Ken Loach and Sezen Aksu, and bigwigs…

“Renewing” itself by replacing its leader, British Labour Party expelled the famous film director Ken Loach from the Party in August of last year. At the Age of 85 when he was suspended, Loach is one of the nine film directors who has twice won the most prestigious award at Cannes Film Festival, winning it for his films, one in 2006 for the Irish War of Independence, the other in 2016, telling the sad story of Daniel Blake who was “denied retirement on disability” despite his illness.

Replacing its “left” highlighted previous leader Jeremy Corbyn with Keir Starmer, a person who holds nobility title “Sir,” the Labour Party had changed course again to the path of Blair, the Iraq war criminal. Sir first suspended Corbyn’s party membership, then finding it not enough, expelled Ken Loach from the Party.

Yet, expelling Loach from the Party could not be a work of a wise person. Having been a “window” figure proving the Party’s leftism, Loach could only contribute positively to, but could never hurt the Labour Party in any way. It could be thought of only by reactionary “sir”s to suspend a positive name that would add glory to the party. There was once a person who peed into the “well of zamzam” in order to get famous. Starmer also demonstrated that he could make the least expected things happen in order to prove “my way is the right way,” and to threaten those who might challenge his leadership. Would he gain glory? No, but his name would only be notoriously remembered, in fact, he needed the attitude for others to draw “lesson”. Without any hesitation, he expelled Ken Loach!

In Turkey, “Art Loving” is also effective besides “exemplary” attitudes. Bigwigs love art very much! They think about Mosque  for “monument,” Janissary Band for music, they enjoy painting and sculpture more than anything else. Above all, they hold at high esteem and sacralise woman, but they decommission all nursing rooms and day care centres at factories, and also outlaw the Istanbul  Convention.

If British have one Ken Loach fallen victim to wrath, we have countless of them.

First coming to mind, Metin Akpınar, who was made subjected to oppression in courts at the age of close to 80; standing firm, Akpinar had hardly avoided being jailed. Mujdat Gezen is another. A master of comedians, Cem Yilmaz is yet one other, our praised composer piano vituoso, Fazli Say; They have not been able to take stage in Turkey. It is the same for Tarkan who has won the hearts and minds of youth. They all receive invitations from other countries and their concerts are sold out, but in Turkey, they are “castrated”!

We don’t even count the journalists and news reporters who have been subjected to be held in jails. We have not counted those stopped in the middle of streets, shot, and killed, either.

Finally, it is “Tiny Sparrow,” Sezen Aksu’s turn. Trolls are searching for every bit of information. They finally find the lyrics of a song that Sezen wrote. She has called Adam and Eve illiterate. How could they be not illiterate, they are claimed to be the first humans. There was no school or medrese that they could be educated. Sezen has stated exactly this. Man, how could you say that! Trolls started it, Bahceli continued with it, finally Erdogan included himself in it: “No one can defame our Prophet Adem. It is our task to snap the tongues defaming him at the opportunity. Nobody can defame our mother Eve. It is also our task to teach them their lessons.” What a task – to snap Sezen Aksu’s tongue!

Do they want to spread scare, or do they want to make it an exemplary act?

But, it is customary to run into wrong persons at wrong times. At the times, when Kenan Evren called them out, others denied that they undersigned the “Communique of Intellectuals,” and there were some who claimed “I thought it was a rental contract.” But now, the times are different, the bigwigs seem to be losing their posts and the artists are genuine artists. Of course, everybody is not like Kilicdaroglu to say “Besides, we would not take it to the streets,” when he was threatened.  Sezen Aksu’s response “The issue is not me, the issue is the country,” and the reply with “Hunter” song lyrics are such kind of responses as to be framed and hung on wall: “Who is the traveller, who is the innkeeper, stop”! And: “You cannot kill me / I have my voice, my instrument, my word / When I say me, I am everyone.” It is one issue if you invite it in, and another if you ignore it!

Yes, Sezen is everybody! Undoubtedly, anyone, who stands firm and does not hold back from having her say, represents everybody. She knows who she is, trusting her people, she stands firm!

What about making it exemplary, what about spreading scarce? Every effort to delay the inevitable end results in the opposite, it further grows the resistance, from now on.

[After three days, Erdoğan took a step back, and said: “My collocutor was not Sezen Aksu there.”]