TURKEY
Less freedom, more trouble for Turkish cartoonists
Boyabat, Turkey, October 5, 2002 - Cartoonists
Aksin Ayrancioglu and Seyit Saatci had an exhibition in Boyabat
Public Library in early June. Police made it a short-lived experience
however, when they confiscated their art. According to an e-mail
WittyWorld received from Turkey, the cartoonists were detained
and interrogated overnight. The cartoonists were charged under Section159/1-31-33-36
of Turkish Law with insulting State Security and were facing one
to six years of imprisonment. A recent change in the law put a new
spin on the case. On the 26th of September a Boyabat court pondered
jurisdiction issues and ordered to first decide where the trials
should be held. It appears that the case will wind up in the hands
of the Supreme Court.
Winners of the Nasreddin Hoca competition
Ankara, Turkey, September 12, 2002
- The 22th International Nasreddin Hoca Cartoon Contest has concluded.
Pictured above is the jury (from top left): Spiro Raduloviç
(Yugoslavia), Cristian Topan (Romania),
Oto Anton Reisinger (Croatia - Head of the Jury), Delcho
Mihajlov (Macedonia), Kamil Masaraci (Turkey),
Todor Todorov (Bulgaria), Ismet Lokman
(Turkey), Ercan Akyol (Turkey), Metin Peker
(Turkey - President of the Cartoonists Association of Turkey), Nurhayat
Berker (Representative of Istanbul Stock Exchange), and
Tayfun Akgul (Turkey and of WittyWorld). See list
of winners on the right.
Cartoonist and reader fired for same cartoon
Istanbul, Turkey, August 29, 2002 - Although one was the creator, the other a reader, Tayfun Akgul
and Turan Ozturk had shared fate in which both were fired from
their jobs for the same cartoon. Akgul, chief senior research scientist
at the Marmara (Marble Sea) Research Centre has also been a cartoonist
for over a decade. One of his recent drawings criticizing the institute's
policies (see below) caught the eye of Ozturk, a senior researcher
at the same institution. 
Unaware of who the cartoonist was--Akgul uses a pseudonym--he copied
and distributed the cartoon via email. Apparently, for Akgul, the
drawing was the last drop for he had run into philosophical disagreements
with his new management and he was fired from his job. Meanwhile,
the administration took notice of Ozturk's e-mails, questioned him,
and subsequently terminated his job as well. Thus both the cartoonist
and his reader lost their jobs for the same cartoon. Probably a first
in history.
A Call for help: Turkish cartoonists
in trouble
Boyabat, Turkey, June 20, 2002 -
Shortly before their exhibition (June 5-9, 2001) in Boyabat, the police
raided the show of Seyit Saatci and Askin Ayrancioglu. They
took the cartoonists into custody and held them overnight. Authorities then
brought a lawsuit against the two, because seven of the exhibited cartoons
were found highly objectionable by the state. Two of those were drawn by
Saatci and five by Ayranciouglu (one of which is shown above). A hearing
took place in February, which, because of a change in the Turkish judiciary
system, was followed by a May 22 hearing. Their files were sent to the "Fundamental
Law of Court" (reporter's translation) which could charge them up to
three years in prison. The artists both had stated that their work is "an
art of criticism" and that it is "against all kinds of injustice."
See more cartoons in our censorship
section and visit the web site of the Eastern
European Cartoonists Rights Network to find out what you can do to help.
 A new award given in the name of a legend
Istanbul, Turkey, March 30, 2002 - In the framework of the celebrations of the great master Cemal
Nadir Guler in the centenary year of his birth, the Association of Turkish
Cartoonists presented the first of the `Cemal Nadir Guler Honor Award` to
Oguz Aral, in a ceremony held in Istanbul, Turkey on March 30, 2002.
Many Turkish cartoonists, journalists and artists attended the ceremony,
including Cemal Nadir`s daugher Gonul Tunaman. WittyWorld's
Sema Ündeger and Tayfun Akgul were also present. The
award was presented by the Undersecretary of Ministry of Culture, Mr. Hasan
Huseyin Akbulut. Oguz Aral is a professional cartoonist who has been active
for over than 51 years in Turkey. He was the editor-in-chief of legendary
humor magazine `Girgir` from 1971 to 1989. He writes humorous columns
and draws cartoons in the sunday edition of the Turkish daily paper Hürriyet.
He created the famous characters of `Hayk Mammer,` `Hafiyesi Mahmut,` `Kostebek
Husnu,` `Utanmaz Adam,` `Avanak Avni` and `Avni` (see picture above). He
also wrote and directed various plays for theaters.
Anniversary celebrations in Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey, March 6, 2002 - Throughout the
year of 2002, the Association of Turkish Cartoonists is celebrating the
great master Cemal Nadir Guler in the centenary year of his birth.
The celebrations include panel discussions, exhibitions of his works, relasing
a special animated cartoon film based on his life and his comic strip character
Amcabey by Mustafa Bilgin. The association will publish a special
book in memory of the master with contributions from the members and re-publish
one of his original cartoon books.
- Cemal Nadir Guler was born in Bursa, Turkey in 1902 to
an immigrant family. He took various jobs from sign-painting to itinerant
teaching in his younger days. His first cartoon was published in 1920 in
a humor magazine. He moved to Istanbul in 1925 and three years later became
a professional front-page cartoonist for the Aksam newspaper. He
moved to Cumhuriyet in 1943. Guler was one of the innovators of
Turkish cartooning. He was the first to produce cartoons without captions
and was the first to draw strip cartoons in the Turkish press. He created
several strip heroes and heroines, the most famous of which is "Amcabey."
He also attempted to make animated cartoon films, did oil paint cartoon
art, humorous sculptures and portraits out of wires - none of which have
remained. Cemal Nadir Guler published 12 cartoon books and had 5 exhibitions
in his lifetime. He was also the first cartoonist to give public lectures
on cartooning. He encouraged many young cartoonists, helped them get published
in the newspaper he worked for and the children`s magazines he edited.
During the WWII, he published numerous anti-war and anti-Nazi cartoons.
Cemal Nadir Guler died on February 27, 1947. His popularity was so great
that a large number of people, including shopkeepers closing their shops
in daytime, attended his funeral.
The Association of Turkish Cartoonists held a memorial for Guler on February
27, 2002 in the Cartoon and Humor Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. (Karikaturk)
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