Cartoon Movement

Tickling Giants

Movies that Matter is a festival of films about human rights taking place between March 24 and April 1 in The Hague, the Netherlands. One of the movies programmed at the festival is Tickling Giants, a documentary about Bassem Youssef, the Egyptian John Stewart, and his satirical TV show simply called ‘The Show’. The Show mocked Egyptian leadership and managed to draw an audience of 30 million viewers per show across the Arab World.

The Egyptian cartoonist Andeel was part of the production team of the show. The show was forced to stop in 2014, because the team felt it was no longer safe to make satire. Presenter  Bassem Youssef fled to the United Sates, but Andeel is still in Egypt making cartoons.

Andeel is a guest at the Movies that Matter festival. On March 28, there will be a Q&A with Andeel, Sara Taksler (the director of Tickling Giants) and Cartoon Movement editor-in-chief Tjeerd Royaards. Check out the trailer of the film below:

 

Eaten Fish on Hunger Strike

Eaten Fish is the pen name of a 24-year old Iranian cartoonist currently interned in the notorious Manus Island immigration detention camp in Papua New Guinea. The camp is funded and overseen by the government of Australia. He is the recipient of the 2016 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award. In September 2016, we launched a newsroom to produce cartoons in support of a campaign by Australian cartoonists to urge the Australian government to release Eaten Fish.

Unfortunately, he has yet to be released. Yesterday, the alarming news reached us that Eaten Fish is now on hunger strike. See the press release from Cartoonists Rights Network International below for more details.

                                                 Cartoon by Antonio Rodriguez.

Eaten Fish has been on a hunger strike for 6 days now and weighs 48 kilos.  It has been well documented in the press that Eaten Fish suffers from debilitating mental health issues.  He has also been the victim of sexual assault, chronic sexual harassment and abuse within Australia’s immigration prison camp on Manus Island for the past 3 and a half years.

Due to his extremely fragile mental health and ongoing sexual harassment, Eaten fish has been held in the Special Supported Accommodation compound [also referred to as VSRA] for the past 8 months.

In a document from PNG Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority dated 29th of January 2017, it is stated that ABF have spoken to Eaten Fish and told him that his allegations of sexual assault and abuse have not been substantiated and that he will be returned to the compound and that PNG ICSA.  Worryingly it also states that they will not negotiate with Eaten Fish on any grounds.  It is this that has forced Mr Fish’s actions.

In an urgent letter to Australian Border Force Chief Medical Officer Dr John Brayley dated 2nd February 2017, Dr Sue Ditchfield writes: ‘Bizarelly he [Eaten Fish] was expected to prove the assaults to the satisfaction of PNG authorities.  He was unwilling to identify his assailants because of his fear of retribution and of course any assaults take place well away from the compound guards’.  Further those authorities Eaten Fish was to prove the assaults to were the same authorities who had assaulted him late in 2016.

In a letter to CMO Brayley Janet Galbraith writes: ‘ At the beginning of the hunger strike he [Eaten Fish] only weighed 53 kilos and he has already lost a substantial amount of weight. He reports to me today that he is shaky, weak, has a lot of body pain, no longer feels hunger, is losing his memory and his heart is beating fast.  He says he can no longer shower.’

‘I cannot suffer anymore.  I know now that I will have to die because I cannot suffer anymore’, Mr Fish told Ms Galbraith.

When asked by authorities within the prison camp what he wished to accomplish through his hunger strike Mr Fish said:  ‘Something happens with hunger strike and I think you know what that is.  I will die and this will all finish’.

Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) write: ‘It is with profound alarm and sadness that [we] learn that our friend and colleague, cartoonist Mr. Eaten Fish, currently held in an Australian refugee rendition camp in Papua New Guinea has decided to undertake a hunger strike... He is a man who has given up hope, cannot struggle any longer, cannot face the future that is being forced on him, and he would rather die than submit to the indignities of further inhuman treatment.’ 

The Australian government has been petitioned many times both from within Australia and internationally asking that Eaten Fish be brought to Australia for medical treatment.

