Turkey Protests "Six Against Turkey" performance at Sarajevo National Theatre

In an official statement, the Turkish Embassy in Sarajevo expressed strong opposition to the performance. It stated that the play allegedly promotes propaganda in favor of FETO.

It should be noted that FETO is an organization that the Turkish government considers a terrorist group and links it to the 2016 coup attempt.

"Photographs published on the festival’s website show masks with the images of the President of Turkey and the leader of FETO, Fethullah Gülen, which suggests the play is associated with FETO's anti-Turkey propaganda against the Turkish president," the Embassy said in the statement.

"The Embassy wants to underline that, given the friendly relations between the two countries, the propaganda in support of the terrorist organization FETO against Turkey and its president is considered unacceptable," the statement reads.

The Embassy has asked the Ministry to inform the relevant authorities and reiterated its respect for the institutions of the host country.

The director of the National Theatre, Dino Mustafic, told N1 that his institution has not received any communication from the Turkish Embassy.

"They sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but no one has sent us anything. They did not contact us," Mustafic said.

N1 confirmed that the performance will not be canceled.

The play "Six Against Turkey" is performed in Albanian, English, and Turkish, developed by an international team of theatre artists from Kosovo, Turkey, and other European countries. It was written by Jeton Neziraj, one of the internationally recognized playwrights from Kosovo.

Neziraj, a former artistic director of the National Theatre of Kosovo, is the author of more than 20 plays. His work has been showcased at festivals across Europe and the United States. According to the website of the National Drama Writers’ Studio (NPS), the German theatre magazine "Theater der Zeit" described him as the "Kafka of the Balkans."

In 2018, six Turkish schoolteachers were arrested in Kosovo and deported to Turkey. Their residence permits in Kosovo were revoked, as they were allegedly considered a threat to national security. The six men were wanted in Turkey due to their alleged connections to the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, whose movement Turkey blames for the failed coup in 2016.

The cast includes: Adrian Morina, Ernest Malazogu, Shpetim Selmani, Verona Koxha, Albina Krasniqi, and Don Shala.

The performance will take place on the main stage with a limited capacity of up to 80 seats.