http://www.counterpunch.org/dickinson03312005.html
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Turkey's War on Political Cartoonists
Cartoon Capers
By MICHAEL DICKINSON, Istanbul
March 31, 2005
When I first came to live in Istanbul nearly twenty years ago
there were only two television channels and a couple of radio
stations, all state-run. Films were censored, and the Turkish
music scene was conventional to say the least, with few pop
stars under the age of thirty. People were drably dressed, and
there wasn't much to do at night but go to a smoky dingy bar or
coffee house, where the clientele was strictly male.
The changes I've witnessed during my time here have been
amazing. Now, apart from worldwide programmes beamed in from
satellite, there are m***** of Turkish channels ranging from
excellent to tat; loads of radio stations to choose from, many
featuring Turkish rock, rap and hip-hop belted out by energetic
young singers who suddenly seemed to appear from nowhere in the
nineties; the bustling streets are filled with trendily dressed
folk on their way to smart bars, cafes and discos where males
and females mix freely.
A remarkably liberal relaxation in philosophy and attitude. But
even twenty years ago there were always the hugely popular
weekly Turkish comics 'Limon', 'Girgir', 'Penguen' outrageous
and anarchic, often black and sick, but always very funny,
pitilessly lampooning Turkish behaviour, no holds barred on ***,
politics or religion. Armed with a dictionary they were my most
enjoyable way of learning the Turkish language and culture. No
President or politician escaped satirical scrutiny, the
spotlight of derision focused on their foibles and corruption.
These comics were a breath of fresh air, a genuine example of
freedom of expression.
So I was dismayed to learn last week that the Prime Minister of
Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, who has long championed himself as an
advocate of free speech, having been jailed himself in 1999 for
reciting a poem deemed 'anti-state', has declared war against
the cartoonists.
After successfully suing the left wing newspaper 'Evrensel' last
year for ****traying him as a horse being led by one of his
advisers, in February this year he sued political cartoonist
Musa Kart for depicting him as a cat tangled in a ball of wool
in the daily '***huriyet', claiming he found the cartoon "deeply
humiliating". Kart was fined 3500 dollars on charges of
'assailing Erdogan's honor'.
A second suit against a smaller newspaper for reprinting the
cartoon was thrown out of court.
"People who are under public light are forced to endure
criticism in the same way that they endure applause", said Judge
Mithat Ali Kabaali in his ruling. . 'A prime minister who was
forced to serve a long jail term for reciting a poem should show
more tolerance to these kinds of criticisms.'
To show solidarity with fellow cartoonist Kart, the weekly
satirical magazine 'Penguen' devoted its February 24 front cover
to drawings of Erdogan with the body of a camel, a frog, a
monkey, a s****, a duck and an elephant, under the title "The
World of Tayyip".
The incensed Prime Minister retaliated by filing a new lawsuit
against the publi****ng house, claiming the pictures "attacked
his individual rights" and demanding 30000 dollars in
compensation for offending him.
"We were not surprised by the news," said the editor, Selcuk
Erdem. "We printed the drawings as a message to say that
cartoonists cannot be silenced."
"This was a test of the sincerity of the prime minister who says
he wants Turkey to be a member of the European Union," Erdem
said. "He has shown his true face."
Turkey's best-known political cartoonists gathered in Istanbul
on Wednesday to protest legal action taken by the prime minister
against artists who criticized him through their work.
Members of the Turkish Cartoonists Assn. accuse Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan of trying to stifle free expression even as
Turkey is preparing to launch talks to win member****p in the
European Union.
"We cartoonists have long faced pressure from politicians,"
Metin Peker, the association's president, said at a news
conference.
"Just as we thought those dark days were over, we have been
confronted with this."
Although Turkey has been my home for the last twenty years I
have usually avoided any comment of the political scene here in
my own collage work, more inspired by the shenanigans of Bush
and Blair and their cronies, but yesterday I decided to break
that rule and show defiance to despotism and solidarity with the
cartoonists of Turkey by adding to my site of collages this picture
of Bush and Erdogan, whom he describes as a 'personal friend'.
MICHAEL DICKINSON is a writer and artist who works as an English
teacher in Istanbul, Turkey. He designed the cover art for two
CounterPunch books, Serpents in the Garden and Dime's Worth of
Difference, as well as Grand Theft Pentagon, forthcoming from
Common Courage Press. He can be contacted through his website of
collage pictures at http://CARNIVAL_OF_CHAOS.TRIPOD.COM
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