Dr Ditchfield says, ‘I urge you to be pro-active in transferring this critically ill young man to Australia.  I have no doubt that failure to do this will lead to yet another death of an Asylum Seeker on Manus Island’.

Two Years After Charlie, Cartoonists Are Still Persecuted

On the eve of the second anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Cartooning for Peace, Cartoon Movement and other press cartoonist associations pay tribute to all press cartoonists who defend media freedom by means of their cartoons.

How you wield a pencil can still lead to violent reprisals. Only too often, cartoonists pay a high price for their irony and impertinence. The threats they receive are barometers of free speech, acting as indicators of the state of democracy in times of trouble.

It is hard to say whether cartoonists are more exposed since the attack that killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January 2015. But they continue to be subjected to political, religious and economic pressure, to censorship, dismissal, death threats, judicial harassment, violence and, in the worst cases, even murder. As a profession, they are clearly threatened.



“Since the Charlie tragedy, many cartoonists have lived under constant political, religious and economic pressure, and pressure from non-state groups as well,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.



“Accusations of offending religion are too often used as a tool of political censorship. It is essential to remember that international law protects cartoonists because it safeguards the right to express and disseminate opinions that may offend, shock or disturb.”



Cartooning for Peace president Plantu (Jean Plantureux) said: “Many cartoonists bear witness, in their battles and in the harassment and threats they receive, to the importance they assign to their efforts to raise awareness. Since the Charlie terrorist attacks, other tragic events have confirmed that, more than ever, we need to pursue our fight for freedom, one that is also waged with the pencil.”



RSF, Cartooning for Peace, Cartoon Movement and the other press cartoonist associations have compiled the following profiles of cartoonists who have been dismissed, arrested, imprisoned or threatened because of their cartoons.



The chosen cartoonists are Zunar, who has been hounded by the Malaysian authorities for years and is be tried at the end of January; Tahar Djehiche, an Algerian cartoonist who was given a jail sentence for insulting President Bouteflika; Musa Kart, the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet’s well-known cartoonist, who is now in jail; and Rayma Suprani, who was fired from the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal over her cartoons about the government and now lives in exile in the United States.



Sometimes just reposting a cartoon can lead to prosecution and imprisonment. This is what happened to Tunisian blogger Jabeur Mejri, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in 2012 in connection with his Facebook posts.

ZUNAR (Malaysia)

Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque, the cartoonist better known as Zunar, is a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression in Malaysia and the government’s bugbear. Because of his cartoons denouncing the corruption in all layers of Malaysian society, he has been subjected to various kinds of persecution for nearly a decade including repeated detention, arrests of assistants and supporters, a travel ban, the closure of his website, the confiscation of his cartoons and a ban on his cartoon books.

When the opening of a Zunar exhibition was disrupted by his critics in November, the police intervened, confiscated the cartoons and ended up taking him into custody. In December, he was arrested again when he organized a sale of his books to compensate for the financial loss resulting from the exhibition’s cancellation. As a result, he is now being investigated as a threat to parliamentary democracy. He is already facing up to 43 years in prison on nine counts of violating the Sedition Act, which violates freedom of expression by making it easy to prosecute journalists and cartoonists for supposedly “seditious” content.

The pretext for Zunar’s prosecution was nine tweets critical of the government. His trial has been postponed twice in the past two years and is now due to start on 24 January. Last year he received the Cartooning for Peace Prize for his courage and determination.
 

© Zunar (Malaisie) - Cartooning for Peace   

RAYMA (Venezuela)

Rayma Suprani is a Venezuela cartoonist who worked for nearly 20 years for the Caracas-based daily El Universal. Her cartoons criticized poverty, the lack of social justice and abuse of power under President Hugo Chavez, and under his successors after Chavez died in office in 2013. She had often been subjected to threats and pressure but in September 2014 she went “too far” in one of her cartoons. It portrayed public healthcare in Venezuela – which has been undermined by the crisis in the petrodollar economy – as an electrocardiogram that began with Chavez’s well-known signature and then flatlined. She was immediately fired by El Universal, which had just been acquired by someone more sympathetic to the Chavista government. Deprived of her source of income, she fled to the United States, where she continues to use her pencil to fight for freedom of expression.
 

