More yea-sayers exposed to attacks, insults before voting

Over the weekend, speakers for two panel discussions organized by the Not Enough but Yes Platform, which lends support to the constitutional amendments to be voted on in this Sunday's public vote, were attacked by protestors.

An ultra-leftist group called Student Collectives, which requested to speak during the panel discussion held at the Taksim Square Hotel on Saturday, threw eggs at famous Turkish author Adalet Ağaoğlu and Democratic Judiciary Association Co-Chairman Osman Can after they were told that they could not speak until the end of the discussion.

A brawl erupted after the attack and the protestors were escorted from the room. The moderator of the panel, Avi Haligua, who presents a radio program on Açık Radyo, told the Anatolia news agency that it was not possible to open the floor to the audience while the discussion was under way since there were 35 people due to speak. Noting that it he did not approve of the “anti-democratic” incident, he said it was unfortunate that Ağaoğlu, who had been working for improved human rights and democracy in Turkey for many years, was exposed to such a reaction -- the first such reaction in her life.

The speakers were also attacked ahead of the platform’s panel discussion in İzmir on Sunday. A group of protestors from the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) entered the discussion room at the Tepekule Congress and Exhibition Hall just before the discussion began and shouted, “You are pro-Justice and Development Party [AK Party], you cannot mention the names of revolutionists.” One of the protestors spilled a bottle of colored water on the speakers, which included Can, sociologist Ferhat Kentel and journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak. The tension eased after the police intervened and removed the protestors from the meeting. The panel discussion continued as scheduled.

Hundreds of Turkish intellectuals have gathered under the motto of “Not Enough but Yes” for the upcoming referendum and have been calling on voters to vote “yes” in the national vote, while maintaining that proposed constitutional amendments do not take reforms far enough.

Renowned Turkish singer Sezen Aksu has been also subjected to a smear campaign since she announced her support for the package. Aksu said she will of course say “yes” to the constitutional amendment package presented by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), but it is not enough. Aksu noted that she will continue to say “yes” to reforms.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Central Executive Board (MYK) member Süheyl Batum recently targeted Aksu with satirical remarks and said. “We though that she was Sezen Aksu but we now learned that she is Sazan Aksu.” Batum made a wordplay that drew the ire of many in his remarks and likened the singer to “sazan” (carp), which is in slang used to refer to people who believe in everything without questioning.

A highly controversial campaign banner of the CHP also comes as an insult to supporters of the package. The banner says those who say to the package in fact says “yes” to Turkish women being dressed like nuns.