January 14, 2004 - 17:56 AMT
TURKISH CULTURE MINISTER CENSURED RESOLUTION BANNING ATOM EGOYAN'S "ARARAT" DEMONSTRATION IN COUNTRY
Turkish minister of culture Erkan Mumcu censured the decision on not showing Atom Egoyan's "Ararat" in Turkey. In his interview to NTV Turkish company he stated as irrelevant the appeal of the leaders of "Belge" company, possessing the right for demonstrating the film, to leader of Turkish nationalists Devlet Bakhcheli. In the minister's opinion, "one, who wanted to show the film, would do it". "If necessary we could arrange the demonstration of the film in the state halls. Turkey should not be in debt", he said. At the same time E. Mumcu emphasized that the showing of "Ararat" in Turkey has not been completely banned, as the matter only concerns the refusal of "Belge" company to demonstrate the film in Turkey. Let us remind that according to the earlier report by Sabakh Turkish newspaper, "Ararat" recounting the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire is nevertheless being privately viewed in the country.