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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 17 2012
Academics unite against oppression at universities
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
GIT members say hundreds of university students are being prosecuted
or suspended from the university on accusations of `aiding terrorist
organizations'.
Academics have raised their voice to denounce the `oppression and
intimidation' they say they are encountering at Turkish universities.
`Academics are being intimidated, fired or suspended from their
positions by rectors or the Higher Educational Council [YÃ-K] because
of their research topics or political ideas. And there are hundreds of
university students that are being prosecuted or suspended from the
university on accusations of `aiding terrorist organizations.' The
situation is outrageous,' Galatasaray University Professor Ahmet Ä°nsel
told journalists at a press conference in Istanbul.
Solidarity network
Some 400 academics from 50 different universities in Turkey and abroad
have formed a solidarity network called `International Workshop Group
for Freedom of Research and Education' to act as a watchdog to
document and prevent oppression in Turkish universities.
`Today, a wide policy of oppression and intimidation is being
systematically implemented in universities under the name of a `fight
on terror.' Hundreds of university students have been arrested like
this,' Ä°nsel said.
`Our colleague, Professor BüÅ?ra Ersanlı, was arrested on
unsubstantiated accusations and has been in prison for 108 days.
However, she has devoted all her life to maintaining peace. This is
the last straw,' said Professor Zeynep Gambetti, an assistant
professor at BoÄ?aziçi University.
Ersanlı was arrested three and a half months ago for her alleged
connections with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the alleged
urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is
listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the
international community.
Academics who are especially known for their work on the Kurdish or
Armenian issues, as well as those known for being political opponents
of the government, are being systematically suspended from
universities, Gambetti said.
February/17/2012
Feb 17 2012
Academics unite against oppression at universities
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
GIT members say hundreds of university students are being prosecuted
or suspended from the university on accusations of `aiding terrorist
organizations'.
Academics have raised their voice to denounce the `oppression and
intimidation' they say they are encountering at Turkish universities.
`Academics are being intimidated, fired or suspended from their
positions by rectors or the Higher Educational Council [YÃ-K] because
of their research topics or political ideas. And there are hundreds of
university students that are being prosecuted or suspended from the
university on accusations of `aiding terrorist organizations.' The
situation is outrageous,' Galatasaray University Professor Ahmet Ä°nsel
told journalists at a press conference in Istanbul.
Solidarity network
Some 400 academics from 50 different universities in Turkey and abroad
have formed a solidarity network called `International Workshop Group
for Freedom of Research and Education' to act as a watchdog to
document and prevent oppression in Turkish universities.
`Today, a wide policy of oppression and intimidation is being
systematically implemented in universities under the name of a `fight
on terror.' Hundreds of university students have been arrested like
this,' Ä°nsel said.
`Our colleague, Professor BüÅ?ra Ersanlı, was arrested on
unsubstantiated accusations and has been in prison for 108 days.
However, she has devoted all her life to maintaining peace. This is
the last straw,' said Professor Zeynep Gambetti, an assistant
professor at BoÄ?aziçi University.
Ersanlı was arrested three and a half months ago for her alleged
connections with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the alleged
urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is
listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the
international community.
Academics who are especially known for their work on the Kurdish or
Armenian issues, as well as those known for being political opponents
of the government, are being systematically suspended from
universities, Gambetti said.
February/17/2012