The color white is a popular symbol of innocence and purity. This might have been one reason Turkish celebrity Beyazit Ozturk named his immensely popular program "The Beyaz Show." His stage name, “Beyaz,” means "white" in Turkish. As a fixture on Turkish television for 20 years, his name is a household word. He has hundreds of thousands of fans, especially among the young.

On the night of Jan. 8, something unprecedented on Turkish television happened on "The Beyaz Show." During the talk show, watched live by millions of people, a woman called in and introduced herself as Ayse Celik, a teacher from Diyarbakir. Clashes have been raging for months between Kurdish militants and the security forces in this largest city of the mainly Kurdish southeast. She delivered a message few would have expected on an entertainment program.

“Are you aware of what's going on in the country’s east? What's happening here is misrepresented on television. Don’t stay silent! Please show more sensitivity as human beings! See us, hear us and give us a hand!” she said.

“I’d like to address the teachers who have abandoned their students. How are they going to return there? How are they going to look those innocent children in the eyes? What a pity! Let the people not die. Let the children not die. Let the mothers not cry.”