MESOP NEWS COLLECTION BY THE „GUARDIAN UK“ – Thousand of Academics sign & protest against ERDOGAN – Read this collection :
In Turkey, academics asking for democracy are accused of terrorism – 11 Dec 2017
Last week the trials began in Istanbul of those who signed the Academics for Peace petition <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/15/turkey-rounds-up-academics-who-signed-petition-denouncing-attacks-on-kurds> in January 2016. A total of 148 trials are scheduled through to May 2018 <https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/192112-hearing-schedules-of-148-academics-standing-trial-for-signing-peace-declaration> , with new trials expected to be announced in the near future. Each focuses on a single individual, but the indictment is the same for all of them. If they are found guilty, each signatory faces a prison sentence of up to seven-and-a-half years.
In the petition, entitled “We will not be a party to this crime”, more than 2,000 signatories sought a negotiated solution to the military conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers’ party <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/06/what-about-our-human-rights-kurds-feel-force-turkeys-crackdown> (PKK). At a time of heavy clashes in Turkey’s Kurdish-populated towns, the petitioners objected to the continuation of violence against the Kurdish people, called for an end to the round-the-clock curfews that deprived the population of necessary provisions, and asked that the Turkish government resume talks with the PKK that the government itself had previously inaugurated. The petition referenced violations of international law <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/turkey-dismisses-un-alarm-at-alleged-rights-abuses-in-kurdish-region> and basic democratic principles, and accused the government of “deliberate and planned massacre and deportation”.
International solidarity is once again crucial at this time when our colleagues in Turkey are facing criminal trials
Nearly 500 academics who signed have already lost their positions with no prospect of working again; some are now subject to travel bans; and some had their passports revoked, preventing them from working in Turkey <https://www.theguardian.com/world/turkey> or abroad.