Students protest outside Bogazici University in Istanbul.
Photographer: Ozan Kose / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Ozan Kose / AFP / Getty Images
The music of heavy metal band Metallica provided the soundtrack as students in Istanbul protested President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to impose a loyalist as head of a prestigious university.
Songs such as “The Puppet Master” and “The Sad But True” lit up on Wednesday through loudspeakers on the campus of Bogazici University, while students demanded the resignation of its new president, Metallica fan Melih Bulu.
Bulu, a ruling AK activist, was appointed over the weekend. The music dig followed a TV interview on Tuesday, where he said he did not intend to support the university’s culture.
“I’m a hard rock listener, Metallica,” he said.
If the band’s music became the soundtrack to the protests, then the image of police officers handcuffing a university gate became their iconic image. Police detained dozens of protesters and raided protesters’ homes on Tuesday.