The "New Turkey's" Test With Freedom of Thought and Expression
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 17 January 2016 23:15
- Written by editor
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1207 .... January 18, 2016
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The “New Turkey's” Test With Freedom of Thought and Expression:
Resurgent Fascism?
Kansu Yildirim
The petition by the “Academicians for Peace” in Turkey has resulted in an assault against the academic community of the country, which resembles the practices of the military junta of the September 12 1980, coup d’état. The petition itself and the reactions for/against it have gained a different momentum following the increasing pressure by the AKP (the governing political power) via various channels such as university administrations, legal bodies and partisan media organizations.
Each indictment such of “disloyalty,” “mandate support” and “treason” directed at the academicians by the Turkish President Erdoğan, the Prime Minister Davutoğlu, several ministers and other officials, have brought new accusations and threats against the academicians that... were put on the target. The names of the academicians were published by pro-government newspapers. This not only escalated the oppressive atmosphere in the country, but also increased the violence directed against the signatories. These state charges have acquired a life-threatening dimension. They crystallized with the chilling statement of an organized crime leader: “We will kill them and have a shower with their blood!” Various lynching campaigns have formed via social media.
Turkish university rectors, whose job it is to safeguard universal, scientific and critical knowledge and the academic staff, have sided with the political authorities. They have declared that: “This petition cannot be associated with academic freedom!” Following the investigations initiated by YÖK (the Turkish Higher Education Council) and some university rectors, several academicians have been dismissed from their universities.