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Turkish star Bülent Ersoy faces jail for criticising in Istanbul
The Guardian, Monday June 2 2008
Turkey's most popular singers is facing up to three years in jail after being accused of trying to weaken public support for the powerful armed forces.
In a case highlighting the pivotal role of the army in Turkish life, prosecutors have indicted Bülent Ersoy on charges of "making the public detest military service" after saying on nationwide television that if she had a son, she would not let him fight against Kurdish separatists.
Her comments, made last February, came after the army launched a controversial ground offensive in northern Iraq against the militant Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) - regarded by Turkey and many western countries as a terrorist organisation.
The offensive was the latest stage in a bloody conflict with the PKK that has killed around 37,000 people, including 5,000 Turkish soldiers, since 1984.
Turkey's leaders regard the PKK as an ethnic secessionist group which threatens the integrity of the Turkish state. But Ersoy questioned the rationale of the offensive, saying: "Of course the homeland is indivisible, but why are we sending these youths to death? If I had a child, I would not send him to the grave for the war of other people."
The singer, famed for her rendition of classical Ottoman music and as a TV personality, has been a controversial figure since undergoing a sex change operation in 1981. She had previously carved out a successful singing and acting career as a man.
Ersoy now faces trial under article 318 of the Turkish penal code, which makes it a crime to undermine the institution of military service.
Turkish human rights groups recently launched a signature campaign calling for the law to be repealed.
The indictment against Ersoy refers to an oft-quoted maxim, "Every Turk is born a soldier" and says her comments turned people against the military while encouraging the PKK.
"Her remarks were aimed at discouraging people from sending their sons to military service.
"For this reason, Ersoy was praised by Roj TV, known as the media arm of the PKK," it reads.
Military conscription is compulsory in Turkey, with no exceptions made for pacifists or conscientious objectors.
The country has previously been condemned by international human rights organisations for imprisoning conscientious objectors.
In 2006, the European court of human rights fined Turkey €11,000 (£8,63 over its treatment of Osman Murat Ulke, an objector jailed for two-and-a-half years after publicly burning his army draft card.
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Expressed her opinion and will end up in jail...
