Children’s drama banned for being anti-war

A regional education administration in Turkey has banned a children’s play “Environmentalist Rascals” for being “anti-war and anti-violence”.

The educational authorities in the Akhisar district of Manisa province said that one of the characters in the play expressed “anti-war” sentiments, while another voiced opinions that were “against violence”. Therefore, the drama was banned.

The order, shared on Twitter by journalist Erk Acarer, said that a play with an anti-war theme would be “problematic” during the “sensitive period” Turkey is going through, referring to the ongoing Turkish attack on Afrin.

The Turkish government has shown little tolerance for the dissident since the start of the war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the Turkish Doctor’s Union “terrorist-lovers” for releasing a statement calling war a “man-made public health problem”, shortly before police detained the union’s central committee.