Mexico lures visitors on new age tourism trail

By AFP
Published August 27, 2022

Alizbeth Camacho leads a meditation session at her holistic center in Tepoztlan, Mexico - Copyright AFP/File MANDEL NGAN

Samir Tounsi

With restorative rituals, yoga retreats and psychedelic experiences, Mexico has become a magnet for spiritually minded tourists seeking an alternative vacation far from the troubles of the modern world.

While many visitors head straight to the beach, a different type of tourist chooses the village of Tepoztlan, a haven for artists and intellectuals an hour’s drive from the capital.

Some of its residents once came for a short stay and found it hard to leave.

“I love the vibes here,” said Ania Bitiutskaia, a 31-year-old Russian living at the foot of the Tepozteco Mountain, the legendary birthplace of the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl.

“People are more relaxed, more spiritual,” she added, browsing an organic market where the sound of a folk guitar and drum beats filled the air.

“I don’t see much news. I almost live in the mountains,” Bitiutskaia said, adding that she prefers to know as little as possible about the war in Ukraine.

The special vibes come at a price: costing upwards of $50-60 a night, Tepoztlan’s hotels are more expensive than those in many parts of Mexico, which welcomed nearly 32 million foreign tourists last year.

Visitors can also stay in holistic centers offering yoga and meditation.

“Since the pandemic, many people have come to live in Tepoztlan… foreigners as well as people from Mexico City who realized that their energy would be blocked,” said Alizbeth Camacho, of the Luz Azul (Blue Light) holistic center.

Camacho offers guests “aura pictures” to visualize their energy, karma and chakras.

Mexico’s new age tourism dates back to the 1970s, when the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda sold millions of books about the teachings of an Indigenous Yaqui shaman.

Pre-Hispanic traditions also inspired Miguel Ruiz’s 1997 self-help bestseller “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.”

– ‘Inner journey’ –

For some visitors, a vacation in Mexico would not be complete without a different kind of trip — hallucinogenics.

American author Robert Gordon Wasson paved the way in the 1950s by revealing the secrets of a traditional healer, Maria Sabina.

Sampling peyote is still possible with Indigenous communities such as the Wixarika, who use the mind-bending drug derived from a cactus in their religious rituals.

And in the mountains of Oaxaca, guides like Pedro Ramirez offer the chance to try magic mushrooms at more than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level.

“It’s going to be an inner journey,” said Ramirez, leading a group of Mexicans and foreigners to a clearing in the village of San Jose del Pacifico.

“You might be scared at first, but after 10 to 15 minutes you’ll laugh, and maybe cry a little,” he added.

Araceli Perez said she decided to try the mushrooms following the deaths of her husband, a doctor, from Covid-19 in 2020.

“I’m looking for answers and acceptance,” she said.

“I want to live and no longer just survive as I think I was doing,” she added.

Another major attraction on Mexico’s new age tourism trail is the temazcal, a kind of Mesoamerican sweat lodge that guide Nicolas Lopez said can “awaken our spirit, our soul.”

Near the Mayan pyramids of Palenque in the southern state of Chiapas, visitors enter Lopez’s heated chamber filled with the aroma of incense and dance to the sound of a tambourine.

“It’s something sacred, pure,” 30-year-old Mexican tourist Valeria Landero said after experiencing the purification ceremony with her husband and teenage daughter.

“It’s about letting it all out, the illnesses, all the bad things, and bringing me pure positivity,” she said.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/life/mexico-lures-visitors-on-new-age-tourism-trail/article#ixzz7dFeC1WGr

Bolsonaro, Lula set to face off in Brazil presidential election debate


By AFP
Published August 27, 2022


Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is expected to face his biggest rival for the presidency, popular leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on Sunday for a debate ahead of October elections, after days of uncertainty over whether they would participate.

“See you at Band (broadcaster Rede Bandeirantes) tomorrow,” Lula, who was president of Brazil from 2003-2010, tweeted on Saturday.

Bolsonaro has not officially confirmed his participation, but is also expected to appear, according to campaign sources quoted by local media on Saturday.

