Turkey: Outrage as police arrest dons for backing pro-Kurdish declaration critical of Erdogan
Page 1 of 1
Turkey: Outrage as police arrest dons for backing pro-Kurdish declaration critical of Erdogan
Turkish police moved to detain 21 academics among more than 1,000 signatories of a declaration harshly criticising a military campaign against Kurdish militants and calling for peace talks. The arrests drew a wave of condemnation online and fuelled concerns over freedom of expression in the country under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Security forces held 12 lecturers at Kocaeli University near Istanbul, in early morning raids, while arrest warrants for another nine were being prepared, local media reported. They were picked up at home by police on accusations of "insulting the state" and "terrorist propaganda".
Their alleged crime was signing a petition entitled "We won't be a party to this crime", which was endorsed among others by US philosopher Noam Chomsky and his Slovenian colleague Slavoj Zizek. The document accused the government of a serious breach of international and human rights laws in its crackdown on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Curfews have been imposed and military operations carried out in towns and districts of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, after a shaky truce between Ankara and the PKK collapsed last year. More than 100 civilians have lost their lives and thousands displaced in the subsequent conflict, according to human rights groups. Six people, including a child were killed in the latest incident that saw PKK militants detonate a truck bomb outside a police station in Cinar on 13 January.
"We demand the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region. We also demand the state to lift the curfew, punish those who are responsible for human rights violations, and compensate those citizens who have experienced material and psychological damage," the petition read. "We demand the government to prepare the conditions for negotiations and create a road map that would lead to a lasting peace which includes the demands of the Kurdish political movement."
The document infuriated Erdogan, who accused Turkish signatories of being part of a "fifth column"serving foreign powers", "mentality of colonialism". "You so-called intellectuals are not enlightened persons, you are in the dark. You are nothing like intellectuals," the president said in a speech hours after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 10 tourists in Istanbul. "All you want is to stir this country up."
One of the signatories, Tahsin Yesildere, head of the University Instructors' Association told Today's Zaman newspaper: "It should be acknowledged that universities are places where all kind of opinions can be expressed. So, academics don't have to share or support the idea defended by the state. No one should face threats due to their views. Being paid by the state does not bring about approving any action performed by it".
The US ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, also criticised the detentions. "In democratic societies it is imperative that citizens have the opportunity to express their views, even controversial or unpopular ones," he said in a statement. "Expressions of concern about violence do not equal support for terrorism. Criticism of government does not equal treason.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-outrage-police-arrest-dons-backing-pro-kurdish-declaration-critical-erdogan-1538154
The fuck up that is the supposed opposition to ISIS just keeps getting worse. So now not only does Turkey buy ISIS oil, but it arrests those who try to support the Kurds who are fighting ISIS. Getting that mess sorted would go a long way in helping the situation.
Security forces held 12 lecturers at Kocaeli University near Istanbul, in early morning raids, while arrest warrants for another nine were being prepared, local media reported. They were picked up at home by police on accusations of "insulting the state" and "terrorist propaganda".
Their alleged crime was signing a petition entitled "We won't be a party to this crime", which was endorsed among others by US philosopher Noam Chomsky and his Slovenian colleague Slavoj Zizek. The document accused the government of a serious breach of international and human rights laws in its crackdown on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Curfews have been imposed and military operations carried out in towns and districts of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, after a shaky truce between Ankara and the PKK collapsed last year. More than 100 civilians have lost their lives and thousands displaced in the subsequent conflict, according to human rights groups. Six people, including a child were killed in the latest incident that saw PKK militants detonate a truck bomb outside a police station in Cinar on 13 January.
"We demand the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region. We also demand the state to lift the curfew, punish those who are responsible for human rights violations, and compensate those citizens who have experienced material and psychological damage," the petition read. "We demand the government to prepare the conditions for negotiations and create a road map that would lead to a lasting peace which includes the demands of the Kurdish political movement."
