First act of new mayor: Ban of ’obscene’ statue

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Kemer Mayor Mustafa Gül, a member of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, who was elected to office last Sunday, told the Anatolia news agency that everyone knew he was opposed to the statue and that he had previously submitted a letter to the local administration asking for its removal.

The statue, by sculptor Zafer Sarı, was erected in 2007. It was located between a mosque and a school, Gül noted. "During my election campaign, the first thing the people who lived here asked me was if I would remove this statue," he said. "We also did a survey of tourists on whether they liked it or not. Tourists asked for its removal, too."

Gül said the statue would be replaced by a structure similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris that would contain a cafeteria and restaurants. When asked what he will do with the statue, Gül said: "We will do nothing with it. The sculptor can take it if he has any ideas."

The statue was moved to a municipal depot, the Doğan news agency reported.

Hasan Şeker, the previous mayor, who was elected from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, before moving to the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, had commissioned the statue, which was criticized as being obscene.

Some supported its removal by the new mayor while others criticized the action. Russian tourist Boris Stratov told the Doğan news agency that he had spent all his holidays since 1994 in Kemer. "I agree with the statue’s removal," he said. "A statue like this in the center of the town should reflect Turkish culture. I don’t think it suits Kemer." But one local, Yusuf Saydam, told Doğan news that he saw the new mayor’s move as an insult to art.

When asked about the mayor's first act in office, sculptor Sarı said he would be filing a criminal complaint against Gül. "I believe this is a second Melih Gökçek case," he said. "I don’t know what to say." When he was first elected in 1994, Ankara Mayor Gökçek removed a statue he deemed obscene. The statue was put back in the same place 11 years later. Meanwhile, the mayor of Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, Selami Öztürk, said Friday that Kemer’s loss was their gain and he would be willing to erect it in Istanbul. The Anatolia news agency reported Öztürk as saying that it was natural for art to generate different feelings. "That’s what art has to do. We always respect art and artists and would host the statue that is being censored," he said.