Can peace come to a country where artists are considered terrorists?

At the very top, we can hear cries of peace and conciliation, but what happens in daily life?

Just a couple of days ago, a screening of the film ??ki Tutam Saç ? Dersim? was stopped by the Office of the Dean of Communications Department of Istanbul University. The film depicted the story of two girls who were taken from their families during the military operation during the 1938 Dersim Massacre, adopted by military families and ?Turkified.?

Again, a couple weeks ago we learned that a workshop belonging to ?smail Do?an, a sculptor from Tunceli, was raided and a sculpture of a woman was ?seized.? According to the prosecutor, it was a sculpture of a PKK member because it had ?Mekap-style? shoes. The sculptor is now being tried on grounds that he is a ?member of an armed organization.?

It?s a comedy.

Even if the state gives the impression and image that it is sincere in the reconciliation process, it is apparent that institutions have not been able to break their old habits.

Here are a few examples from the past four years?

There was a court case opened against 13 people for singing and entertaining the audience at Batman Bahar Cultural Center during Nevruz festivities. They were banned from performing for five years, taking the stage, playing the tambourine and singing.

The banderole for a documentary called ?Dersim 38? was not issued. Producers appealed and won the case. The Culture Ministry challenged the court decision, and the film?s release was blocked.

When the documentary ?Berivan? was to be shown, the Batman governor banned it on grounds that it featured factors that would ?disrupt the unity and togetherness of the Turkish nation and make propaganda for the PKK.?

In a rally...