As a Turk living in Ireland, I missed the chance to see U2 perform in my home country on 6th of September. U2 is a legendary band who have, according to Bono, refuses to perform in Turkey due to the digestive problems of democracy there. Somehow within a short period of time, Prime Minister Erdogan's pink pill has succeeded in suppressing these problems, along with any dissent or opposition to the policies of his government. Those who dare oppose the AKP's new regime in Turkey face the threat of sudden tax audits, police investigations in the dead of night and other such challenges. Alternatively you can take the pill and continue seeing pink dreams. The dream has come true and U2 was in Turkey. All of a sudden, the prejudice of U2 against Turkey was suddenly reversed by the strong PR work of AKP party. Using U2 was the ultimate PR coup for the AKP government but it merely shows that the illusion of democracy can be bought any time and anywhere. The good thing is, when Bono thanked the Chief E.U Negotiator and Erdoğan's right hand man Egemen Bağış the, fifty thousand boos echoed across the stadium. This should be read as a clear message from the people who have not been dreaming and living the reality of the current government.I hope one day, democracy will truly dawn over Turkey, and the pretentiousness of the current Turkish government will be exposed for what it really is.
Kamil Tavas