“At one point I thought I shouldn’t go, now I think I should… I think my strategy is going to work,” the far-right leader said in an interview with Jovem Pan radio on Friday.

The debate is the first in the campaign calendar ahead of the October 2 elections. Organizers have also invited four other candidates, including former finance minister Ciro Gomes and Senator Simone Tebet.

Polls have put Lula in the lead as the race heats up, with one published by the Datafholha Institute earlier this month showing the leftist leader taking 47 percent of the vote compared to Bolsonaro’s 32 percent.

In 2018, when Bolsonaro won the election, he participated in the first two presidential debates — but was then stabbed during a campaign rally, and after undergoing surgery he did not return for later debates.

Neither Lula nor another former Brazilian president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, participated in debates before the first round when they sought re-election in 2006 and 1998, respectively.

On the eve of the debate, Bolsonaro and Lula both released campaign ads mainly focusing on the economy.

Lula criticized inflation and the spread of hunger, which affects more than 33 million Brazilians.

Bolsonaro attributed inflation to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and drought; while promising to maintain a welfare program which transfers money each month to 20 million families.

 There's A 'Lost City' Deep in The Ocean, And It's A Place Unlike Anywhere Else

Carly Cassella - Wednesday

Underwater Terrain Of Lost City

© Provided by ScienceAlert

Close to the summit of an underwater mountain west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a jagged landscape of towers rises from the gloom. Their creamy carbonate walls and columns appear ghostly blue in the light of a remotely operated vehicle sent to explore. They range in height from tiny stacks the size of toadstools to a grand monolith standing 60 meters (nearly 200 feet) tall. This is the Lost City

View of the Lost City© Provided by ScienceAlert

A remotely operated vehicle shines a light on the spires of the Lost City. (D. Kelley/UW/URI-IAO/NOAA).[/caption] Discovered by scientists in 2000, more than 700 meters (2,300 feet) beneath the surface, the Lost City Hydrothermal Field is the longest-lived venting environment known in the ocean. 

Nothing else like it has ever been found. For at least 120,000 years and maybe longer, the upthrusting mantle in this part of the world has reacted with seawater to puff hydrogen, methane, and other dissolved gases out into the ocean. In the cracks and crevices of the field's vents, hydrocarbons feed novel microbial communities even without the presence of oxygen. 


Bacteria on calcite column.© Provided by ScienceAlert

Strands of bacteria living on a calcite vent in the Lost City. (

University of Washington/CC BY 3.0).[/caption] Chimneys spewing gases as hot as 40 °C (104 °F) are home to an abundance of snails and crustaceans. Larger animals such as crabs, shrimp, sea urchins and eels are rare, but still present. Despite the extreme nature of the environment, it appears to be teeming with life, and some researchers think it's worth our attention and protection. 

While other hydrothermal fields like this one probably exist elsewhere in the world's oceans, this is the only one remotely operated vehicles have been able to find thus far.

 The hydrocarbons produced by the Lost City's vents were not formed from atmospheric carbon dioxide or sunlight, but by chemical reactions on the deep seafloor. Because hydrocarbons are the building blocks of life, this leaves open the possibility that life originated in a habitat just like this one. And not just on our own planet.

 "This is an example of a type of ecosystem that could be active on Enceladus or Europa right this second," microbiologist William Brazelton told The Smithsonian in 2018, referring to the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. "And maybe Mars in the past." 

Unlike underwater volcanic vents called black smokers, which have also been named as a possible first habitat, the Lost City's ecosystem doesn't depend on the heat of magma. Black smokers produce mostly iron- and sulfur-rich minerals, whereas the Lost City's chimneys produce up to 100 times more hydrogen and methane. The calcite vents of the Lost City are also much, much larger than black smokers, which suggests they've been active for longer.

Tall vent from the Lost City© Provided by ScienceAler

Nine-meter-high chimney in the Lost City. (University of Washington/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).

The tallest of the monoliths is named Poseidon, after the Greek god of the sea, and it stretches more than 60 meters high. Just northeast of the tower, meanwhile, is a cliffside with short bursts of activity. Researchers at the University of Washington describe the vents here as 'weeping' with fluid to produce "clusters of delicate, multi-pronged carbonate growths that extend outward like the fingers of upturned hands." Unfortunately, scientists aren't the only ones beckoned by that unusual terrain. In 2018, it was announced that Poland had won the rights to mine the deep sea around The Lost City. While there are no precious resources to be dredged up in the actual thermal field itself, the destruction of the city's surroundings could have unintended consequences.

https://twitter.com/RebeccaRHelm/status/1561792071429660674

 Any plumes or discharges, triggered by the mining, could easily wash over the remarkable habitat, scientists warn. Some experts are therefore calling for the Lost City to be listed as a World Heritage site, to protect the natural wonder before it's too late. For tens of thousands of years, the Lost City has stood as a testament to the enduring force of life. It would be just like us to ruin it.

Sick dolphin calf improves with tube-fed milk, helping hands


RAYONG, Thailand (AP) — The Irrawaddy dolphin calf — sick and too weak to swim — was drowning in a tidal pool on Thailand’s shore when fishermen found him.


Sick dolphin calf improves with tube-fed milk, helping hands© Provided by The Canadian Press

The fishermen quickly alerted marine conservationists, who advised them how to provide emergency care until a rescue team could transport the baby to Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center for veterinary attention.

The baby was nicknamed Paradon, roughly translated as “brotherly burden,” because those involved knew from day one that saving his life would be no easy task.

Irrawaddy dolphins, considered a vulnerable species by International Union for Conservation of Nature, are found in the shallow coastal waters of South and Southeast Asia and in three rivers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia. Their survival is threatened by habitat loss, pollution and fishing, when dolphins are caught unintentionally with other species.

Officials from the marine research center believe around 400 Irrawaddy dolphins remain along the country’s eastern coast, bordering Cambodia.

Since Paradon was found by the fishermen July 22, dozens of veterinarians and volunteers have helped care for him at the center in Rayong on the Gulf of Thailand.

“We said among ourselves that the chance of him surviving was quite low, judging from his condition,” Thanaphan Chomchuen, a veterinarian at the center, said Friday. “Normally, dolphins found stranded on the shore are usually in such a terrible condition. The chances that these dolphins would survive are normally very, very slim. But we gave him our best try on that day.”

Workers placed him in a seawater pool, treated the lung infection that made him so sick and weak, and enlisted volunteers to watch him round the clock. They have to hold him up in his tank to prevent him from drowning and feed him milk, initially done by tube, and later by bottle when he had recovered a bit of strength.

A staff veterinarian and one or two volunteers stay for each eight-hour shift, and other workers during the day handle the water pump and filter and making milk for the calf.

After a month, Paradon’s condition is improving. The calf believed to be between 4 and 6 months old can swim now and has no signs of infection. But the dolphin that was 138 centimeters long (4.5 feet) and around 27 kilograms (59 pounds) on July 22 is still weak and doesn't take enough milk despite the team's efforts to feed him every 20 minutes or so.

Thippunyar Thipjuntar, a 32-year-old financial adviser, is one of the many volunteers who come for a babysitting shift with Paradon.

Thippunya said with Paradon’s round baby face and curved mouth that looks like a smile, she couldn’t help but grow attached to him and be concerned about his development.

“He does not eat enough but rather just wants to play. I am worried that he does not receive enough nutrition,” she told The Associated Press on Friday as she fed the sleepy Paradon, cradled in her arm. “When you invest your time, physical effort, mental attention, and money to come here to be a volunteer, of course you wish that he would grow strong and survive.”

Sumana Kajonwattanakul, director of the marine center, said Paradon will need long-term care, perhaps as much as a year, until he is weaned from milk and is able to hunt for his own food.

“If we just release him when he gets better, the problem is that he he won’t be able to have milk. We will have to take care of him until he has his teeth, then we must train him to eat fish, and be part of a pod. This will take quite some time,” Sumana said.

Paradon's caregivers believe the extended tender loving care is worth it.

“If we can save one dolphin, this will help our knowledge, as there have not been many successful cases in treating this type of animal,” said veterinarian Thanaphan. “If we can save him and he survives, we will have learned so much from this."

