Despina Vandi canceled a planned concert in Cesme, Izmir, provoking a storm of reactions in Turkey, when she found out that there were posters of Kemal Ataturk hanging in the venue. In fact, afterwards Despina Vandi was severely attacked both by the organizers of the concert and by the Turkish media.
It all happened at the charity concert in Cesme, Izmir, where Despina Vandi was going to sing at the concert organized by the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV).
As soon as Despina Vandi realized that a poster with the image of Kemal Atatürk was posted in the venue, she canceled her appearance.
According to ERT, the president of the branch of the Turkish Foundation in the region of Izmir, Gulnur Sonbayraktar, took to the stage, announcing that the Greek singer will not perform and that the ticket price will be returned to any of the spectators who wish.
The incendiary statement of the mayor
The mayor of Cesme, Lal Denizli, took the floor, saying that Despina Vandi did not go on stage “because she wants the Turkish flag and the poster of Ataturk to come down”. She asked the audience not to “boo” her because, as she said, “I don’t think he’s even the kind of person worth wasting your breath on».
“We sacrificed many martyrs to win these lands and we are people who believe that brotherhood and eternal friendship will always win,” added the mayor and, according to the Turkish network NTV.
She continued visibly irritated: “No force can dare to take down either our flag or Atatürk’s poster. He can’t even think about it. The lady must leave the borders of this city immediately. Calmly, calmly. But I hope that in whatever country he goes, he will not even think of taking down the blood-won flag of that country, the flag for which many children of the country sacrificed their lives and which they have made a symbol of this country. I hope this will become a historical lesson for her.”
The TEV Foundation Choir finally appeared on stage and joined the audience in singing “The Entry of Smyrna”, the anthem adopted mainly by nationalist Kemalists, celebrating Kemal Atatürk’s entry into Smyrna and the defeat of the Greek army in 1922 .
Despina Vandi’s answer
The well-known singer gave her own answer in a post on Instagram, saying that the responsibility lies entirely with TEV as it “unilaterally decided to change the character of the event as a concert and gave it a political character while we had not agreed to such a thing”.
“Therefore my participation in the concert was not possible” added Despina Vandi who in her post expresses her respect to those who honored her with their presence in Smyrna.
Source: www.diaforetiko.gr
