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ERDOGAN FINED $4,000 FOR CALLING STATUE TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH FRIENDSHIP A 'MONSTROSITY'
18:24, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been ordered to pay a TL
10,000 (about $4,000) fine for calling a statue in the eastern province
of Kars a "monstros," Today's Zaman reports, quoting Cihan news agency.
The Istanbul 3rd Civil Court of Peace ruled on Tuesday that Erdogan
must pay TL 10,000 to sculptor Mehmet Aksoy for psychological damage
the president caused by calling the statue in Kars a monstrosity.
Erdogan and Aksoy were represented by their lawyers during the
hearing. Speaking to journalists, Erdogan's lawyer Erdopan Ferah
Yıldız said they will file an appeal against the court decision.
In January 2011, Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time,
criticized Aksoy's statue, titled "Monument to Humanity," which also
meant to symbolize friendship between Turkey and Armenia, saying:
"They put a monstrosity next to the tomb of [Muslim scholar] Hasan
Harakani. It is impossible to think that such a thing should exist
next to fundamental works of art." He said he hopes Kars Mayor Nevzat
BozkuÅ~_, who hails from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
Party), will do what is necessary with the area in which the statue
is located by the time he visits again, and mentioned that he hopes
he builds a park there instead.
The statue was then taken down on June 14, 2011, by the Kars
Municipality.
Aksoy, the sculptor of the statue, strongly criticized Erdogan's
comment, saying that his work carries anti-war themes and messages of
friendship. He then filed a lawsuit against Erdogan for insulting his
statue, seeking TL 100,000 in compensation for psychological damage
sustained due to the insult.
The statue, which is of two 30-meter-tall concrete figures reaching
out to each other, was built on a hill above Kars, just 40 kilometers
from the Armenian border, in 2008. The "Monument to Humanity" was
also meant to symbolize the friendship between Turkey and Armenia.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/03/erdogan-fined-4000-for-calling-statue-to-armenian-turkish-friendship-a-monstrosity/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
18:24, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been ordered to pay a TL
10,000 (about $4,000) fine for calling a statue in the eastern province
of Kars a "monstros," Today's Zaman reports, quoting Cihan news agency.
The Istanbul 3rd Civil Court of Peace ruled on Tuesday that Erdogan
must pay TL 10,000 to sculptor Mehmet Aksoy for psychological damage
the president caused by calling the statue in Kars a monstrosity.
Erdogan and Aksoy were represented by their lawyers during the
hearing. Speaking to journalists, Erdogan's lawyer Erdopan Ferah
Yıldız said they will file an appeal against the court decision.
In January 2011, Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time,
criticized Aksoy's statue, titled "Monument to Humanity," which also
meant to symbolize friendship between Turkey and Armenia, saying:
"They put a monstrosity next to the tomb of [Muslim scholar] Hasan
Harakani. It is impossible to think that such a thing should exist
next to fundamental works of art." He said he hopes Kars Mayor Nevzat
BozkuÅ~_, who hails from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK
Party), will do what is necessary with the area in which the statue
is located by the time he visits again, and mentioned that he hopes
he builds a park there instead.
The statue was then taken down on June 14, 2011, by the Kars
Municipality.
Aksoy, the sculptor of the statue, strongly criticized Erdogan's
comment, saying that his work carries anti-war themes and messages of
friendship. He then filed a lawsuit against Erdogan for insulting his
statue, seeking TL 100,000 in compensation for psychological damage
sustained due to the insult.
The statue, which is of two 30-meter-tall concrete figures reaching
out to each other, was built on a hill above Kars, just 40 kilometers
from the Armenian border, in 2008. The "Monument to Humanity" was
also meant to symbolize the friendship between Turkey and Armenia.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/03/erdogan-fined-4000-for-calling-statue-to-armenian-turkish-friendship-a-monstrosity/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress