Monday, March 14, 2011
Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises has been shot!
Here's the story:
Ibrahim Tatlises, a Turkish singer of Kurdish descent who has
millions of fans in Turkey and around the Middle East, was in critical
condition in an Istanbul hospital yesterday after being shot in the head
by unknown assailants.
Tatlises, 59, was shot as he left a television studio after
completing his regular show there around midnight on Sunday. Buket
Cakici, an assistant of the singer, was also hurt when at least two
people opened fire with automatic weapons and then sped away in a black
car.
[Here's the story in the Hurriyet Daily Bugle].
Tatlises, of course, has long been rumored to be connected to various mafia-type elements in Turkey. I remember back in the 1990s there was a scandal when a dude Tatlises was with shot somebody after, it was alleged, Tatlises had told him to do it.
Unsurprisingly, speculation is that this was a hit related to organized crime. Here's what the National article sez:
Persistent reports in the Turkish media linking Tatlises to the
Turkish Mafia have been fuelled by the fact that prosecutors questioned
him in connection with investigations concerning several organised crime
groups, and there were at least two attempts to shoot him in the past.
He was injured in one shooting in 1990 and escaped unharmed in the
other, in 1998.
"Tatlises was the first one who carried the music and the lifestyle
of the south-east to Istanbul," Prof Karahasanoglu said, adding that in
the course of the singer's career, his business interests seem to have
taken priority over the musical side. Many people in Turkey knew that
Tatlises, whose name translates to "sweet voice", was reported to have
ties to criminals, but loved him anyway because of his music, she said.
The professor added Tatlises was not unlike Frank Sinatra in that
respect, because the American singer also combined musical stardom with
reported links to organised crime.
There was intense media speculation about who may have been
behind the attack on Tatlises. Some news reports said Kurdish rebels may
have been responsible, but there was no indication as to why the rebels
would target Tatlises, and there was no official statement and no
reaction from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a rebel group
fighting for Kurdish self-rule since 1984.
Izzet Yildizhan, a singer and a friend of Tatlises, told the CNN-Turk
news channel he suspected that Tatlises' business interests in Iraqi
Kurdistan, where the singer has been involved in a housing project with
Iraqi partners, were behind the attack. "All signs are pointing in that
direction," he said.
 |
| Ibrahim Tatlises during a moment of reflection |
Tatlises is one of my favorite singers. Just last December I wrote a couple paragraphs about him, reminiscing over a concert of his I saw in Russia back when I was a graduate student. This is what I wrote back then:
While
I began admiring Ibrahim Tatlises' music early on in the 1990s, I
didn't see him in concert until he came to St. Petersburg, Russia in the
early winter months of 2004. I was over there doing dissertation
research, having fled the frozen temperatures of Kazan for the relative
warmth of the humid capital.
As part of the Fulbright grant I'd received, I was able to
spend up to $3000 for language study. This was a great opportunity: in
Kazan I read first printed, then various types of handwritten documents
written in Arabic-script Tatar from the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. In St. Petersburg, I worked with a Persianist from St.
Petersburg State University who was by nationality Azeri. She was the
chairwoman of the Azeri Society of St. Petersburg, and they were somehow
involved in the organization of the concert.
Ibo, as Ibrahim Tatlises is known, appeared in tandem with a
forgettable Azeri singer named "Azeri Kizi." Apparently she'd had a
couple of hits in Turkey.
Ibo completely undermined her. Apparently she hadn't been
singing, but rather was using a CD. Ibo, with a mischievous glance to
the audience, went over to a corner of the stage and started messing
with her CD, then announced "CD bozuldu" ("the CD is messed up"). He
went up to her and offered to sing a duet with her—one of her own
songs—but Azeri Kizi refused.
Ibo then came out and performed for three hours. No CDs were
used. A very hardworking man—he put on a hell of a show.
So yeah, he can be a jerk. And perhaps a killer in his own right, so...it's getting kind of difficult to feel bad for him, but still: he's a human being and a great artist.
And besides, all by himself Tatlises makes Turkey about 1.5% more fun to live in.
Our thoughts are with him in the Borderlands...
***More coverage below***
Updated, Tuesday, 8:13 pm, DC time
Global Perspectives: Ibo's condition "more positive, still critical."
Hey Mehmet Ali Bey: he's not dead!
Tuesday, 12:26 pm
Hide under the bed!: Hurriyet Daily Bugle sez culprits still at large!
The
police seem to be making a big show of looking busy, as do the
politicians (see below for Gul and Erdogan's involvement in this story).
From the Bugle:
The Istanbul Police Directorate has assembled 10 police teams involving
30 policemen to investigate the attack, for which no motive has been
reported. As of Tuesday, police had questioned 110 people regarding the
incident.
On the one hand, this is all sounding a little crazy and sad. So much manpower for one dude--and a singer, no less.
But of course, the issue behind many unsolved murders/attempted murders/etc. in Turkey isn't a lack of manpower anyway.
In fact, it's usually when the manpower is organized like this into teams that things get scary...
In any case, ahead of parliamentary elections in June, it makes sense for everybody to appear ahead of the game.
Tuesday, 9:23 am
Istanbul governor: Eleven bullets removed from Ibrahim Tatlises' head.
No word on how many of these bullets were in Tatlises' head prior to Monday's shooting.
Eleven bullets were removed from Tatlıses' head, the governor added,
saying the exact time of the attack was 12:30 a.m. early Monday morning.
"Our valuable singer İbrahim Tatlıses was subject to an armed attack
after finishing filming on Büyükdere Street. I hope he gets well as soon
as possible. We know that his condition has been steadily improving. We
hope that this will continue in the hours ahead of us," Mutlu said
In this report, however, they say eleven shots were fired total, with only two hitting Tatlises.
"Eleven shots were fired," Mehmet Guclu, Tatlises' long-time manager and close friend, told SETimes. "Two bullets hit Tatlises, and another two hit his assistant."
Can't believe it took this long: you guessed it, Tatlises shooting linked to deep state forces.
First the Ergenekon gang killed Buckwheat, now they're after Ibo
Brother of Ibo claims Tatlises will never sing again--but what the hell does he know?
Trip down memory lane: Hurriyet Daily Bugle recounts the violent times of Mr. Sweetvoice.
A stunned fanbase responds. Readers from around the world bare their soul, comment on all things Ibo.
Also here.
____
Updated: 12:21 am
TrendAZ sez: Erdogan, Gul closely monitoring Tatlises durumu.
President of Turkey Abdullah Gul said on Monday that he closely followed developments in case of famous singer İbrahim Tatlises who had been shot in the head on Sunday, CNN Turk reported.
"I follow the topic closely. I hope he will recover soon," Gul told
journalists at the joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart
Ivo Josipovic.
And what about Croatian President Ivo Josipovic? What did he have to say about Tatlises?
Erdogan has reportedly called the hospital, too, apparently
in an effort to remind the doctors to try to save Tatlises' life.
____
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