President Recep Tayyip Erdogan created a new controversy on Feb. 9, Turkey's Quit Smoking Day, when he appeared to link addiction to alcohol and tobacco to poetry, literature and cinema. In a country where censorship is already rife, his remark sparked concern that fresh restrictions might be in store.
On Feb. 9, left-leaning Cumhuriyet, a vocal critic of the government, published a story headlined “Erdogan: Poems, novels and cinema cause addictions just like smoking.” A number of other news sites, including the popular T24, picked up the story, leading many to wonder where Turkey is going and whether poetry, fiction and cinema are under threat.