                                        © Rayma (Venezuela) - Cartooning for Peace 

MUSA KART (Turkey)

During the wave of arrests that followed last July’s failed coup in Turkey, the police detained a dozen employees of the leading opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet on 31 October. They included editor Murat Sabuncu, the newspaper’s lawyer, and its well-known cartoonist, Musa Kart. The head of the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said they were suspected of committing crimes on behalf of the Gülen movement (which is accused by the government of orchestrating the coup attempt). “For years I have tried to transcribe what we live through in this country in the form of caricatures and today it seems that I have entered one of them,” Kart said at the time. “What explanations will they give to the rest of the world? I have been taken into police custody because I drew cartoons!”

Musa is currently waiting behind bars for a trial date. His colleagues from all over the world are drawing cartoons in solidarity, some of them even being published in Cumhuriyet at the spot originally reserved for his. He is no stranger to harassment from the regime. In 2014, following the publication of one cartoon referring to a money laundering scandal involving Erdogan he faced 9 years imprisonment.

 

                          © Musa Kart (Turquie) - Cartooning for Peace

TAHAR DJEHICHE (Algeria)

The Algerian cartoonist Tahar Djehiche posted a cartoon on social networks in April 2015 showing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika being buried under the sand of In Salah, a Saharan region where the population has been protesting against the use of fracking to produce shale gas. His aim was to draw attention to the environmental dangers of shale gas production by this means in Algeria, but he was charged with insulting the president and “inciting a mob.” He was acquitted in May 2015, but was convicted on appeal the following November and was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 500,000 dinars. Many international organizations have condemned this absurd and incomprehensible decision, especially as it is still not known who was responsible for the appeal.

 

                                                                               © Tahar Djehiche (Algérie) - Cartooning for Peace 

JABEUR MEJRI (Tunisia)

A 29-year-old Tunisian blogger, Jabeur Mejri was prosecuted in March 2012 for posting cartoons and satirical texts on social networks at a time of continuing tension just over a year after President Ben Ali’s removal, when anything to do with religion was extremely sensitive. The cartoons, in particular, were deemed to have insulted Islam. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and a fine of 1,200 dinars on charges of disrupting public order, causing wrong to others, and violating morality. He was strongly defended by human rights groups, which regarded him as one of the first prisoners of conscience since the fall of the Ben Ali regime. After two years in prison, he was finally pardoned by President Moncef Marzouki and was released in March 2014. He was arrested again the following month on a charge of insulting an official. After a second pardon in October 2014, he left Tunisia.

                                        © Willis from Tunis (Tunisie) - Cartooning for Peace 

 

Christophe Deloire, Reporters sans frontières

 

Plantu, Cartooning for Peace

Ann Telnaes, The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists

 

Joel Pett, Cartoonists Rights Network International

 

Tjeerd Royaards, Cartoon Movement

Calling for the Release of Turkish Cartoonist Musa Kart

JOINT STATEMENT: CARTOON MOVEMENT, CARTOONING FOR PEACE & CARTOONISTS RIGHTS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR RELEASE OF MUSA KART, POLITICAL CARTOONIST FOR CUMHURIYET NEWSPAPER, JAILED ONE MONTH AGO

Musa Kart, a world-renowned political cartoonist for Cumhuriyet newspaper, Istanbul is one of several staff pending trial for "crimes on behalf of the Fethullahist Terror Organisation and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)".

Accused of collusion in last summer’s attempted coup in Turkey, these journalists are just a few of the great many academics, public servants and media workers who have been fired, detained, questioned or jailed by the Erdoğan regime in recent weeks.

David Kaye, the UN’s special rapporteur visited Turkey in November and said: “Across the board, the Government is imposing draconian measures that limit freedom of expression […] the measures are not only drastic and disproportionate, but they lack any form of transparency.”

Kart’s regular panel in the paper has been printed with a blank space since his arrest. Today, three major international cartoonists’ groups call for his release.

