A shame: Disney+ cancels Atatürk series after Armenian committee’s call

Disney+ has pulled its upcoming series about the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, sparking widespread outrage from the Turkish government, opposition, and civil society.

Disney’s decision to cancel the series “Atatürk,” which was planned to be broadcast on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, came after the Armenian Committee of America (ANCA) called for the cancellation of the show, criticising the company for “glorifying a dictator.” That fueled the debate that it was a politically motivated move.

The company has allegedly said that the decision has “nothing to do with the Armenian Committee” and will be aired on “Fox TV.” But that has not been sufficient to stop the outrage in Türkiye, as the authorities, including the media watchdog, have been involved.

It is shameful for Disney+ to subjugate itself to hate speech against Türkiye and its founding leader while managing to unite the overwhelming majority in the country in all political segments. But what actually happened?

Disney ended foreign productions

Disney+ is the digital platform of the Walt Disney Company, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. This year, with the proposal of the Turkish representative office, they decided to make a 6-episode series and a movie about Atatürk to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.

The series was to be shown on Fox TV Turkey in partnership with Disney+ and in cinemas on November 3.

Meanwhile, Disney+ ended foreign productions in early July 2023, citing losses. This was not a decision specific to Türkiye, it caused reactions in all contracted countries, but it had a special impact on Türkiye because of the Atatürk series.

In response, company officials said that the decision would not affect the production of Atatürk, which they had spent millions of dollars to complete.

Justification of Disney far from convincing

That’s when the Armenian American Committee (ANCA) escalated its campaign. They accused the company of glorifying Atatürk by attributing war crimes and even genocide to his name. What they have been calling as crimes was Türkiye’s War of Independence.

When Disney+ said they would not broadcast it, they took it on as if they were undertaking an action.

Disney+ spokespersons stated that it will be shown on Fox TV and in cinemas. Their justification was far from convincing because the initial aim was to show it globally, to remind the world and young generations of Atatürk and the 1923 Republican Revolution.

In the end, the widespread opinion is that the Disney+ management has bowed to the influential Armenian lobby in Hollywood, ignored Türkiye’s intense reaction, and sacrificed the huge Turkish market for this cause.

Ataturk defence by Erdoğan administration

The extent of the issue has already exceeded the decision of a company to give up the profits of a production that it has spent time, effort, and money on and to downgrade the production’s screening league. The reactions of mainstream opposition parties such as the CHP and IYI Party, and civil society organisations sensitive to Atatürk, the Republic, and secularism are natural.

This time, President Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP administration have also claimed the Atatürk series. A rare case of the opposition and the government uniting on the issue of Atatürk.

Ebubekir Şahin, the chairman of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) stated that the council will ask for a defence from the channel authorities because the Atatürk series will not be shown on the Disney+ platform. It shows how politicised the issue has become.

There are media reports that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Director of National Intelligence İbrahim Kalın also intervened in the process. AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik also condemned the decision to cancel the broadcast as a shameful disrespect to “the values of the Republic of Türkiye and our nation”.

The Armenian Committee and the Armenian dimension

To attribute the AKP’s seeming embrace of Atatürk in the case of Disney+ and the Atatürk series to “the Armenian issue” alone would be quite inadequate to explain the issue in all its dimensions.

It took Erdoğan and the AKP leadership some time to realise the depth of love and respect for Atatürk in all segments of society. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s suggestions that Atatürk should no longer be an issue embraced only by the mainstream opposition, such as the CHP and the IYI Party, have also played a role in this. But it is a start that the AKP leadership also feels obliged to embrace Atatürk, albeit on this occasion.

On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that the Armenian Committee (ANCA) is the diaspora organisation that strongly opposes the Nikol Pashinyan administration’s attempts to reconcile with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, and that it has partnered with the Greek lobby in the US Congress to oppose the sale of F-16s to Türkiye. The weakening of their remote control over Armenia is the Diaspora’s nightmare.

This is one of the reasons why they have been attacking Atatürk and Türkiye in such a vicious manner, which they have so far kept out of the 1915 genocide allegations.

Now let me return to my efforts to cancel my Disney+ subscription.