Academic Yılmaz Releases Paper of Presentation Cancelled by Koç University

Presentation of Yasemin Yılmaz, an academic at City University, has released the paper which led her to be disinvited from presenting at a workshop on “Turkey and Latin America in Comparative Perspective" to be held at Koc University on July 20-21.

The organizers had found the paper “politically sensitive” and cancelled the presentation.

Yılmaz was arguing in her paper that where elites support the political/economic project of the government, they will yield free speech.

Yılmaz had announced the cancellation of her presentation via Facebook:

“Things will not improve through self-censorship in Turkey”

“I was just disinvited from presenting at a workshop on "Turkey and Latin America in Comparative Perspective" to be held at Koc University, July 20-21. Despite having accepted my paper almost two months ago, organizers informed me today that my paper is too "politically sensitive", "given the potential consequences involved in the current extreme conditions for academic work in Turkey" (read the full text if you can, it's full of gems).

“Ironically, my paper deals with freedom of press in Turkey and Venezuela, arguing that where elites support the political/economic project of the government, they will yield free speech.

First off, I would like to thank the organizers for validating my academic argument in a way that would have taken me a few drafts, at least. While the academic environment in Turkey is without a doubt extreme, it will definitely not improve through self-censorship and academics who are too afraid to hold a simple discussion behind university doors.

“To reshape conferences based on fears and anticipation of repercussions - based only on paper titles and abstracts no less - is a sure way to preserve the extremeness of the status quo”. (TK)