Artists to Erdoğan: I vote, I have the right to talk about politics
Click to read the article in Turkish
Speaking in a live broadcast yesterday (August 11), President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "Their profession is art. May they practice their profession and we will respect them based on their rate of success. Snap election, the presidential system is not right and all... Leave it be, it is our job. You wouldn't understand it."
CLICK - Erdoğan uses prompter to answer questions in live broadcast
Several artists have criticized these words on social media:
Oy kullaniyorum. Siyaset konusmak hakkimdir. Karar vermek hakkimdir. Soz vatandasinsa, vatandas olarak hakkimdir.
— Gonca Vuslateri (@gonca_vuslateri) August 11, 2021
"I cast vote. It is my right to talk about politics. It is my right to give a decision. If the citizen has the word, it is my right as a citizen."
Oy veren herkes siyasete burnunu sokar. İster sanatçı olsun ister nalbur. Kimse de bu konu hakkında kimseye ayar veremez. Anayasa ortada.
— DD (@reddvox) August 11, 2021
"Everyone who votes meddles in politics. Be that an artist or a hardware dealer... Mo one can scold anyone about it. The Constitution is clear."
politika bir meslek değildir, düşünme ve ifade biçimidir. kimsenin ya da bir meslek grubunun tekelinde değildir.
— Redd(@reddseyirdefter) August 11, 2021
seçme ve seçilme hakkı ve ifade özgürlüğü anayasa ile belirtilmiştir.
sanat politik bir duruş, ifade barındırmıyorsa ona da çoğunlukla sanat denmez.
"Politics is not a profession; it is a way of thinking and expressing. It is not in the monopoly of any person or professional group.
"The right to elect and to be elected and freedom of expression have been set by the Constitution. If the art does not involve a political stance or expression, it cannot be called art most of the time."
Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımız sanatçı olabilmeyi kolay bir şey zannediyor sanırım. İşin temelinde matematik, yetenek ve öğrenilmesi gereken binlerce teknik bilgi olduğunun farkında değil.
— yasemin göksu (@yasgoksu) August 12, 2021
Ez cümle her sanatçı siyaset yapabilir ama çok az siyasetçi sanatçı olabilir. https://t.co/QdAiO0duKV
"Our Mr. President must be of the opinion that being able to be an artist is something easy. He is not aware that maths, talent and thousands of technical information to be learned underlie it. In short, every artist can do politics, but very few politicians can be artists."
inekler kırmızı, tavuklar beyaz et, sanatçılar da sebze. https://t.co/0NRwPnZrlB
— levent kazak (@levent_kazak) August 12, 2021
"Cows are red, chickens are white meat, artists are vegetation."
What happened?
During a live broadcast in the evening on August 11, Erdoğan was asked, "An entity that calls itself the 'Artists Initiative' made a statement of 'We are concerned.' There are some remarks targeting the Presidential government system. What do you think about such statements?
Erdoğan answered this question as follows: "It goes in my one ear and out the other. Their profession is art. May they practice it whatever art it is and we will respect them based on their rate of success. Snap election, the presidential system is not right and all... Leave it be, it is our job. We have devoted our entire lives to this. You wouldn't understand it. If you understand the piano, play it; if you play the violin, play it and let us listen; if you play the saz, play it and we will listen. Don't meddle in these affairs. It is our job." (AÖ/SD)
