The political power continues its restrictions and pressures on art and artists. The latest examples of this were AKP's Çorum Mayor Halil İbrahim Aşgın's words towards the Manifest music group, "No Manifest girl can enter Çorum as long as we are here", and the launch of an investigation against artist Mabel Matiz's last song on the charge of "obscenity". These developments attracted intense public reaction.
'We are tired of saying "leave the artists alone"
Music-Sen Chairman Fatih Özakoğlu evaluated the increase in the AKP government's pressure on art and artists to Cumhuriyet. Özakoğlu said, "We are tired of telling the political power to 'leave the artists alone'. Governments have always wanted to get support from art and artists in order to establish their own ideological hegemony over society. For this reason, artists have often been oppressed, and although freedom of artistic expression is a Constitutional right, this right has always been accepted or not accepted 'depending on the situation', as it suits the governments."
'A CLEAR INTERVENTION IN THE LIFESTYLE OF THE SOCIETY'
Emphasizing that this situation "was seen in its most obvious form" during the 25-year AKP government, Özakoğlu said, "A sharp distinction has been made between the artists who can get on the President's plane, sit at his desk, and attend the AKP group meeting, and those who are in opposition. Those in the last group have not been able to benefit from the blessings of the government, and have struggled with constant pressure and investigations."
Stating that the success of these artists and their acceptance rates in society disturb the government, Özakoğlu said, "Banning the stage shows and video clips of artists that the society loves and approves of, so-called 'taking into consideration the morality of the society', is a clear intervention in the lifestyle of the society. The palace regime wants to decide on behalf of people what they can watch and what they cannot watch, what they can listen to and what they cannot listen to, which artists they like and which artists they do not like, how they should have fun, what is good and bad for them. Çorum Mayor." "What Ashgın said is the biggest example of this," he said.
'THE GOVERNMENT REMEMBER ITS DUTY WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE'S LIFESTYLE'
Recalling the article of the Constitution, "The State protects the life of the artist, takes all kinds of measures that will enable the artist to survive by making art, and guarantees that the artist can do his art freely and in prosperity", Özakoğlu said, "Despite this article, approximately 90 percent of the artists try to make art in precarious conditions. They are struggling with pressure, prohibitions, restrictions and investigations. It also forces these artists to comply with self-censorship. The society does not care about how people make a living, how they make ends meet, and deals with the economic problems, unemployment, "The government, which does not worry about insecurity and the livelihood of retirees, does not consider femicide as a crime and child marriage of girls as immoral, remembers that it is in power when it comes to artists' stage performances and people's lifestyles," he said. Özakoğlu also drew attention to the importance of organizing artists against all these events.
