Students protest in front of the University of Bogazici in Istanbul.
Photographer: Ozan Kose / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Ozan Kose / AFP / Getty Images
The music of the heavy metal band Metallica provided the soundtrack as students in Istanbul protested President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to impose a loyal head of a prestigious university.
Songs like “Master of Puppets” and “Sad But True” sounded through the speakers on the University of Bogazici campus on Wednesday, while students demanded the resignation of their new president, Metallica fan Melih Bulu.
Bulu, a ruling AK Party activist, was appointed over the weekend. The musical dig took place after a TV interview on Tuesday, where he said he had no intention of changing the university’s culture.
“I’m a dean who listens to hard rock, Metallica,” he said.
If the band’s music became the soundtrack of the protests, the image of the handcuffed policemen at the university gate became their iconic image. Police have arrested dozens of protesters and raided the homes of some of them since Tuesday.