Cartoon Movement is the internet’s leading international platform for high quality political cartoons and comics journalism with over 400 contributors across every continent.

Cartooning for Peace is a network of global cartoonists working to counteract extremism and prejudice, contextualise visual humour, explain its importance as social commentary, and confront ideology while respecting pluralism.

CRNI is the human rights organisation for cartoonist whose work leads to direct threats against their livelihood, liberty, life and limb.  Each year they present a Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award and Musa Kart is a past recipient.

All three are committed to freedom of expression as a fundamental human right.

CRNI’s Executive Director, Dr Robert Russell, said:
“President Erdoğan has responded to the recent so-called coup attempt by arresting hundreds of thousands of his fellow countrymen. People from all walks of life, high ranking governmental officials, the cream of the judiciary, intellectuals of all persuasions, journalists, simple common working people and anyone else he thought had negative opinions about him have been arrested. Some witnesses have said that the entire affair made him extremely happy, as now has an excuse to get rid of all of his enemies.  There still may be as many as 100,000 people imprisoned.

One of them is Musa Kart, a prominent cartoonist with the Cumhuriyet newspaper. He and a number of other staff members still languish in prison.
We point out to the President that this whole affair demonstrates to the world how utterly paranoid he is, and the degree to which his own administration has deteriorated well into the failed regime category.

We call on the President to immediately release all innocent and improperly held prisoners, particularly journalists, and specifically Musa Kart. We ask that he be restored to his family and all charges against him and the rest of the Cumhuriyet staff be cleared.”

JOINT STATEMENT

On the 31st of October the homes of a number of staff from Cumhuriyet, Turkey’s oldest national daily newspaper, were raided and under emergency powers they were detained for questioning without legal representation for five days.  On the 5th of November nine individuals were formally arrested and jailed pending trial for "committing crimes on behalf of the Fethullahist Terror Organisation and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)".

This came amid a freezing of internet access and a wave of arrests across the country, all in an apparent effort to purge supporters of last summer’s attempted coup from Turkey’s mass media and opposition parties.

Organisations for the defence of freedom of expression and the liberty of journalists have already condemned the Cumhuriyet raid and arrests as brutal suppression of vital, critical voices in what purports to be a democratic nation.

We wish to draw special attention to Cumhuriyet cartoonist Musa Kart’s case in particular because this represents the third attempt by President Recep Erdoğan to silence him after suing for libel in 2005 and slander in 2014. On this occasion a punitive fine or jail sentence is not the worst possible outcome, as objectionable as it would be. If granted his stated ambition Erdoğan will reintroduce the death penalty specifically for those said to be involved in organising the coup. Clearly there is a real threat to Musa’s life should his trial proceed and he is found guilty of the charges given. We are witnessing an effort by the president to exact revenge on someone he has long considered an enemy.

It has been well reported that Erdoğan has taken an almost industrial approach in responding to personal offence over criticisms in the mass media.  Where, we ask, is the magnanimity shown earlier this year when the many hundreds of so-called ‘insult cases’ he had instructed his government to pursue were dropped? On what basis can the drawing of satirical cartoons be considered a crime, much less an act of terrorism?

We call upon the leadership of every democratic nation to redouble their efforts in dissuading the Turkish government from its present course and demand the immediate release of our friend and colleague Musa Kart.

NB – at the time of writing Musa Kart and colleagues are in Silivri prison, Istanbul; family members have visited and say his health is good and spirit unbowed.

Sources:

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/11/5/detailed-secular-turkish-newspaper-staff-charged-with-terrorism

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/629629/Bekleyin_gelecegiz..._Musa_Kart_cocuklara_borcunu_oduyor.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/29/turkey-drops-cases-of-insult-against-president-in-coup-aftermath

http://m.gulfnews.com/news/mena/turkey-s-oldest-national-daily-defiant-after-arrests-1.1924874

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nine-arrested-in-probe-on-daily-cumhuriyet-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=105743&NewsCatID=339

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-erdogan-government-death-penalty-restore-attempted-istanbul-ankara-latest-dead-a7140391.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-death-penalty-erdogan-reintroduce-debate-consider-turkish-parliament-a7386591.htm

https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/11/international-coalition-slams-cumhuriyet-arrests-and-media-closures/

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20892&LangID=E

Cartooning in Rwanda

Ndarama Assoumani is an editorial cartoonist in Rwanda. Like many other governments around the world, the president and ruling party in Rwanda do not like to be criticized. We talk to Ndarama about his work and the dangers he encounters.