“Secondly, I think by saving him, giving him a chance to live, we also raise awareness about the conservation of this species of animal, which are rare, with not many left.”

Tassanee Vejpongsa, The Associated Press

Should you put coffee grounds in your garden?

Rural Mom - Yesterday 
The simple idea of recycling spent coffee back to the earth stimulates green thumbs. But, is it smart to put coffee grounds in your garden? Should you join the java jolt and compost your brew?

Years ago Starbucks starting giving spent coffee grounds to local gardeners in Seattle on a first-come come, first-serve basis. The initiative was one way to fulfill the corporate mission of active environmental responsibility in communities in which they do business. The local stewardship spread quickly to all locations across North America.

Coffee grounds are typically wasted. To reduce waste, it’s tempting to add them directly to your the garden, worm bin, and compost pile. When gardeners, schools, parks, and nurseries use coffee grounds for compost and mulch, a valuable organic resource is returned to the earth.


Should you put coffee grounds in your garden?

© Provided by Rural Mom

The Language of Composting

In the language of composting, coffee grounds are ‘green’ nitrogen sources like grass clippings, vegetable scraps, and animal manures. The ‘brown’ components in compost are dead leaves, straw, sawdust, and hardwood ashes which contribute carbon.

Organic materials are composed of a carbon-nitrogen ratio. The carbon-nitrogen ratio in coffee grounds is 20:1 indicating the grounds are a good nitrogen source.

An analysis of the grounds reveals they contain the basic three nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, aka N-P-K, for plant growth. The elements magnesium, copper, calcium, and sulfur are also in coffee grounds.
Why Use Coffee Grounds in Your Garden?

Gardeners extol the many benefits of the grounds:


When mixed with brown materials in the compost bin, grounds generate heat to speed up decomposition.

Coffee grounds absorb and retain moisture enabling them to affect the soil’s texture.
The acidity of the grounds may be balanced with lime and /or hardwood ashes. However, many gardeners mulch acid loving plants like azaleas, camellias and blueberries with spent grounds. Acidic grounds keep your hydrangeas blue too.

Tomato growers sidedress their plants for the nitrogen boost, added calcium and to suppress late blight.

Grounds sprinkled on lawns contribute nitrogen, the greening nutrient for actively growing lawns.

Hosta and lily growers find that coffee grounds repel slugs and snails.

Earthworms enjoy a coffee klatch in a vermicompost bin and in no time their java castings perk-up the garden.

Outdoor container plants and indoor houseplants also respond favorably when you work grounds into the soil or use as a liquid plant fertilizer. Dilute the grounds in water to form an amber cordial. Similarly, rather than pouring leftover coffee down the drain, feed the elixir to your plants instead.

Precautions

Too much of anything is, well, too much. The old adage applies to coffee grounds in your garden.

A 2016 article in the Journal of Urban Forestry & Urban Greening study showed that coffee grounds may reduce plant growth when directly applied.

Applying coffee grounds directly to the soil may cause problems. Since coffee grounds are mildly acidic, composting the grounds with kitchen scraps, yard debris and wood ashes forms the best product.

If wet grounds are worked into the soil or placed directly on the surface, they may form an unwanted mildew mat. To avoid this, all the grounds to dry thoroughly before adding them to the soil.

In light of this, composting grounds may be the best course of action. The best way to assess what works in your garden? Experiment a little!

Take advantage of this free resource to brew a compost to energize your garden year-round.

West’s neoliberal ‘age of abundance’ is over, as war and sanctions boomerang home

France’s President Macron warned of the end of “an era of abundance.” Western wars and sanctions are boomeranging back at home. The neoliberal phase of capitalism is collapsing, having lost cheap Russian energy and cheap labor and consumer goods from China, and with regime-change ops failing.

By Benjamin Norton

The 2022 G7 summit in Germany

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, a former banker, warned that “we are living the end of what could have seemed an era of abundance,” calling it “a kind of major tipping point or a great upheaval.”

Western wars and sanctions are boomeranging back at home. The neoliberal phase of capitalism is collapsing.

