Latife Tekin, a famous Turkish writer, who was invited to participate in Karabük Culture, Art and Industry Festival, received Karabük Mayor Hüseyin Erer’s reaction, when she started talking against government’s energy policy. Upon Erer’s declaration that she cannot discuss politics, Latife Tekin left the conference. Hüseyin Erer is a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The intellectuals Alper Akçam, Latife Tekin and Vecdi Çırakoğlu were invited to the third year organization of Karabük Culture, Art and Industry Festival. The conference which caused the incident was at the platform built in front of the municipality.
According to the newspaper Hürriyet, Latife Tekin gave the following account to Yalçın Bayer about what she experienced:
Answering Bayer’s question who stopped her speech as “the Mayor of Karabük, Hüseyin Erer of the Justice and Development Party…” she said “We were invited to this festival by Karabük Cultrue and Art Association. I came here with my writer friends Onur Caymaz, Vecdi Çırakoğlu, and Alper Akçam. In my speech, I criticized AKP’s energy policy, its goal of building nuclear plants. I said that these energy policies were against people.
I characterized these policies as despicable. The mayor got up and said that I could not speak like this; I was here with his money. And I said that I had come here with my own money. He told me to shut up. I said I was a known writer of this country. Writers are the consciousness of their countries, their peoples. While this exchange was taking place, the mayor left his place and turned off what looked like the police camera and then the microphone. Then he turned to me and told me talk now. This was an insult. Since the police interfered, nothing physical happened.
When the microphone was turned off, there was nothing I could do. I left the stand. Later my other friends made short speeches and we left Karabük. In meantime, taking advantage of the intense situation, some people threatened Onur Caymaz by saying that they would break his neck…”(EZÖ/TB)