What sort of threats do you face as an editorial cartoonist in Rwanda?

To answer this, we need to look at the history of Rwanda before the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994. The most popular newspaper at that time, Kangura, used satire cartoons to stereotype the (Tutsi) enemies, many of them politicians. Reports and testimonies after the genocide mentioned the cartoons as propaganda tools used to serve the perpetrators of the genocide. I'm apart from the ideology of genocide; I draw on justice and peace. It is a shame that cartoons in Rwanda are still seen in the light of the genocide. Can you imagine if someone asked me "Do you want to restore Kangura?" That would mean creating divisions between people again.

I have received several anonymous calls demanding that I stop drawing or that I remove certain cartoons, especially those that cover security, government, or other topics related to the president. I am afraid of course that something could happen to me.

Are there taboos (subjects you cannot draw about) in Rwanda? And is there outright censorship on some topics?

To write and talk about sex in public was forbidden but now television and radio cover this topic. Of course all topics related to the president are taboo. It is forbidden to write articles or use photos and documents without authorization from the Office of the President. This is an unofficial law, not documented but known by all. This restriction is applicable even to topics related to the security agencies, the police and the army.

President Paul Kagame celebrates his 59th birthday on Ocober 23, 2016.

What are your favorite subjects to draw about? And do these include ‘dangerous’ topics?

I like the subjects of human rights, security and corruption, all of which are dangerous to some extent. Rwanda is placed quited high in various rankings comparing African countries. This means that relatively safe place, with little corruption. It is not true! Some reports are pure falsehood. I think as an editorial cartoonist it is my job to never give up, even if there are very dangerous topics that need to be addressed.

How is the economic situation in Rwanda; is it possible to make a living as a cartoonist?

There are two newspapers that pay cartoonists; among them is the one that I work for as a cartoonist. I earn a minimum of 200 euros and a maximum of 400 euros per month. My income is laughable; being a cartoonist is not a desirable job here. Cartoon Movement helps me to continue my work, giving me the support of an international community of cartoonists.

African Union launches one passport for Africa.

Are you positive about the future of editorial cartooning in Rwanda?

Everything is possible; the development must begin with basic skills. There is no initiative in Rwanda to help cartoonists in their skills and activities. Learning fine arts does not mean that you necessarily become an editorial cartoonist, but the government should understand the importance of freedom of expression. At present, many cartoonists shy away from politics. They become illustrators instead, choosing to draw subjects related to leisure and entertainment.

Malaysian Cartoonist Zunar Banned from Traveling

 

We have reported about Malaysian cartoonist Zunar on numerous occasions. Zunar’s cartoons are very critical of the Malaysian government, much to the dismay of government officias. He currently faces nine charges under the Sedition Act with the possibility of 43 years in jail. Today, he was also banned from traveling. Read his statement here:

 

I was barred from leaving Malaysia.

 

Today (17 Oct 2016 at 2pm), inbound to Singapore for a forum, I was stopped by the immigration officer at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

 

I was told by the officer that the instruction came from the police for them to stop me from traveling.

 

Upon checking further, another immigration officer who wanted to remain anonymous had confirmed that the instruction came directly from the Inspector General Of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar himself, taking effect on 24th June 2016. 

 

The IGP and The Director of Immigration have no right to stop or control my movement and barring me from leaving the country. Only the court does, and even then can only be carried out under specific laws.

 

Even though I am facing nine charges under the Sedition Act, I am still not convicted since my case shall only start on the 22nd of November this year. This clearly shows gross abuse of power and blatant violation of human rights by these individuals. 

