Tweet
TURKEY CRACKS DOWN ON NON-ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY PROJECTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 20, 2011 - 11:00 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has launched a crackdown on university
projects that do not meet Islamic standards.
University professors have accused the government of Prime Minister
Recep Erdogan of blocking academic freedom at the nation's institutions
of higher education. They said Erdogan, re-elected on June 12, has
ordered the Interior Ministry and security forces to raid universities
suspected of un-Islamic behavior, World Tribune says.
"Erdogan is turning out the light - not all at once, but very slowly,"
Bedri Baykam, a leading Turkish artist, said. "He is dimming it until
one day it will be completely dark."
In January, Turkish security forces raided Istanbul's Bilgi University
amid reports that a student had produced a pornographic film for his
dissertation. At least three university lecturers were dismissed amid
pressure by Turkish prosecutors.
Critics said Erdogan has launched a crackdown on university freedom
as well as the arts. In a recent visit to the Armenian border, the
Prime Minister called for the destruction of a monument that depicted
friendship between Ankara and Yerevan, the report reminds.
So far, authorities have not released any evidence that the student
film was pornographic. The 53-year-old Baykam said this marked the
latest evidence of official harassment of non-Islamic university
professors and students.
"Our government is trying, step by step, to turn our community
inside out," Baykam told the German weekly Der Spiegel. "Professors
are being intimidated, and university rectors are being brought into
line ideologically. Things that ostensibly do not fit with Islam are
being eradicated."
The government this year also moved to restrict alcohol sales and
consumption. Erdogan has maintained that the new regulations were
meant to protect youngsters from alcohol.
"I might have a certain attitude against alcohol in my personal life
and within my family," Erdogan told a business group on Jan. 20. "But
as we are democratic, in addition to conservative, we are very
sensitive about not imposing our personal judgments on society."
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 20, 2011 - 11:00 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has launched a crackdown on university
projects that do not meet Islamic standards.
University professors have accused the government of Prime Minister
Recep Erdogan of blocking academic freedom at the nation's institutions
of higher education. They said Erdogan, re-elected on June 12, has
ordered the Interior Ministry and security forces to raid universities
suspected of un-Islamic behavior, World Tribune says.
"Erdogan is turning out the light - not all at once, but very slowly,"
Bedri Baykam, a leading Turkish artist, said. "He is dimming it until
one day it will be completely dark."
In January, Turkish security forces raided Istanbul's Bilgi University
amid reports that a student had produced a pornographic film for his
dissertation. At least three university lecturers were dismissed amid
pressure by Turkish prosecutors.
Critics said Erdogan has launched a crackdown on university freedom
as well as the arts. In a recent visit to the Armenian border, the
Prime Minister called for the destruction of a monument that depicted
friendship between Ankara and Yerevan, the report reminds.
So far, authorities have not released any evidence that the student
film was pornographic. The 53-year-old Baykam said this marked the
latest evidence of official harassment of non-Islamic university
professors and students.
"Our government is trying, step by step, to turn our community
inside out," Baykam told the German weekly Der Spiegel. "Professors
are being intimidated, and university rectors are being brought into
line ideologically. Things that ostensibly do not fit with Islam are
being eradicated."
The government this year also moved to restrict alcohol sales and
consumption. Erdogan has maintained that the new regulations were
meant to protect youngsters from alcohol.
"I might have a certain attitude against alcohol in my personal life
and within my family," Erdogan told a business group on Jan. 20. "But
as we are democratic, in addition to conservative, we are very
sensitive about not imposing our personal judgments on society."