Artists Lament Lack of Government Support After Anti-Artist Islamist Riots
AHRAM ONLINE
TUNISIA --- Tunisian artists, shaken over deadly riots by radical Islamists angered about artworks deemed blasphemous, say they feel abandoned by a culture minister who spoke out in defense of the protestersunisian artists lament lack of support after Islamist riots. "It is as if my hands have been cut off. I am so angry, so disappointed," said a painter whose canvas was slashed in a June 10 attack on a Tunis art gallery. "When I heard the government's position I felt like I was at a trial for freedom but unable to defend myself," the artist told AFP, requesting anonymity. Culture Minister Mehdi Mabrouk, while defending artistic creativity, stopped short of condemning the attack, believed to have been carried out by ultra-conservative Salafist Muslims. [link]
TUNISIA --- Tunisian artists, shaken over deadly riots by radical Islamists angered about artworks deemed blasphemous, say they feel abandoned by a culture minister who spoke out in defense of the protestersunisian artists lament lack of support after Islamist riots. "It is as if my hands have been cut off. I am so angry, so disappointed," said a painter whose canvas was slashed in a June 10 attack on a Tunis art gallery. "When I heard the government's position I felt like I was at a trial for freedom but unable to defend myself," the artist told AFP, requesting anonymity. Culture Minister Mehdi Mabrouk, while defending artistic creativity, stopped short of condemning the attack, believed to have been carried out by ultra-conservative Salafist Muslims. [link]