 

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the Article 12 clearly states that everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own. The declaration outlines further that the above-mentioned rights shall not be subjected to any restrictions, except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.

 

This is yet another form of long list harassment to stop me from drawing cartoons to criticize the government of Malaysia. 

 

Last year the government slapped me with nine charges under Sedition Act with possibility of 43 years jail punishment if found guilty over the comments in my tweet. Before that, I was locked behind bars twice - first was on 24th September 2010 for two days and then on 10th of February 2015 for three days. Five of my cartoon books are banned and my office in Kuala Lumpur was raided a few times with thousands of my cartoon books confiscated. 

 

The printers and bookstores around the country which carry my cartoon works have also been raided and warned not to print or sell my books in the future or their whole business licence will be revoked.. October 2014, three of my assistants were arrested for selling my cartoon books. The webmaster, who managed his website and online bookstore, was called in by the police for interrogation.

 

I will file a legal challenge to remove the ban. Talent is not a gift, talent is a responsibility.

They can ban my books, they can ban my cartoon, they can ban me from traveling, but they cannot ban my mind, I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink.

Between Censorship and Satire: Cartooning in Turkey

Turkey is in turmoil. Numerous terrorist attacks have taken a bloody toll in the last year and an attempted coup has only strengthened the power of Erdogan, who seems to be on a mission to force everyone who doesn't agree with him into submission, including cartoonists. We talk to four of our Turkish cartoonists, Menekse Cam, Emrah Arikan, Halit Kurtulmus and Oguz Gurel, to find out what it's like to be a satirist Turkey these days.

What’s the situation like for cartoonists at the moment in Turkey? Do papers still print (critical) cartoons or is there a lot of censorship?

Menekse: Unfortunately there is censorship, fear and all kinds of pressure. At present, cartooning in Turkey is really more dangerous than ever.  Anyone may be arrested and anyone may go to jail. I must admit that since the supposed coup attempt, I haven’t drawn cartoons about Erdoğan and Turkish politics. Because I want to see the road ahead; because I really need to know if I'm safe or what will happen after all this.
Halit: In Turkey,  there are three kinds of cartoonists. The first are press cartoonists. Their job is the hardest of all. They are likely to be pressured, to face censorship  and to be fired because of what they draw. The same is happening in many countries around the world. The second group of cartoonists usually work for the benefit of governments. Their practices change as the governments change. They are at ease. I’m in the third group of freelance cartoonists. We draw cartoons about current issues and issues regarding the public according to our own points of view. We share these drawings in various platforms (especially in the social media) and we are also likely to face the problems that press cartoonists face, which results in self-censorship.

Cartoon by Menekse Cam.

Turkey has a rich tradition of cartoons and social satire. Can you explain some of history of this tradition and what role satire (cartoons) play in Turkish society?


Menekse: Nasreddin Hodja is perhaps the most famous example from Turkish history. A personality whose quick repartee and sharp intelligence has survived in stories and anecdotes since 1284.  Another example is GIRGIR, which was a great humor magazine for 21 years. In my opinion cartooning is most important form of saitre, because it has a great mission. It creates awareness when something goes wrong. In a country like ours, drawing editorial cartoons is a form of activism. Also, cartoons  are like a captain's logbook. They are valuable documents that shed light on the future while the mainstream media are offering a one-sided representation of local or international events. So often cartoonists were arrested and imprisoned for calling attention to truths that they knew to be wrong.  As you know well, ‘There is more than one truth’.  Currently. there are much much more than one truth in Turkey but showing them clearly is really very dangerous for now. It's better to wait for a while. Otherwise, you may not be drawing for a long time.

 

'In a country like ours,  

drawing editorial cartoons

is a form of activism.'

 

Emrah:  The first cartoon was published in Turkey in 1867 during the Ottoman period. Diyojen was the first printed cartoon mag, printed in 1870. Cemal Nadir Güler is the most important cartoonist in classic cartoon period.
Halit: Even in the most difficult years, the old masters made use of cartoons to inform society about the issues which were difficult to write about in the press. We see this in the cartoons of Turhan Selçuk, Oğuz Aral, Semih Balcığolu and of many other old cartoonists. In the past, many humor magazines sold quite well. The interest of the Turkish people  played an important role in the establishment and improvement of the tradition of cartoons.

