At a visit to the north-eastern city of Kars on 8 January, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called a statue made by sculptor Mehmet Aksoy a "monstrosity". Erdoğan criticized the area the statue was placed in, saying that its style did not go along with other historical monuments around. He gave the directive to tear it down. This way, the "Statue of Humanity" made the headlines all over Turkey.

The dispute sparked by the different opinions on the statue now peaked in a legal application filed by sculptor Aksoy to stop the destruction of the statue.

The statue was commissioned by the former Mayor of Kars, Naif Alibeyoğlu. After Erdoğan's comment, Alibeyoğlu announced that the monument had been made as a gesture "in response to the Genocide Monument in Armenia".

The internet newspaper PolitiKars publishing from Kars reported that Cevat Durak, the District Mayor of Karşıyaka (Izmir), came to Kars with certain technical equipment and investigated the statue. Durak had announced that he would like to re-erect the statue in his district if it would have to be removed from its current location.

Aksoy, creator of the monument, declared to take legal steps after the Mayor of Kars, Nevzat Bozkuş, had announced the decision to tear the statue down.

The artist indicated that removing the monument under the harsh weather conditions of the winter in Kars would technically be very difficult. "May they destroy it in whatever way, this destruction will be an example of the Taliban and the whole world is going to discuss this", Aksoy said.

"Turkey must not convey such an image to the world. It is bitter that such a topic comes up in the Turkish agenda. It is said that the decision to remove the monument was issued on the 6^th of this month but I do not believe that. This decision was made and signed out of the blue. Where are we? People do not trust in anything anymore. I took legal measures. I will not say anything else after this, if I can finish I will try to complete the statue".

District Mayor Durak, member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), and Ali Rıza Selmanpakoğlu, Mayor of Nevşehir, took a special interest in the monument. Durak sent an official writing to the Mayor of Kars and informed him that they would like to acquire the statue. At the same time, Selmanpakoğlu forwarded their request to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In response to the request of the Karşıkaya and Nevşehir Municipalities, Aksoy argued that the work was "not a statuette but a statue", 35 metre high and weighing 350 tonnes. "Thus, it is impossible to relocate it. Moreover, that would create an example of inconsistency. Wouldn't a statue that was removed because it is said to monstrous be just as monstrous in another place?", the sculptor said.

71-year-old Mehmet Aksoy represented Turkey in numerous biennials abroad. He was rewarded with the State Award for Painting and Sculpture Exhibitions twice. (EK/EÖ)