Nationalist Singer and Composer on Trial

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a trial against nationalist singer Ismail Türüt and composer Arif Sirin (also known as “Bard” Sirin) because of the controversial song “Plan, don’t make a plan”.

Furthermore, two people preparing a clip shown on the YouTube website which was accompanied by the song are also on trial. The four are accused of “praising a criminal” and “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”.

Lyrics of the song

The song, composed by Arif Sirin and sung by Ismail Türüt, went as follows:

Plan, do not make a plan, that does not suit the Black Sea,
Stabs in the back, lies and untruths do not succeed at the Black Sea,
Let neither Johnny (i.e. the Americans) nor the Russians lay traps,
The horn of separatism does not blow at the Black Sea,
Stop ringing (church) bells, stop being pro-Armenian,
The people do not swallow such food at the Black Sea,
Let them say this on that day ("Ogün") and this today,
The Black Sea does not run out of Fatihas (Muslim prayer) and Yasins
Put forth your honour, glory and life,
At the Black Sea no one sells their homeland,
If a person sells the homeland, business ends immediately,
The sun of the Turk and Islam does not set at the Black Sea,
As long as we stand like that, even if Bush is your uncle,
Your jeer is not worth five cent.
We know you're offended and hold a grudge,
(But) you're not strong enough to cause a disturbance at the Black Sea.

It is assumed that the line "Let them say this on that day",where "that day" can be read as a name, "Ogün", refers to murder suspect O.S., and the line "The Black Sea does not run out of [...] Yasins" to Yasin Hayal, who stands accused of planning the murder.

Clip on YouTube

The clip which was shown on YouTube was a collage of images referring to the murder of Hrant Dink, with an intent of praising the murder suspects of the journalist.

The prosecution has concluded its investigation into the clip.

Up to 7.5 years imprisonment

According to “Agos” newspaper, the prosecution is demanding up to 7.5 years imprisonment for Sirin, Türüt and the two other defendants.

The Istanbul Police Department found out that the clip was put onto YouTube by Hakan Öztekin, who used the nickname “MICHeCK” and Zeynel Abidin Mutlu who used the nickname “dafmaniac” and used an internet provider in Austria.

Öztekin claims that there was no criminal intent in the preparation of the clip, while Mutlu said that it was supposed to be an advertisement.

Clear connection to Hrant Dink murder 

However, prosecutor Nurten Altinok came to the conclusion that the clip contained praise of Hrant Dink’s murder and those responsible for it, as well as incitement to violence. The indictment found direct references in the song to the murder of Dink. According to the indictment, the  line “Stop ringing (church) bells, stop being pro-Armenian” refer to the mourners at Dink’s funeral who carried placards reading “We are all Armenian”; the lines “If a person sells the homeland, business ends immediately, The sun of the Turk and Islam does not set at the Black Sea” incited hatred and hostility towards people who were not Turkish or not Muslims. (EÖ/AG)