Istanbul: The music of heavy metal band Metallica has provided the soundtrack as students in Istanbul protest President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to impose a loyalist as head of a prestigious university.
Songs like “Master of Puppets” and “Sad But True” blazed through loudspeakers at the Bogazici University campus on Wednesday, as students demanded the resignation of its new president, Metallica fan Melih Bulu.
Bulu, a ruling AK Party activist, was appointed over the weekend. The musical dig followed a TV interview on Tuesday where he said he has no intention to upend the university’s culture.
“I am a rector who listens to hard rock, to Metallica,” he said.
If the band’s music has become the protests’ soundtrack, then the image of police officers handcuffing a gate of the university has become their iconic image. Police have detained dozens of protesters and raided some demonstrators’ homes since Tuesday. – Bloomberg
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