Sezen Aksu is one of Turkey’s most popular artists. President Erdogan attacks them, brings numerous people against him – and rows back. What the Aksu case says about artistic freedom in Turkey.
Istanbul – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is known for harsh rhetoric against critics who are a thorn in his side.
But he himself must have been amazed at the reaction to his latest tirade against pop icon Sezen Aksu – revered by numerous people in Turkey. Have the artists in the country triumphed over the president?
Harsh criticism from Erdogan
The story begins with a song from 2017. In “Sahane bir sey yasamak” Aksu sings “Greet me the ignorant, Adam and Eve”. Adam is considered a prophet in Islam. At New Year’s, the pop diva released a new version of the song – and brought religious conservative groups close to the government against her. Some protested in front of the 67-year-old’s house. Aksu is accused of insulting religious values. In a speech in a mosque, Erdogan then threatened that nobody was allowed to speak badly of Adam and “Mother Eve”. “It’s our duty to rip out these tongues if necessary.” Even if he didn’t mention the name Aksus, criticism of the brutal words promptly rained down – sometimes from his own ranks.
Enemy logic divides society
The president’s words are a prime example of hate speech, says Mahmut Cinar, a musician and member of the Art Interrupted association, which deals with issues related to restrictions on artistic freedom. Repression is nothing new in Turkey and is only to be blamed on the ruling AKP. What is new, however, is that the government is openly supporting the values of radical Islamic and conservative groups and is trying to impose these artists. In 2017, Erdogan regretted that in a speech he had power over politics, but not over the arts. The attack against Aksu was intended as a message to conservative-religious voters, says Cinar. With this enemy logic, Erdogan is trying to push the division of society and to swear more voters to himself.
But Erdogan does not seem to have quite achieved this goal with the attack. Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan, wrote in the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak that a large section of conservative religious groups believe Aksu does not deserve such a reaction. “Sezen Aksu has great cultural value in Turkey, people like her across many political camps,” says Naci Tepedelen. Tepedelen is a musician and researches, among other things, the role of religious sounds in Turkey today.
The fact that the President could have crossed a red line with the threat against one of the country’s most popular artists was also immediately clear to his immediate circle. According to media reports, communications director Fahrettin Altun wanted to capture Erdogan’s statements. He instructed journalists who were in the mosque during the speech not to quote Aksu’s sentences. But videos of the performance quickly spread.
The country’s broadcasting authority acted completely in line. The vice-president of RTÜK – actually founded as an impartial organization – had to defend himself against criticism after making calls through stations demanding that from now on only music consistent with moral and national values should be played. That was well-intentioned advice to protect the broadcasters from penalties, the deputy later argued.
Art is stronger than propaganda
Aksu has now responded to the hostilities with a poem. Title: Hunter. In it she writes: “I am the prey, you are the hunter. Come on, shoot. (…) You can’t kill me. I have my voice, my instrument and my word. And when I say I, I mean all of us.”
More than 200 artists have signed a statement expressing their solidarity with Aksu. The Izmir Lawyers’ Association, for example, called Erdogan’s statements “lynching terms” and accused him of totalitarianism. Attacking the pop diva was a big mistake by Erdogan, says Cinar. Apparently the president had to admit that too. Days later, he backtracked in a TV interview, claiming his words had nothing to do with Aksu.
Erdogan’s backtracking shows that art is incredibly strong in Turkey, despite all the repression, says Cinar. “It’s still so strong that it even makes the President stop, think and regret something.” Turkish star pianist Fazil Say has already announced that he will compose music for Aksu’s poem. He will make every effort to be secular, he wrote on Twitter. dpa
