A Turkish punk band called "Deli" is being prosecuted for "insulting Turkishness" in a song that attacks the Turkish education system. The song "OSYM" complains about the eponymous university entrance system, where 1.5 million young adults take entrance exams each year, while less than a third are admitted.
The lyrics in question:
I have gotten lost
You have ruined my future
I am going to tell you one thing:
Shove that exam...
The song is actually several years old, but gained government attention when a kid posted this video on YouTube, lip-synching to it (worth a watch).
Deli will appear in court on Thursday. Apparently, Turkish prosecutors file these sorts of suits fairly regularly, but they don't always go anywhere.
Bass guitarist Enis Coban (who studied the decidedly non-punk subject of textile manufacturing) said that Turkey has "more censorship than Europe or the United States, but less than China or Iran." Well, that puts it in useful, if somewhat depressing, perspective.
