Those "jazz lover- white Turks" who booed and stopped Aynur Doğan, the Kurdish singer, are the very source of Turkey's many social problems. In terms of democratic rights they are not different and mostly worse than AKP government whom they hate with their fullest vigor. Based on being a citizens in this country for ages, I am definitely sure that those protesters are the biggest hypocrites. I don't believe they really care about the 13 fallen soldiers. Most of them will use their connections to place their relatives in less dangerous stations in military service when time came, or comes… Despite their civilized, educated, westernized outlook, they are full of hatred to all those subaltern classes. They are not really against terrorism but they are against Kurdishness itself and they used a terrorist act to justify their hatred. Beware of these assholes, they are ready to attack, they are ready to plot for crimes of hatred and they have to stopped…. In all over the country, one should check out the "local notables"- local versions of nationalist Turks spreading ethnic hatred…

A Harbiye Concert and The Kurdish Issue

from Bianet :: English
During the "Women of Water" concert, friday night at Harbiye's Open Air Theatre, a group of Turks protested against Kurdish singer Aynur for singing in Kurdish. She was forced to cut her performance short and left after the third song.
 

Turkish nationalist concert-goers protest Aynur songs in Kurdish

from Hurriyet Dailynews by ISTANBUL- Daily News with wires
Renowned Turkish-Kurdish singer Aynur Doğan was forced to leave the stage Friday night by concert-goers who were angered by her songs in Kurdish.

La chanteuse Aynur et Lalihan (102 ans): deux dangereuses terroristes kurdes démasquées.

from YOL (routes de Turquie et d'ailleurs) by anne

Bonjour l'ambiance au festival de jazz d'Istanbul. De grands amoureux de leur patrie en danger y ont démasquée l'ennemie à abattre : la chanteuse kurde Aynur Dogan.

Pain that blinds, rage that diverts

from Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news :: Columnists by YAVUZ BAYDAR
This summer threatens to be another one marred by pain and outrage. The killing of 13 soldiers in Silvan by the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) and the hasty declaration of “democratic autonomy” by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), a local wing of the PKK, were the types of acts that many feared as the worst possible to derail the process for peace.
 

Anti-Kurdish protest breaks out at Istanbul jazz concert

from Hurriyet Dailynews by ISTANBUL – Radikal
Kurdish singer Aydun Doğan received protests from the audience at a jazz concert on Friday for singing in Kurdish. While Doğan said the festival organizers invited her for her songs in Kurdish, others condemned what happened, saying that many people direct the anger they feel at the PKK toward all Kurdish people.

In other social news:
 

Another sculpture crisis leaves Elazığ assembly torn

by ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires
The removal of a symbolic monument in the eastern province of Elazığ to make way for new road construction has angered the municipality assembly and union members.

Musique(s) Arabesk, ça continue en Turquie : rock, folk, kolbastı …

from YOL (routes de Turquie et d'ailleurs) by anne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij0vZM54qDc&feature=autoplay&list=AVGxdCwVVULXdDkaCyuBI_KIFZHfY7nflH&index=2&playnext=2

Comme je m'y attendais un peu, la publication du premier billet sur la musique arabesk a donné lieu à un nouveau long commentaire de son auteur Meh. Un commentaire toujours aussi riche que je choisis  de publier lui aussi sous forme de second billet sur la ou plutôt les musiques Arabesk (en attendant que Meh se décide à chercher un éditeur et publie un livre sur la question. J'ignore si ça fait partie de ses projets, mais j'en profite pour lui suggérer l'idée).

Free circumcision makes good politics in Turkey | Reuters

Quote of the Week: “Miniaturk and representations of Turkish history” by Ipek Türeli

from Changing Turkey in a Changing World by Changing Turkey
Excerpt from Ipek Türeli (2010) “Modelling Citizenship in Turkey’s Miniature Park”, in Orienting Istanbul: Cultural Capital of Europe? Edited by Deniz Gokturk, Levent Soysal and Ipek Türeli, Routledge, Chapter 6.
 

No cola in school canteens this year

by HDN
In an effort to encourage students to have a balanced diet and to prevent obesity, Turkey’s Health Ministry and the Ministry of Education have launched a program for the 2011-2012 term.