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Turkish artist defending statue stabbed in Istanbul
ANKARA, TURKEY—A Turkish artist and his assistant were stabbed in Istanbul on Monday as they emerged from a meeting planning a protest aimed at saving a controversial monument.
The giant statue, which promotes friendship between the traditional enemies Turkey and Armenia, has been criticized in Turkey because it overshadows an Islamic shrine near the border of the two nations. During a visit to the site in January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a “freak,” prompting moves by local officials to have it removed.
On Monday, television footage showed injured artist and government critic Bedri Baykam walking around frantically and pleading for help before a woman hailed a taxi that took him to a hospital. His assistant, Tugba Kurtulus, was seen lying on the ground at a car park, surrounded by people trying to help her.
The unidentified knife-wielding attacker escaped but later surrendered to the police, saying he carried out the attack because Baykam insulted him, the police said. The details of the incident were not clear.
The artist was stabbed in the abdomen and underwent a four-hour surgery to repair damage to his intestines and liver and now he was in intensive care, said Dr. Caglar Cuhadaroglu of Acibadem Maslak hospital.
His assistant was stabbed in the groin, HaberTurk channel said.
Police were investigating whether the attack was linked to the controversy surrounding the monument.
Artists such as Baykam are planning a protest march Saturday in defence of the unfinished monument, which features a divided human figure, with one half extending a hand to the other half.
Hurriyet newspaper’s website quoted Baykam as telling the meeting earlier: “We are here to prevent something like a murder. ... We are here to prevent an artistic massacre.”
News reports said authorities this week put up scaffolding around the 35-meter monument to take it apart piece by piece.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/ar...ed-in-istanbul
Turkish artist defending statue stabbed in Istanbul
ANKARA, TURKEY—A Turkish artist and his assistant were stabbed in Istanbul on Monday as they emerged from a meeting planning a protest aimed at saving a controversial monument.
The giant statue, which promotes friendship between the traditional enemies Turkey and Armenia, has been criticized in Turkey because it overshadows an Islamic shrine near the border of the two nations. During a visit to the site in January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a “freak,” prompting moves by local officials to have it removed.
On Monday, television footage showed injured artist and government critic Bedri Baykam walking around frantically and pleading for help before a woman hailed a taxi that took him to a hospital. His assistant, Tugba Kurtulus, was seen lying on the ground at a car park, surrounded by people trying to help her.
The unidentified knife-wielding attacker escaped but later surrendered to the police, saying he carried out the attack because Baykam insulted him, the police said. The details of the incident were not clear.
The artist was stabbed in the abdomen and underwent a four-hour surgery to repair damage to his intestines and liver and now he was in intensive care, said Dr. Caglar Cuhadaroglu of Acibadem Maslak hospital.
His assistant was stabbed in the groin, HaberTurk channel said.
Police were investigating whether the attack was linked to the controversy surrounding the monument.
Artists such as Baykam are planning a protest march Saturday in defence of the unfinished monument, which features a divided human figure, with one half extending a hand to the other half.
Hurriyet newspaper’s website quoted Baykam as telling the meeting earlier: “We are here to prevent something like a murder. ... We are here to prevent an artistic massacre.”
News reports said authorities this week put up scaffolding around the 35-meter monument to take it apart piece by piece.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/ar...ed-in-istanbul
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