Neoliberalism has lost the key pillars it was built on: cheap energy and raw materials from Russia, cheap labor and consumer goods from China, an unsustainable bubble of household debt, low to zero interest rates, and Washington’s ability to organize regime-change operations in any country where a government tried a socialistic or state-led economic model.

Sources

“Macron warns of ‘end of abundance’ as France faces difficult winter,” The Guardian
“A ‘Tsunami of Shutoffs’: 20 Million US Homes Are Behind on Energy Bills,” Bloomberg
Annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China from 1990 to 2021, via Statista
“New Study Confirms That American Workers Are Getting Ripped Off,” New York Magazine

Russian gas exports to Europe, by country, from 1970-2005, via ResearchGate


China’s GDP per capita from 1978–2017, via Unicef


US household debt from 1945 to 2018, via the New York Federal Reserve


US household debt from 2000 to 2021, via Statista

Russian general’s BMW is torched by anti-war protestor

A woman doused the BMW X6 of Yevgeny Sektarev with petrol before setting it alight.

James Kilner and Josie Ensor
August 28 2022 02:30 AM

An anti-war protester was arrested in central Moscow yesterday after torching the car of a Russian general in charge of military censorship.

The attack, reported by Russia’s Baza news agency, is among the most violent protests yet against the war in Ukraine and comes a week after a car bombing in the capital killed Darya Dugina, a rising pro-Kremlin journalist.

Police told Baza that a woman doused the BMW X6 of Yevgeny Sektarev with petrol before setting it alight.

Photos showed the mangled wreckage of the car’s boot parked outside a residential block.

Mr Sektarev is the deputy head of the 8th Directorate of the Russian General Staff, the department responsible for censoring soldiers and officers.

The woman told police she burnt the car as an anti-war protest, according to Baza.

Vladimir Putin’s regime has arrested thousands of people for merely expressing dissent against the war, an offence that now carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.

Public protest has, as a result, been limited but saboteurs have fire-bombed army recruitment centres and hacked government websites. Before the assassination of Dugina, Moscow felt a long way from the war in Ukraine. But the attack in a wealthy neighbourhood, which Russia blamed on Ukraine, generated anxiety in the capital’s elite.

Kyiv says it had nothing to do with the killing, with officials pointing the finger at the Russian secret service.

The burning of Sektarev’s car came as Russian forces were increasing their attacks in east Ukraine, drawing Ukrainian units away from the southern front, where Kyiv is reportedly planning an offensive to retake the Kherson region.

But despite intensifying their attacks on Siversk and Bakhmut, which lie north of Donetsk city, the British ministry of defence said Russian forces had made little progress. “Overall, Russian forces have secured few territorial gains,” it said in its daily intelligence briefing.

Journalists reporting from Bakhmut, which had a pre-war population of 72,000, said that most residents had now fled the town. Video showed empty streets, populated by stray dogs, some of them household pets abandoned in hurried evacuations. The boom of artillery exchanges splices through videos from Bakhmut.

Many of its buildings are now in ruins. Ukrainian officials said that several civilians had died in the Russian bombardments.

As the Kremlin resumes its offensive in Donbas, Ukraine’s government ordered more civilians to evacuate from more regions. As well as ordering civilians in Donetsk to flee, the Ukrainian government also told people living in the eastern Kharkiv region, southern Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv to leave their home.

“I call on people to evacuate and not to hope that the enemy shows mercy,” said Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister.

The Ukrainian government has already told people to flee from Kherson city where it is planning an offensive.

Russia’s army captured Kherson city in the first few days of the war and its officials have since tried to turn it into an enviable model for life under their control. But residents have said the Russian occupiers rule by fear, arresting and torturing dissenters. They also said jobs and food are running low and that the economy is collapsing.

These complaints are not confined to Kherson. In Mariupol, destroyed in the first six weeks of the war by intense Russian bombing, a promised rebuild has failed to happen.

Instead, Russian news agencies have been reduced to reporting the installation of the city’s first working traffic lights last week.

Putin has also made an uncharacteristic omission that parts of Ukraine captured by Russia were not proving attractive places for families to live in.

