Support for Academics from Legists

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As many as 2,000 legists have declared that they are in solidarity with academics signing the petition calling on state of Turkey to end violence and prepare negotiation conditions.

Support for academics signing the petition led by Academics for Peace calling on state of Turkey to end violence and prepare negotiation conditions keeps coming from various occupational groups.

So far the academics have received support from journalists, film-makers, theater workers, and litterateurs.

The latest support has come from legists.

The signature text is as follows:

“We say don’t remain silent”

“We as advocates of life, rights and liberties; legists of these lands:

“We pledge to sustain our legal struggle and side with the ones who were killed in Şırnak and Ankara, Diyarbakır and İstanbul, Reyhanlı, Gazi, Suruç, Sultanahmet, lost their relatives, whose rights and liberties usurped, the babies couldn’t survive the massacre, teachers like Ayşe, honored and just academics suing for peace, and anyone defending right to live until ