Turkey is planning to investigate Disney+'s decision to cancel the Ataturk series, which features the country's founding father, over an alleged outcry from the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The decision to scrap the show was made in June, and stepped on the brakes for the series that would have focused on the founder of the modern Turkish state. Ankara's governing party has criticized the decision, with the chairman of Turkey's television watchdog RUTK, Ebubekir Sahin, announcing a probe.
Disney+ Cancels Ataturk Series
Sahin said that the Ataturk series is Turkey's "most important social value." ANCA called on Disney+ to cancel the show over what it claims was the glorification of a Turkish dictator and genocide killer. The situation comes after the streaming service announced last month that the Ataturk series would be on air "very soon."
Several Turkish and Armenian news media outlets reported that Disney ultimately decided to cancel the series. The company said that the decision was influenced by the lobbying activities of ANCA, as per Aljazeera.
Ottoman commanders in May 1915 began the mass deportation of Armenians from eastern Turkey. Armenia has claimed that roughly 1.5 million ethnic Armenians died due to massacres, starvation, and exhaustion in the desert.
However, Turkish officials have disputed the number released but have acknowledged that killings took place during that time. But authorities said that deaths occurred on all sides in the context of the conflict that was happening at the time. They have also refused to recognize the deaths as a "genocide."
Ataturk, previously known as Mustafa Kemal, was a commander in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I in 1915. He was later responsible for establishing the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after he ended the Ottoman Empire.
Ataturk's History
Disney+ Ataturk series, which consisted of six parts, was set to be released on Oct. 29, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. It was set to release as two films where. According to the Washington Post, the second would be out on Dec. 22.
In a statement, the deputy chairman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Omer Celik, said it was a shame that Disney+ succumbed to the pressure of the Armenian lobby. He said that this was the kind of attitude that is considered to be disrespectful to the values of the Republic of Turkey and the nation itself.
After ending the Ottoman Empire and founding the Republic of Turkey, Ataturk became the first president in 1923 until he died in 1938. He was known to have introduced political, economic, and social reforms while promoting a secular Turkish national identity. The founding father is so widely celebrated in Turkey today that even insulting his name is considered a criminal offense.
However, critics of Ataturk claim that his new state embraced the perpetrators of genocide against Armenians. On the other hand, Turkey maintains its belief that Armenians took up arms against the Ottoman state, sometimes in coordination with Russia, said Politico.
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