Ithamar Handelman- Smith is a British writer, columnist, filmmaker, and playwright based in London. His worked is published in both English and Hebrew.
Prof. Dr. Nükhet Sirman is an anthropologist who teaches in the Department of Sociology at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Her research interests include TV serials, especially their structure and their transformation over time. Previously she has worked on petty commodity production, nationalism, and gender; honor, and violence against women; and the aftermath of forced migration. She has been involved in the feminist movement in Turkey since its inception and has published numerous articles, both academic and popular.
Dr. Feyza Akınerdem graduated from Boğaziçi University, department of Sociology in 2002. She received her MA degree in Sociology in 2006. She obtained her PhD in Cultural Policy and Management from the City University London. She is an academician currently working as Adjunct Instructor at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Feyza participated at 60pages’ Longform Workshop Istanbul 2017.
Gurmeet Singh is a freelance writer and editor, living and working in Berlin. He writes on political and cultural issues and has interests in literature, philosophy and European affairs. He grew up in Birmingham, UK.
Nurcan Baysal: Detained by Turkish police forces in Diyarbakır
We are deeply saddened
to hear that our dear friend and colleague, journalist, writer, human rights and peace activist, and mother of two, Nurcan Baysal was detained by police from her house in Diyarbakır, around midnight on Sunday night January 21, 2018 as part of the operation launched by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into posts on the social media about Afrin operation. Numbers are varying according to different sources, as far as we have come to know Nurcan is among 57 people detained in Diyarbakır.
Turkey’s silencing of voices who speak out against war is in violation of its own laws and obligations under international human rights law.
We hope that Nurcan will be out of police custody and home, with no charges, immediately.
60pages, Berlin, January 22, 2017
Message from Osman Kavala
Osman Kavala, the chairman of Anadolu Kültür, made a statement through his lawyers.
As it is public knowledge, I was arrested on 1 November 2017, and I have been in Silivri Prison for more than two months.
When I was taken into custody on board returning from Gaziantep, I was not worried. I counted on that it would be understood immediately that the suspicions against me are unwarranted. Yet, my arrest and the accusations that led to my arrest came as a surprise to me.
The accusation that I am the organizer of the Gezi events includes the allegation that I have provided financing. As one may remember, after the events of Gezi, allegations were made that these events had been outsourced and financial resources had been provided from abroad. In a newspaper article dated 2014, it was also mentioned that there had been an intelligence note that relates me to the Gezi events. Later, the person conducting the investigation on this issue was arrested in 2015 and is still detained. As a result, until now there has been no discovered evidence about these unfounded allegations; and I am the only one to be arrested on this issue.
On the grounds of the arrest, I have especially found odd the allegations that have linked me to the Gülen movement and the July 15 coup attempt.
I am astounded by the fact that such allegations are laid on me, while I have always been against coups throughout the course of my life and tried to draw public attention to the negative impacts of the presence of Gülen community within the state for years.
In any case, as a person who experienced September 12 and never forgot the terrible memories of those days, it is highly insulting to me that I have been associated with such circles. I would like to point out that I have resorted to legal measures in this regard.
I believe that it will soon be understood that these accusations are unfounded. Nevertheless, I think that the state of emergency also affects the climate in the judiciary, and that the arrest decisions may be reflecting this effect. In times of state of emergency, the concern for losing the suspect outweighs the need for the prevention of engendering unjust victimization. While the people who were unjustly arrested are expected to be freed as soon as possible, the psychological impact of the initiatives that violate the presumption of innocence, such as the recent preparations for the regulation on the uniform dress code, is not taken into account.
Despite everything, my belief is that the new year will be a better year in terms of democracy and freedoms.
I send my regards to all those who have supported me with their statements and messages ever since I was taken into custody, and I want to say that I am in good health. Hope to see you all soon…
Osman Kavala, 4 January 2018
Post-Production: Çağdaş Erdoğan, Berkant Akarcan
Istanbul Longform Workshop 2017 - A Short Video Documentary
In March 2017 60pages hosted a three-day workshop with young journalists, writers and activists in Istanbul. We discussed the possibilities and the practice of long-form writing and identified five to eight relevant, surprising, necessary stories which could open up new perspectives on pressing political and societal questions.
It was a safe space, it was a pop-up editorial board, it was a first getting to know each other and the beginning of a longer connection. The writings will be published on 60pages.com soon.
Aylin Balboa is an author living in Istanbul. Her short stories has been published under the name “Belki Bir Gün Uçarız (Maybe We Can Fly One Day)” by Iletisim Yayinevi. She writes for several periodicals. She has a dog named Balık (Fish).
Aylin partipated in our Istanbul Longform Workshop in March 2017.
Yiğit Karaahmet was born in the last years of disco, glitter and shoulder pads (aka 70s) in the small seaside town of Giresun where people live on agriculture and fishery. He believes his humor comes from the region, motherland of Laz jokes. As he passed the university entrance exam he moved to İstanbul, city of his dreams, where he would study journalism at Marmara University’s Faculty of Communication. And he threw himself to the parties, the nights and the arms of men. His articles and interviews about night life, popular culture, life style were published by daily newspapers like Milliyet, Akşam, Taraf; national magazines as Vogue Turkey, GQ Turkey, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, FHM, 212, Time Out; and international magazines such as Vice Germany. Yiğit uses his openly gay identity in his articles on purpose and believes the importance of personal fight against homophobia. For this reason, he has been targeted by the fundamentalist press many times. His articles have been collected and published as two books. He also has a novel, yet unpublished. He writes commercial texts and experiments with scripts too. Currently living in Istanbul, the author continues to work in all areas of literature.
Yiğit partipated in our Istanbul Longform Workshop in March 2017.
Oyuncu ve oyun yazarı, ne istanbul ona katacağı güzellikten haberdardı ne de murat. 80’lerdeki ve 90’lardaki tüm güzellikleri, gariplikleri, inişleri, çıkışları hayatına katarak büyüdü bilmiyordu ki her bir anı satır araları naifliklerle dolu nefes alabilen metinlere dönüşecekti. Önce “fü’yü ” yazdı sonra “şekersiz’i ” ilk “şekersizi ” sahneledi ikinci olarak ” fü ” sahnelendi ardından “sen istanbul’dan daha güzelsin’i “yazdı ve yönetti “sevmekten öldü desinler’i ” yazdı ve bu oyunu da durur mu o da sahnelendi oyunlar sahnelendikçe istanbul daha güzel bi yer olmaya başladı. Sadece isimlerine bakanlar dahi dedi ki Murat güzelliklerin en güzelini hak ediyor ve her gün dünyayı daha güzel bi yer yapmaya devam ediyor. (by Melis Öz)
Murat partipated in our Istanbul Longform Workshop in March 2017.