BDx13 - 7-16-2007 at 06:45 PM
from punknews...
Think those Not My President shirts caused a stir? In Turkey, you can be arrested for criticizing standardized tests. In an unusual report, a Turkish
punk rock band called Deli has been charged for a old song bemoaning the test all Turkish high-schoolers must pass to have a shot at getting into
college. According to prosecutors, the song is an insult to the state and thus a crime.
If convicted, the band and its manager face up to 18 months in jail, but could get just a fine or a warning. Turkey, which seeks European Union
membership, retains strict limits on expression. The punk song is called "OSYM," the Turkish acronym for the state's student selection and placement
centre that decides which students go to university, based on a yearly three-hour multiple-choice exam. A sample of the lyrics:
I have gotten lost, You have ruined my future,
I am going to tell you one thing: Shove that exam
Ironically, due to the age of the song, the band members themselves have already passed the exam itself.
DaveMoral - 7-16-2007 at 08:10 PM
Turkey's fucked up. For all it's vaunted democracy Ataturk had Sufi shaykhs and imams murdered in order to supress the Islamic influence on the
people.
upyerbum - 7-16-2007 at 09:30 PM
And lets not forget the Kurds, everyone always forgets about the Kurds.
DaveMoral - 7-16-2007 at 09:49 PM
Or the Armenias.
MyOwnWay - 7-17-2007 at 12:07 AM
Turkey sure as hell isnt America. Poor punks.
clevohardcore - 7-17-2007 at 12:13 AM
What else do they sing about? How bad it sucks fishing in The Mediterranean Sea?
upyerbum - 7-17-2007 at 06:59 AM
mmmmm.....calamari...