Minister on Enes Kara: ‘A young person died, it is considered a communication problem’

* News and photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık addressed reporters last week and commented on the latest developments in Turkey.

Answering the questions of journalists, Minister Yanık described university student Enes Kara's death as a "communications problem".

Enes Kara (20) was a sophomore at the Fırat University Faculty of Medicine in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ. Shortly after he posted a video where he talked about his anxiety about the future and the pressure that he had faced at the dorm of a religious community where he said he was forced to stay by his family, Enes Kara committed suicide.

Commenting on the incident, Family Minister Yanık said, "We need to be careful about this: We have to underline that suicide is not a way of resolving problems for our young people or any individual."

Yanık briefly added the following:

"Looking at what is written and what comments are made after the passing of Enes Kara, I must say that I have been concerned about whether it may lead to a 'triggering by imitation.' When we look at it in terms of families, we see a typical problem of lack of communication.

"In our works, our family training programs and in all social service activities undertaken by the Ministry in general, there is an emphasis on how important intrafamilial communication and social communication is and we have been stepping up our works about this.

"We may talk about and discuss several other things but there are two important things. A young child has died and it is considered to be a communication problem. Such situations are outside the politics, our political standings and ideological camps; they are so valuable that they cannot be a material for these. The right to life is one of them.

"In evaluating the incident of Enes Kara and similar incidents... We all have ideologies and world views and it is normal, too. But we have to set aside these identities, we have to put aside these clothes and look at it as a person and as a member of this society.

"Unfortunately, I see that Enes Kara has also become a tool of this debate and I am extremely sorry about this."

What happened?

Enes Kara (20), a sophomore at the Fırat University Faculty of Medicine in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ, talked about his anxiety about the future and the oppression that he faced at the dormitory of a religious community; Kara took his own life afterwards.

The video that he posted nearly a month before the incident was widely shared on social media after his passing. Leaving a suicide note as well, Kara said that though he was not a Muslim, the dorm where he was staying was forcing him to perform daily prayers, attend the classes of the religious community and do daily chores such as cooking and cleaning.

"I have lost my entire joy for life and enthusiasm in the situation that I have found myself in," he said in the video.

Enes Kara's father Mehmet Kara applied to the İskenderun 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace and said that in the news about Enes Kara, "his personality rights were attacked, the news and videos increased their grief, the related content violated privacy, he was subjected to social pressure and the publications were increasing the aggrievement of the family."

Citing these reasons, father Mehmet Kara said that the news reports were "insulting his personality rights" and requested censorship.

The İskenderun 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace has accepted the request and imposed an access block on news reports about Enes Kara.

Also, local journalist Faik Akgün, who reported on the suicide of Enes Kara, has been removed from office as the managing editor and the news report has been removed from the website. (AÖ/SD)