He said the Kremlin would pay 10,000 roubles, roughly €166, to the parents of every child who enrols for school in these areas.

Meanwhile, in a rare interview, an FBI chief has said that a Russian official is expected to defect over the course of the war with Ukraine and work with Western intelligence.

Michael Driscoll, the head of the FBI’s New York office, said it was “very likely” that a disgruntled Kremlin apparatchik will part with the Russian president as the casualties of his invasion mount.

“In moments like this when you’re dealing with a significant conflict and there is apparently clear disagreement among Russian citizens, and you can see that from protests on the streets of Russia, then the possibility that somebody might be willing to have a conversation with us about that and seek to perhaps to do the right thing for the sake of the greater good I think is very likely,” Mr Driscoll said.

The FBI chief was speaking to journalist Richard Kerbaj for his new book The Secret History of the Five Eyes and this excerpt has been shared exclusively with The Sunday Telegraph.

“History has shown us that that kind of thing happens all of the time,” he said.

Mexico colonel blamed for killing several missing students

"Six of the 43 disappeared students were allegedly held during several days and alive in what they call the old warehouse and from there were turned over to then colonel Jose Rodriguez Perez," says official leading Truth Commission.

Families of disappeared students protest with signs proclaiming "it was the State". (AP)

Six of the 43 college students "disappeared" in 2014 have been allegedly kept alive in a warehouse for days then turned over to the local army commander who ordered them killed, the Mexican government official leading a Truth Commission has said.

Interior Undersecretary Alejandro Encinas made the shocking revelation directly tying the military to one of Mexico's worst human rights scandals, and it came with little fanfare as he made a lengthy defence of the commission's report released a week earlier.

"There is also information corroborated with emergency 089 telephone calls where allegedly six of the 43 disappeared students were held during several days and alive in what they call the old warehouse and from there were turned over to the colonel," Encinas said on Friday.

"Allegedly the six students were alive for as many as four days after the events and were killed and disappeared on orders of the colonel, allegedly the then colonel Jose Rodriguez Perez."

The students' parents demanded for years that they be allowed to search the army base in Iguala. It was not until 2019 that they were given access along with Encinas and the Truth Commission.

READ MORE: Mexico commission blames military over 43 disappeared students

'Report is not enough'

Through a driving rain later on Friday, the families of the 43 missing students marched in Mexico City with a couple hundred other people as they have on the 26th of every month for years.

Parents carried posters of their children's faces and rows of current students from the teachers' college marched, shouted calls for justice and counted off to 43. Their signs proclaimed that the fight for justice continued and asserted: "It was the State."

In a joint statement, the families said the Truth Commission’s confirmation that it was a "state crime" was significant after elements suggesting that over the years.

However, they said the report still did not satisfactorily answer their most important question.

"Mothers and fathers need indubitable scientific evidence as to the fate of our children," the statement said.

"We can’t go home with preliminary signs that don’t fully clear up where they are and what happened to them."

READ MORE: Mexico ex-top prosecutor to stand trial in disappeared students case

Last week, federal agents arrested former attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam, who oversaw the original investigation.

Prosecutors allege Murillo Karam created a false narrative about what happened to the students to quickly appear to resolve the case.

READ MORE: Mexico arrests ex-top prosecutor over disappearance of 43 students

U.S. to name ambassador-at-large for the Arctic
CGTN

Polar bear walks on pack ice at sunset, Svalbard, Norway, August 27, 2014. /CFP

The United States has indicated its intention to appoint an ambassador at large for the Arctic, reflecting a growing interest in the region as its shrinking opens up new sea lanes and vast oil and mineral resources.

In a statement on Friday, the U.S. State Department said President Joe Biden planned to elevate the area's importance within the U.S. government by nominating an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic region, subject to the Senate's advice and consent.

It did not say who would be nominated.

"An Arctic region that is peaceful, stable, prosperous, and cooperative is of critical strategic importance to the United States," the Department said.

"As one of eight Arctic nations, the United States has long been committed to protecting our national security and economic interests in the region, combating climate change, fostering sustainable development and investment, and promoting cooperation with Arctic States, Allies, and partners," it said.

