Turkey's main opposition leader listens to artists' complaints during coronavirus pandemic
Turkey's main opposition CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu held a video conference with artists to hear their complaints during the COVID-19 outbreak. Kılıçdaroğlu was joined by famous actresses, actors and musicians, as well as mayors of Turkey's metropolitan municipalities from the opposition party.
Duvar English
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu held a video conference April 16, with artists who represent different unions and associations.
Kılıçdaroğlu was joined by famous Turkish singer Candan Erçetin, famous actress Demet Akbağ and actors Mert Fırat and Levent Üzümcü.
Esen Aslandoğan, Mustafa Aksoy, Kenan Kocatürk, İlbay Kahraman, Ceniz Hakkı Zariç, İraz Yöntem, Emre Kınay, Sezai Aydın, Hayko Cepkin, Sercan Gidişoğlu, Burhan Şeşen, Metin Karataş, Bülent Forta, Orhan Alkaya and Tuba Ataç were also in the discussion.
The artists spoke about issues they're facing during the COVID-19 outbreak, such as broadcasters' insistence to continue filming shows on set.
"We made a huge effort to stop filming on sets and I believe we've shut down about 90 percent," actress Akbağ said.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer, who are also from the CHP, participated in the discussion.
İmamoğlu noted that Istanbul Municipality would be looking into the issues that artists face during the COVID-19 outbreak and would prepare a report about it.
Ankara Mayor Yavaş said that the Ankara Municipality had granted pensions to over 400 musicians to compensate for their loss of income due to the pandemic.