Democracy Now! coverage (02/02/2016) of our press conference on the persecution of academics in Turkey/Academics for Peace. The press conference was held Jan. 29, 2016 at the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies New York University. Speakers included: T. Kumar, International Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA; a representative from GIT North America; Eylem Delikanli, Research Institute on Turkey; Jesse Levine, Advocacy Officer, Scholars at Risk; Beth Baron, Professor, President, Middle East Studies Association and Director, Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY; Chad Kautzer (moderator), Associate Professor, CU Denver and author (with Çiğdem Çıdam) of the “Open Letter of Support for Academics under Attack in Turkey”; Marianne Hirsch, William Peterfield Trent Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University; and Paula Chakravartty, Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communications, NYU and AAUP Executive Committee, NYU Chapter; with a video messages from Noam Chomsky #academicsforpeace
Posted by Chad Kautzer on 2 Şubat 2016 Salı
Click here to read the article in Turkish / Haberin Türkçesi için buraya tıklayın
1,601 academics of whom 1,395 are from the US and 206 from other countries have declared their support for academics signing declaration entitled, “We will not be a party to this crime”.
The declaration signed by 1,601 academics demands that all investigations and probes launched into academics to be stopped and international travel ban imposed on them to be lifted.
The meeting which the solidarity call was made held in New York University, Hagop Kevorkian Near East Studies Center on January 29. The Amnesty, Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Scholars at Risk, Research Institute on Turkey, GIT North America organizations, academics from Turkey working in the US, in addition to academics from Columbia University, New York University, and The Grad Center CUNY attended the meeting.
Following figures made speech in the meeting:
Independent researcher Eylem Delikanlı from Research Institute on Turkey, Amnesty Director T. Kumar, Dr. Chad Kautzer from Colorado University, Department of Philosophy, American University Professors Association New York Branch Director and New York University lecturer Paula Chakravartty, Columbia University English Language and Comparative Literature Marianne Hirsch, Middle East Studies President and Middle East America Center Director Beth Baron, Jesse Levine from Academics at Risk.
Noam Chomsky joined the meeting via video message.
Kumar: Their crime is to voice their concern
“Here a group of people, in this case academics, have been targeted. The crime is to voice concern about what’s happening in one part of Turkey, where massive human rights abuses are taking place. It amounts to, we can say, war crimes taking place. So when these types of abuses are happening, naturally people rise up and voice concern. In this case, academics rose up and said: ‘What you’re doing is not right. We, as a group, don’t want to be part of it. We want you to give peace a chance.’ Although that call was made in a peaceful and nonviolent manner, the answer was extremely brutal.
“We are pleased that this press conference is being organized in an academic environment. We hope that others in this country and around the world follow suit and translate them into action. Any government, in this case Turkey, should think twice before they touch an academic.”
Chakravartty: We are alarmed and outraged
“We have colleagues, we have friends, we have students among the faculty being targeted and we’re alarmed and outraged at what is happening.” I have received emails and telephone calls from faculty who signed the initial petition [We will not be a party to this crime], who express fear. Fear for expressing legitimate concerns and criticisms.”
Baron: We are deeply troubled
“Our Committee on Academic Freedom has been monitoring the situation in Turkey very closely and is deeply troubled by a pattern of intimidation of academic critics of the government by public prosecutors and the Higher Education Council. We have written a number of letters documenting and protesting some of the most egregious cases. Our most recent letter takes up the case of Professor Koray Caliskan, a political scientist at Bogazici University, who is a graduate of New York University. He is under investigation for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Erdogan on twitter. The prosecutor is seeking a sentence of eight years and two months.”
Click here for the full list of signatories (EA/TK)
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