The eight Arctic nations are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States.

(With input from Reuters)

 U.S. concerned about judicial harassment after Turkish pop star's arrest

By Reuters Staff

WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -The United States said it remained concerned about Turkey’s censorship of free speech, and women’s groups protested in Istanbul on Saturday, after the arrest of pop star Gulsen over a past quip she made about religious schools.


Turkish pop star Gulsen performs during a concert in Aydin, Turkey March 27, 2022. 

Depo Photos via REUTERS/File Photo

The singer-songwriter was jailed on Thursday pending trial on a charge of incitement to hatred after a video of her on-stage remark in April was broadcast by a pro-government media outlet.

While several state ministers condemned Gulsen’s words, her arrest drew a fierce response from critics who see President Tayyip Erdogan’s government as bent on punishing those who oppose its conservative views.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said it remains concerned about widespread efforts in Turkey to restrict expression via censorship and judicial harassment following Gulsen’s detention

Protesters in Istanbul criticised what they called inconsistency between the judiciary’s inaction towards violence against women and the artist’s speedy investigation and arrest. Many say Gulsen was targeted for her liberal views and support for LGBT+ rights.

“Hundreds of women would be alive today if men who assaulted other women were captured as fast as Gulsen was,” organizers of the Istanbul protest told demonstrators through a loudspeaker.

Her arrest is the latest injustice against “women who don’t fit the mold,” or are not “the type of woman the government wants,” they said

In the video of her performance in April, Gulsen refers to a musician in her band and says in a light-hearted manner: “He studied at an Imam Hatip (school) previously. That’s where his perversion comes from.”

Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted party first came to power two decades ago, himself studied at one of Turkey’s first Imam Hatip schools, which were founded by the state to educate young men to be imams and preachers but have since exploded in number.

Gulsen on Thursday apologised to anyone offended by her remarks, saying they were seized upon by some who want to polarise society.

Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington and Azra Ceylan in Istanbul; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Daniel Wallis, William Maclean

Turkish pop star jailed over joke about religious schools

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish singer and songwriter Gulsen was arrested on Thursday on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” for a joke she made at an Istanbul concert in April, sparking outrage on social media.

FILE - Turkish pop star Gulsen performs during a concert in Istanbul, on April 10, 2016. Gulsen, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, has been arrested Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, on charges of "inciting hatred and enmity" over a joke she made about Turkey's religious schools, the country's state-run news agency reported. The 46-year-old singer and songwriter was taken away for questioning from her home in Istanbul and was formally arrested late on Thursday before being taken to a prison pending her trial.(Depo Photos via AP, File)

August 26, 2022

By 

Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” over a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported.

The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away for questioning from her home in Istanbul and was formally arrested late on Thursday before being taken to a prison pending her trial.

The arrest sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate his religious and conservative support base ahead of elections in 10 months’ time.

The charges were based on a joke Gulsen made during a concert in Istanbul back in April when she quipped that one of her musicians’ “perversion” stemmed from the fact that he went to a religious school. A video of the singer making the comments began circulating on social media recently, with a hashtag calling for her arrest.

Gulsen — who had already been the target of Islamic circles for her revealing stage outfits — issued an apology for the offense caused but said her comments were seized on by those wanting to deepen polarization in the country.

During her questioning, Gulsen rejected accusations that she incited hatred and enmity, telling court authorities that she had “endless respect for the values and sensitivities of my country,” the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

A request that she be released from custody pending the outcome of a trial was rejected.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey’s main opposition party called on Turkey’s judges and prosecutors to release Gulsen.

“Don’t betray the law and justice; release the artist now!” he wrote on Twitter.

The spokesman for Erdogan ruling party, Omer Celik, appeared however, to defend the decision to arrest the singer, saying “inciting hatred is not an art form.”

“Targeting a segment of society with the allegation of “perversion” and trying to polarize Turkey is a hate crime and a disgrace to humanity,” Celik tweeted.

Erdogan and many members of his Islam-based ruling party are graduates of religious schools, which were originally established to train imams. The number of religious schools has increased under Erdogan, who has promised to raise a “pious generation.”