The document infuriated Erdogan, who accused Turkish signatories of being part of a "fifth column"serving foreign powers", "mentality of colonialism". "You so-called intellectuals are not enlightened persons, you are in the dark. You are nothing like intellectuals," the president said in a speech hours after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 10 tourists in Istanbul. "All you want is to stir this country up."
One of the signatories, Tahsin Yesildere, head of the University Instructors' Association told Today's Zaman newspaper: "It should be acknowledged that universities are places where all kind of opinions can be expressed. So, academics don't have to share or support the idea defended by the state. No one should face threats due to their views. Being paid by the state does not bring about approving any action performed by it".
The US ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, also criticised the detentions. "In democratic societies it is imperative that citizens have the opportunity to express their views, even controversial or unpopular ones," he said in a statement. "Expressions of concern about violence do not equal support for terrorism. Criticism of government does not equal treason.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-outrage-police-arrest-dons-backing-pro-kurdish-declaration-critical-erdogan-1538154
The fuck up that is the supposed opposition to ISIS just keeps getting worse. So now not only does Turkey buy ISIS oil, but it arrests those who try to support the Kurds who are fighting ISIS. Getting that mess sorted would go a long way in helping the situation.
Guest- Guest
Similar topics
» Turkey's Erdogan in row over 'girl martyr' comment on TV
» Syrian Kurdish leaders planning to capture last border crossing with Turkey held by Isis
» UN mildly scolds Turkey for murdering Kurdish civilians with white flag (Video might be distressing to some)
» Turkey on brink of civil war, warns leading Kurdish politician
» Dictatorship In Erdogan's Turkey – Part II: The Domestic Scene On The Eve Of Crucial General Elections
» Syrian Kurdish leaders planning to capture last border crossing with Turkey held by Isis
» UN mildly scolds Turkey for murdering Kurdish civilians with white flag (Video might be distressing to some)
» Turkey on brink of civil war, warns leading Kurdish politician
» Dictatorship In Erdogan's Turkey – Part II: The Domestic Scene On The Eve Of Crucial General Elections
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Sat Mar 18, 2023 12:28 pm by Ben Reilly
» TOTAL MADNESS Great British Railway Journeys among shows flagged by counter terror scheme ‘for encouraging far-right sympathies
Wed Feb 22, 2023 5:14 pm by Tommy Monk
» Interesting COVID figures
Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:00 am by Tommy Monk
» HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
Sun Jan 01, 2023 7:33 pm by Tommy Monk
» The Fight Over Climate Change is Over (The Greenies Won!)
Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:59 pm by Tommy Monk
» Trump supporter murders wife, kills family dog, shoots daughter
Mon Dec 12, 2022 1:21 am by 'Wolfie
» Quill
Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:28 pm by Tommy Monk
» Algerian Woman under investigation for torture and murder of French girl, 12, whose body was found in plastic case in Paris
Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:04 pm by Tommy Monk
» Wind turbines cool down the Earth (edited with better video link)
Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:19 am by Ben Reilly
» Saying goodbye to our Queen.
Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:02 pm by Maddog
» PHEW.
Sat Sep 17, 2022 6:33 pm by Syl
» And here's some more enrichment...
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:46 pm by Ben Reilly
» John F Kennedy Assassination
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:40 pm by Ben Reilly
» Where is everyone lately...?
Thu Sep 15, 2022 3:33 pm by Ben Reilly
» London violence over the weekend...
Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:19 pm by Tommy Monk
» Why should anyone believe anything that Mo Farah says...!?
Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:44 am by Tommy Monk
» Liverpool Labour defends mayor role poll after turnout was only 3% and they say they will push ahead with the option that was least preferred!!!
Mon Jul 11, 2022 1:11 pm by Tommy Monk
» Labour leader Keir Stammer can't answer the simple question of whether a woman has a penis or not...
Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:58 am by Tommy Monk
» More evidence of remoaners still trying to overturn Brexit... and this is a conservative MP who should be drummed out of the party and out of parliament!
Sun Jul 10, 2022 10:50 pm by Tommy Monk
» R Kelly 30 years, Ghislaine Maxwell 20 years... but here in UK...
Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:31 pm by Original Quill