Something to make the arts lobby sick with jealousy
How many times have Turner Prize winners and the like declared that they want to shock the public? A fair few times, I would think, and it would also seem to be the ambition of just about every graduate of RADA, the Slade etc etc . No one ever seems to have 'adding to the gaiety of the nation' on their wish list, but less of that later.
Anyway, if this headline - 'Street theatre scares children, shocks nation' - don't fetch 'em, I don't know Arkansaw, or rather Erzurum.
In a late bid for beacon council status, the Mayor of Aşkale, Erzurum province ordered municipal workers to 'dress up as Armenians acting out hanging an imam and murdering a family before being killed themselves by high school students playing the Turkish militia'. The 'educational' playlet was to commemorate the 90th anniversary of what the Mayor considers the liberation of the area, and "They repeat the event every year, he said, so children will always remember what happened. 'Keeping these sentiments alive will give us an honorable future'".
In fairness to the Turks, the main national newspapers are appalled and outraged. Which is a start, although acknowledging the Armenian genocide, or even asking questions as to why there are no Armenians in Erzerum province these days would be better still.
Anyway, if this headline - 'Street theatre scares children, shocks nation' - don't fetch 'em, I don't know Arkansaw, or rather Erzurum.
In a late bid for beacon council status, the Mayor of Aşkale, Erzurum province ordered municipal workers to 'dress up as Armenians acting out hanging an imam and murdering a family before being killed themselves by high school students playing the Turkish militia'. The 'educational' playlet was to commemorate the 90th anniversary of what the Mayor considers the liberation of the area, and "They repeat the event every year, he said, so children will always remember what happened. 'Keeping these sentiments alive will give us an honorable future'".
In fairness to the Turks, the main national newspapers are appalled and outraged. Which is a start, although acknowledging the Armenian genocide, or even asking questions as to why there are no Armenians in Erzerum province these days would be better still.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 at 2:17 pm.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
Asking why there are none is the simplest method.
They are no doubt appalled and outraged because - bar the blaming the victim aspect - this comes awfully close to acknowledging (indeed celebrating) that the Genocide took place.
Still, anything to distract the Turkish public from their army's recent humiliating defeat at the hands of the PKK.
» Post a Comment