The Free

Erdoğan joins in Ethnic Cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh -As he did in Afrin

Erdoğan’s support of Aliyev should come as no surprise

from thefreeonline on 30/09/2023 by Robin Fleming at Medya News

In choosing to stand beside Ilham Aliyev, current president of Azerbaijan, Erdoğan has crossed the aisle leaving behind many of his nominal Western allies who have taken strong stances in opposition of Aliyev’s actions in Nagorno-Karabakh, which have been named as ‘mass displacement’ and ‘demographic manipulation’.

(insert – it’s nice that the US and EU proxies ‘verbally’ support the ethnic Armenian majority being expelled from Nagorno Karabakh, but their motives are evil. Nagorno-Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan in the old Soviet Union which collapsed. Then the ethnic Armenians declared independence but got attacked by the Azeri/Turkish. .. Exactly what happened with the ethnic Russians in the small Donbass area of Ukraine! The only difference is that now the cynical US and EU want to court Armenia into NATO against Russia.)

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the controversial but unsurprising decision to stand beside Azerbaijan’s military actions in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, often referred to as Artsakh by Armenians. In a statement he gave addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly he stated:

Erdoğan’s support of Aliyev should come as no surprise

“It is now widely recognised that Karabakh rightfully belongs to Azerbaijan. Any attempt to impose a different status will not be accepted. We stand by Azerbaijan, with which we share the motto of ‘one nation, two states’, in the protection of its territorial integrity”.

These statements come amid chaos in Nagorno-Karabakh. Following a blockade established in December 2022 on the

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, Azerbaijan conducted a large-scale attack, which they called a ‘counter-terrorism operation’ on the region, resulting in dozens of civilian fatalities and even more wounded.

27 films withdraw from Turkish film festival after censorship of docu on 130,000 purge victims

thefreeonline September 30, 2023 by Turkish Minute

The producers and directors of 27 films have announced their withdrawal from the Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey’s Antalya province in reaction to the organizing committee’s decision to remove a documentary depicting the plight of victims of a post-coup purge in Turkey, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the Diken news website on Wednesday.

“We consider the removal of the documentary from the program an open threat to the freedom of artistic expression,” said the producers and directors in a joint statement. “Festivals belong to the public, and we find it unacceptable that they should be subjected to censorship.”

The productions that were withdrawn included seven movies, six documentaries and 14 short films.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government initiated a massive purge of state institutions following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Over 130,000 civil servants lost their jobs due to suspected ties to “terrorist organizations.”

The dismissed individuals also faced barriers to employment in the private sector and restrictions on obtaining passports. Their treatment has been described by human rights groups as “civil death.”

The documentary, titled “Kanun Hükmü” (With the Force of Law), focuses on the challenges faced by Yasemin, a doctor, and Engin, a teacher, who lost their civil service jobs under post-coup emergency decree-laws, known as KHKs, issued by the AKP government.

Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry on Thursday stated that it had withdrawn its support for the Golden Orange Festival. The festival’s sponsors also pulled their support in coordination with the ministry.

Its removal has ignited a storm of criticism.

In an unprecedented move, 20 jury members resigned in protest. Members of the jury for the Adana Altın Koza Film Festival also showed solidarity by expressing their support for the film and its director.

Well-known actors, directors and writers have also voiced their disapproval. Actor, director and writer Orhan Alkaya said those responsible for the removal should “curl up and die—if they can feel shame.”

Münir Korkmaz, a reporter for KHK TV, denounced the removal, saying, “This film was about the honorable struggle of KHK victims. We demand its reinstatement among the competing films.” Turkish film director Ezel Akay echoed the sentiment, labeling the decision a “big mistake.”

The festival’s director, Dr. Ahmet Boyacıoğlu, justified the removal by claiming that an individual in the film is part of an ongoing legal process. Demirci, the film’s director, denied this claim, saying there is no such ongoing legal process and called the removal a “blow to cinema.”

The Fethullah Gülen movement strongly denied having any role in the failed coup in 2016 but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge, firing hundreds of thousands and dehumanizing and jailing popular Gulen figures.

Professional organizations such as the Actors Union, Cinema Workers Union (Sine-Sen) and Documentary Filmmakers Union are among those demanding the reinstatement of the film to the festival. Various jury members have indicated that they will resume their duties only if the film is reinstated.

The Altın Portakal Film Festival is organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, which is run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), and the Antalya Culture and Arts Foundation.

Turkey detains 52 over financial support for jailed Gülen followers Sept 30 2023