Cem Karaca
Cem Karaca
The following is one of the most famous songs of Cem Karaca, a Turkish singer. The name of song is “Allah Yar” which simply means “Allah (God) is my love”. Our generation remembers him very well however, not recognised by young people since he had to live abroad after the military cue in 1980 in Turkey. Rest in peace, Cem Karaca.
Note: This song is unique in Cem Karaca’s album as being a tasawwufi (religious, or mystical) one.
Who is Cem Karaca?
He was the only child of Ä°rma Felekyan (Toto Karaca) of Armenian origin[1], a popular opera, thatre and movie actress, and Mehmet Ä°brahim Karaca of Azeri origin.[2] His first group was called Dynamites and was a classic rock cover band. Later he joined Jaguars, an Elvis Presley cover band. In 1967, he started to write his own music, forming the band ApaÅŸlar (Apachees), his first Turkish-language group. In 1969, Karaca and bass-player Serhan Karabay left ApaÅŸlar and started an original Anatolian group called KardaÅŸlar (Brothers).
In 1972, Karaca joined the group MoÄŸollar (Mongols) and wrote one of his best-known songs, “Namus Belası”. However, Cahit Berkay, the leader of MoÄŸollar, wanted an international name for his band, and he left for France to take the group to another level. Karaca, who wanted to continue his Anatolian beat sound, left MoÄŸollar and started his own band DerviÅŸan (Dervishes) in 1974. Karaca and DerviÅŸan sang poetic and progressive songs.
In the 1970s, Turkey’s image was damaged by political violence between supporters of the left and the right, separatist movements and the rise of Islamism. As the country fell into chaos, the government suspected Cem Karaca of involvement. At times he was accused of treason for being a separatist thinker and a Marxist-Leninist. The Turkish government tried to portray Karaca as a man, who was unknowingly writing songs to start a revolution. One politician was quoted as saying, “Karaca is simply calling citizens to a bloody war against the state.” DerviÅŸan was ultimately dissolved at the end of 1977. He later founded in 1978 Edirdahan, an acronym for “from Edirne to Ardahan”; the westernmost and the easternmost provinces of Turkey. He recorded one LP with Edirdahan.
In early 1979, he left for West Germany for business reasons. Turkey continued to spin out of control with military curfews and eventually a military coup on September 12, 1980. General Kenan Evren took over the government and temporarily closed all the nation’s political parties. After the coup, many intellectual people, including writers, artists and journalists, were arrested. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Karaca by the government of Turkey.
The state invited Cem Karaca back to the country several times, but Karaca, not knowing what would happen upon his return, decided not to come back.
While he was in Germany, his father died, but he could not return to attend the funeral. After some time, the Turkish government decided to strip Cem Karaca of his Turkish citizenship, keeping the arrest warrant active.
Several years later, in 1987, the prime minister and leader of the Turkish Motherland Party, Turgut Özal, issued an amnesty for Karaca. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Turkey. His return also brought a new album by him, Merhaba Gençler ve Her zaman Genç Kalanlar (”Hello Young Ones and Everyone Who’d Always Felt Young”), one of his most powerful works. His return home was greeted happily by his fans, but during his absence, Cem Karaca had lost the youthful audience and acquired few new listeners. He died on February 8, 2004 and was interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery in Ãœsküdar district of Istanbul.
AK Party Case Resolved
AK Party Case Resolved
AK Party Case was resolved in Turkey. Turkish Democracy is the winner.
Court Rejects Demand to ban Ruling AK Party
The Case regarding ruling AK Party in Turkey has been decided 10 minutes ago. The Supreme Constitutional Court of Turkey rejected the demand to ban Ruling AK Party.
Turkey’s top court warns AKP, but rules not to close the ruling party
Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejects demands to close the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in its critical ruling released on Wednesday. A closure case was filed against the ruling party in March on claims that it became the focal point of anti-secular activities.
Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejects demands to close the governing AKP in its critical ruling released on Wednesday. A closure case was filed against the ruling party in March on claims that it became the focal point of anti-secular activities.
Six members voted in favor of closing the party, the court chairman told at a press conference. Hasim Kilic said he voted against the closure, while the remaining four members of the court said the AKP has shown signs of being a focal point of anti-secular activities but not in an extent to deserve to be closed. At least seven members must vote in favor for a party closure.
“Six members of the Constitutional Court voted for closure of the political party while four others voted for depriving the party of the financial assistance of the Treasury instead of its dissolution. Accordingly, the AKP will be deprived of the financial assistance with an amount of half of the last assistance,” he said.
Kilic said the court decided to cut financial aid to the party. He added “a serious warning” given to the AKP. He urged political parties to make the necessary legal arrangements to avoid any further party closure cases.
AKP has become the 18th political party to avoid closure by the Constitutional Court in Turkey.
Top court rejects closing AK Party
Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejects demands to close the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in its critical ruling released on Wednesday.
A New Chapter in Democracy
A New Chapter was opened in Turkey for Turkish Democracy. As we called this as an Exercise for Turkish Democracy.
A closure case was filed against the ruling party in March on claims that it became the focal point of anti-secular activities.
Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejects demands to close the governing AKP in its critical ruling released on Wednesday.
A closure case was filed against the ruling party in March on claims that it became the focal point of anti-secular activities.
Six members voted in favor of closing the party, while five voted against, the court chairman told at a press conference.
At least seven members must vote in favor for a party closure.
Hasim Kilic said the court decided to cut financial aid to the party.
He added “a serious warning” given to the AK Party.
He urged political parties to make the necessary legal arrangements to avoid any further party closure cases.
Turkish First lady interviewed by The Times
Turkish First lady interviewed by The Times
Hayrunnisa Gul, the wife of President Abdullah Gul, underlined in an interview with an English newspaper that it is her head she covers with the Islamic headscarf — not her brain.
Hayrunnisa Gul, the wife of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, underlined in an interview with an English newspaper that it is her head she covers with the Islamic headscarf — not her brain.
The first lady, who was interviewed by Janice Turner of UK daily The Times, said she did not believe headscarves should be forced on women.
“To me, women should not be forced to wear headscarves. It would be hard to find anyone in İstanbul who would disagree with me, at least in public,” Mrs. Gul was quoted as saying.
Gul’s interview was published yesterday in Times2, The Times’ main supplement, which features various lifestyle columns.
The headscarf issue is a topic of fierce debate in Turkey, where wearing the Islamic headscarf is banned in the public sphere.
Its use at universities was prohibited in the late 1990s through an earlier ruling by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it would violate the nation’s secular principles, as the headscarf was seen as a political and religious symbol.
It was stressed in the Times2 article that the headscarf, worn by a considerable portion of Turkish women, means more in Turkey than in any other country.
“It has become the most potent symbol of a battle for the soul of the country that will determine its place in Europe and the Islamic world,” the article stated.
The article also recalled a closure case filed against Turkey’s ruling party.
“Despite the solid parliamentary majority that enabled her husband [Abdullah Gul] to become president, the country’s Constitutional Court is determined to press ahead with a case intended to outlaw the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party] and ban its leading members from politics,” it said.
A top prosecutor requested in March that Turkey’s Constitutional Court close the governing AK Party and place a ban on political party involvement for 71 of its high-level officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Gul, who was an AK Party member before becoming president and severing political ties as required by the Constitution.
It was also expressed in the article that Western governments must see this case for what it is — an attempted judicial coup.
“It has scant legal basis. If successful it would derail Turkey’s already fraught EU accession and lead many AK Party supporters to despair of the ballot box,” the article read.