justified’ by the emergency powers imposed on Turkey following the attempted coup in 2016, but is now being carried out according to the Constitution (sic) following the recent amendments which, amongst other things, have converted the country’s political system into a Presidential one with a large number of powers now being concentrated in the hands of the President.
According to the Turkish media, by Presidential Decree the operation of national theatres, national ballet companies and the Turkish Opera has been suspended without any indication as to when they will start operating again. According to the Presidential Decree, this is in order for “Arts and Cultural organizations to become aligned with the new Presidential system of government”.
And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. A few months ago the state television and radio network TRT prohibited the broadcasting of 208 Turkish folk and pop songs as their content was considered by Erdoğan’s Government to be ‘unsuitable’. 66 of these were prohibited because they were in Kurdish and considered to have ‘political content’, whereas others were prohibited because their lyrics were considered to encourage smoking and drinking of alcohol - thus leading to ‘moral degeneration’.
TRT tweeted that it was merely carrying out the law regarding television and radio media and that broadcasts should not be damage ‘national and moral values’ and encouraged other networks to ‘follow its example’. At the recent celebration for his inauguration, President Erdoğan insisted on the Ottoman Empire anthem being played instead of the Turkish national anthem. In a campaign speech a few days earlier he had said, “At home my grandson marches like a Jannisary (elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops). Can’t composers produce music like that of the Jannisaries?” Units of the Turkish Army in Syria aren’t accompanied by modern bands but by Ottoman Mehtar bands with zurnas (pipes) and drums to ‘uplift morale’…
The problem is that some people in Greece continue to believe that we can have a ‘healthy and honest’ dialogue with this Turkish government on subjects such as the release of the two Greek soldiers being held improperly in Adrianopolis (Edirne) etc. ….
Having limited the responsibilities of Parliament and abolished the position of Prime Minister, having ‘cleaned up’ the armed forces and security forces, the judiciary and diplomatic systems, the academic and educational systems as well as the unfavourable mass media, he has now turned to Culture. Up to now this ‘Stalinist’ persecution has been ‘justified’ by the emergency powers imposed on Turkey following the attempted coup in 2016, but is now being carried out according to the Constitution (sic) following the recent amendments which, amongst other things, have converted the country’s political system into a Presidential one with a large number of powers now being concentrated in the hands of the President.
According to the Turkish media, by Presidential Decree the operation of national theatres, national ballet companies and the Turkish Opera has been suspended without any indication as to when they will start operating again. According to the Presidential Decree, this is in order for “Arts and Cultural organizations to become aligned with the new Presidential system of government”.
And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. A few months ago the state television and radio network TRT prohibited the broadcasting of 208 Turkish folk and pop songs as their content was considered by Erdoğan’s Government to be ‘unsuitable’. 66 of these were prohibited because they were in Kurdish and considered to have ‘political content’, whereas others were prohibited because their lyrics were considered to encourage smoking and drinking of alcohol - thus leading to ‘moral degeneration’.
TRT tweeted that it was merely carrying out the law regarding television and radio media and that broadcasts should not be damage ‘national and moral values’ and encouraged other networks to ‘follow its example’. At the recent celebration for his inauguration, President Erdoğan insisted on the Ottoman Empire anthem being played instead of the Turkish national anthem. In a campaign speech a few days earlier he had said, “At home my grandson marches like a Jannisary (elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops). Can’t composers produce music like that of the Jannisaries?” Units of the Turkish Army in Syria aren’t accompanied by modern bands but by Ottoman Mehtar bands with zurnas (pipes) and drums to ‘uplift morale’…
The problem is that some people in Greece continue to believe that we can have a ‘healthy and honest’ dialogue with this Turkish government on subjects such as the release of the two Greek soldiers being held improperly in Adrianopolis (Edirne) etc. ….
