'Witch Hunt' Declared As Turkey's Post-Coup Firings Affect Theatre Community

In the aftermath of July 15th's failed military coup against the government of Turkey, there have been thousands of arrests, with allegations made of torturing government officials suspected of disloyalty.

Tens of thousands of others, such as teachers, court officials and journalists, have found themselves dismissed from their positions, believed to be sympathizers with Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric the government believes to be the orchestrator of the coup.

Now, as reported by Deutsche Welle, members of the country's theatre community have found themselves removed from their positions in an act being called a "witch hunt."

The action began at Istanbul's city theatres, where director Ragip Yavuz, six staff actors and one civil servant were removed. Twenty subcontracted actors were also dismissed because of "lack of performance."

"I am being investigated to somehow see if I am involved in the Gulen movement and whether I am pro-coup d'etat," says Yavuz. "This is both shocking and degrading."

A joint communique titled "Neither Coup nor State of Emergency" was issued by a collective of nearly 20 professional associations, supporting bringing those involved to justice.

"However," it reads, "the government, seizing this opportunity, is taking steps to liquidate all opposition... to achieve absolute political power."

Levent Uzumcu, a leading actor who was fired in 2013 after making political speech at a Socialist International meeting in Istanbul, says the purge "is being used against those who do not approve of the government's education, economy, or foreign affairs policies."

"Art requires freedom of thought," he adds. "Our colleagues are among the best actors in Turkey. Our viewers know this very well."

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