[Please note: we are not asking for donations. If you are asked for a donation on this site, the request is coming from the host site, ipetitions, and not this open letter. Thank you] As academics and administrators affiliated with colleges and universities around the world, we the undersigned strongly condemn the recent attacks on academic freedom by President Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
On July 19, over 15,000 teachers and staff have been removed from their jobs, and Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK) called upon the deans of all private and state universities to resign, in the wake of the attempted coup d’état on July 15 by a faction within the military. [Update: the government has instituted a travel ban on all academics, over 100 have been fired in the last 24 hours, and a three-month long state of emergency has been declared. (July 20)] The coup attempt is being cynically used to justify the appointment of party loyalists to those positions, which will politicize academic institutions and undermine both institutional independence and academic freedom throughout Turkey.
In solidarity with our colleagues in Turkey and in the defense of academic freedom, we therefore call upon President Erdoğan to reverse course and to respect the independence of academic institutions and the academic freedom of their faculty and students. We will support this call with the public and private means available to us.
photo credit: Murad Sezer, Reuters
Recipients:
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
President of the Republic of Turkey
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı
Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi
06560 Beştepe,
Ankara, Turkey
Tel: +90 312 525 5555; Fax: +90 312 525 583
Email: [email protected]
Higher Education Council President Yekta Saraç
Yükseköğretim Kurulu Başkanlığı Uluslararası İlişkiler Birimi
B-7 Blok, 5. Kat
06539 Bilkent
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 266 4744; Email: [email protected]
Minister of National Education Nabi Avci
Atatürk Bulvarı No: 98
06650 Bakanlıklar
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 4188289
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
Office of the Prime Minister
Başbakanlık
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
Updates
Reached 5,000 supporters
July 21, 2016
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 20, 2016
July 20, 2016
I started this because I felt desperate to do something but I never imagined one hundred people would join me. This is all down to the care you have shown for our colleagues. Thank you for proving that we are not alone in this.
Reached 100 supporters
July 19, 2016
July 19, 2016
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many of you have stepped up to sign this. Getting near one hundred signatures is something I never could have imagined when I started this alone. Please consider passing this on to a colleague so we can hit that mark together.
2,093 Comments
International cooperation and freedom is vital for science. This is not possible with travel restrictions for academics. Under this circumstances it wil be impossible for Turkish scientist to participate in international cooperations, e.g. EU-funded projects.
Time working with writers in Istanbul three years ago was among the most rewarding and exciting work I`ve ever been involved with. Even before the coup, the city felt frightened and cowed. Now, I fear for the promise I discovered there and for my many friends.
Free and independent universities are a core element of any democratic society. The curtailment of academic freedom is one of the first signs of democracy under threat. I want to urge you to halt and reverse the purge of Turkish universities.
I teach political science at Denison University. This move by Erdogan is appalling. Education is key to improving life, maintaining a stable state, and being a part of the world community. Please let these academics do thei good work free of meddling.
Turkey has had world class Universities. One that I graduated from in fact. Academic freedom is critical for scholars to thrive and maintain this standard. Critics are necessary for keeping a democratic nation healthy and at its best.
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
We have to look to the future. Therefore have we to known well the past. Leaders of communitys have to deal with the common wealth, only then is peace achievable. That is what all people want. Nothing else: live together in peace, following the laws of the human rights. We are all brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters wish the best for each others. Give peace a chanche: all we are saying.
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[Please note: we are not asking for donations. If you are asked for a donation on this site, the request is coming from the host site, ipetitions, and not this open letter. Thank you] As academics and administrators affiliated with colleges and universities around the world, we the undersigned strongly condemn the recent attacks on academic freedom by President Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
On July 19, over 15,000 teachers and staff have been removed from their jobs, and Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK) called upon the deans of all private and state universities to resign, in the wake of the attempted coup d’état on July 15 by a faction within the military. [Update: the government has instituted a travel ban on all academics, over 100 have been fired in the last 24 hours, and a three-month long state of emergency has been declared. (July 20)] The coup attempt is being cynically used to justify the appointment of party loyalists to those positions, which will politicize academic institutions and undermine both institutional independence and academic freedom throughout Turkey.
In solidarity with our colleagues in Turkey and in the defense of academic freedom, we therefore call upon President Erdoğan to reverse course and to respect the independence of academic institutions and the academic freedom of their faculty and students. We will support this call with the public and private means available to us.
photo credit: Murad Sezer, Reuters
Recipients:
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
President of the Republic of Turkey
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı
Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi
06560 Beştepe,
Ankara, Turkey
Tel: +90 312 525 5555; Fax: +90 312 525 583
Email: [email protected]
Higher Education Council President Yekta Saraç
Yükseköğretim Kurulu Başkanlığı Uluslararası İlişkiler Birimi
B-7 Blok, 5. Kat
06539 Bilkent
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 266 4744; Email: [email protected]
Minister of National Education Nabi Avci
Atatürk Bulvarı No: 98
06650 Bakanlıklar
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 4188289
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
Office of the Prime Minister
Başbakanlık
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
Updates
Reached 5,000 supporters
July 21, 2016
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 20, 2016
July 20, 2016
I started this because I felt desperate to do something but I never imagined one hundred people would join me. This is all down to the care you have shown for our colleagues. Thank you for proving that we are not alone in this.
Reached 100 supporters
July 19, 2016
July 19, 2016
I am honestly overwhelmed by how many of you have stepped up to sign this. Getting near one hundred signatures is something I never could have imagined when I started this alone. Please consider passing this on to a colleague so we can hit that mark together.
2,093 Comments
It seems that in the name of freedom and democracy the Erdoğan government is resorting to the kind of repression that characterised the regime in past coups! Like other colleagues in British higher education I am shocked at what we are seeing.
International cooperation and freedom is vital for science. This is not possible with travel restrictions for academics. Under this circumstances it wil be impossible for Turkish scientist to participate in international cooperations, e.g. EU-funded projects.
Time working with writers in Istanbul three years ago was among the most rewarding and exciting work I`ve ever been involved with. Even before the coup, the city felt frightened and cowed. Now, I fear for the promise I discovered there and for my many friends.
Free and independent universities are a core element of any democratic society. The curtailment of academic freedom is one of the first signs of democracy under threat. I want to urge you to halt and reverse the purge of Turkish universities.
I teach political science at Denison University. This move by Erdogan is appalling. Education is key to improving life, maintaining a stable state, and being a part of the world community. Please let these academics do thei good work free of meddling.
Turkey has had world class Universities. One that I graduated from in fact. Academic freedom is critical for scholars to thrive and maintain this standard. Critics are necessary for keeping a democratic nation healthy and at its best.
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
We have to look to the future. Therefore have we to known well the past. Leaders of communitys have to deal with the common wealth, only then is peace achievable. That is what all people want. Nothing else: live together in peace, following the laws of the human rights. We are all brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters wish the best for each others. Give peace a chanche: all we are saying.
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It seems that in the name of freedom and democracy the Erdoğan government is resorting to the kind of repression that characterised the regime in past coups! Like other colleagues in British higher education I am shocked at what we are seeing.