Cartoon by Emrah Arikan.

3) What are your favorite subjects to draw about?

Menekse: I just love to draw no matter which subject is. I used to be a spectator of events; I became an activist questioning and criticizing by drawing cartoons. In addition to timely political cartoons I often draw cartoons on global issues which never lose timeliness (like the problems women face, wars, hunger, ecological issues, human relations etc.) I sometimes draw  them on specific days (like 1 May - Labor Day, or 8 March - International Women’s Day), sometimes I take inspiration from the competitions.  A cartoonist should be able to express him/herself in every subject.
Emrah: I tend to draw about general themes like terrorism, war, starvation, children rights, human rights, justice and freedom.
Oguz: I also tend to draw about those subjects that are universal.
Halit: I most frequently draw about political issues, sports, terror and social injustices.

Cartoon by Halit Kurtulmus

How do you see the future for cartooning in Turkey? Are (m)any young cartoonists? And are there enough places to publish cartoons?

Menekse: I believe that the conditions we face today are temporary. I hope the Turkish cartoon will have the place it deserves soon. There are a lot of young cartoonists here. For now the most important place to publish our works is the Internet, which provides an endless opportunity for us. The government banned first Twitter, later YouTube in Turkey two years ago. But while there were 7 million Twitter users in Turkey before the ban, there were 10 million at the end of the first day of the ban. In the same way the people continued to use YouTube after the ban. We became a kind of a specialist of IT by finding various ways to circumvent the bans. After all, Turkey provides us with many subjects to draw cartoons about!

 

'Cartoons are important

because they are often

the voice of the people.'

 

Halit: Even though the circumstances are getting harder, cartooning is improving in Turkey and the interest of young people is increasing. There are cartooning courses for children in many cities around Turkey, where master cartoonists share their knowledge. I’m personally very hopeful about the future of Turkish cartooning. Unlike many parts of the world, the number of young cartoonists in my country is increasing. We are happy about it. However, we don’t have any platforms to publish our cartoons.

Cartoon by Oguz Gurel.

Why are cartoons important in your opinion? Can cartoons contribute to a better future in Turkey?

Menekse: Because a  cartoon (even without any speech balloon) can tell people (no matter which language they speak) much more than a lot of  pages of the article. No doubt cartoons have the power to contribute to a better future.
Halit:  As it has always been, the art of cartooning still has an important role to play in the memory of a society. It witnesses and chronicles many events happening all around the world.
Oguz: Cartoons are important because they are often the voice of the people.

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Al Jazeera Reports on Gado

In March, we reported on the firing of Kenyan political cartoonist Gado from the Daily Nation. Gado fears his firing is the result of growing government suppression of press freedom in Kenya. Al Jazeera’s media watch program The Listening Post has done a feauture on Gado’s work, set within the current media landscape in Kenya. Well worth watching:

Corporations Versus Press Freedom

Rick Friday, cartoonist of Iowa’s Farm News for 21 years, was fired on April 30th after a seed company pulled advertising from the Des Moines based weekly following a  cartoon critical of big agricultural companies. This is a blatant and frightening example of economic censorship. Read more here.

Support for Gado

Cartoonists Rights Network International is gathering statements in support for Kenyan cartoonist Gado, who was fired last week from his 23-year position at the Daily Nation, most likely because of political pressure. Here is our official statement:

The dismissal of Kenyan cartoonist Gado from the Daily Nation, where he worked since 1992, is incomprehensible and indefensible. Gado is one of Africa’s most important cartoonist and therefore an asset of tremendous value to any media outlet that takes critical journalism seriously. The only explanation for his sacking seems to be political pressure from the outside. That such pressure has succeeded in ousting one of Kenya most prominent critical voices from the Daily Nation does not bode well for the future of free and independent journalism in Kenya.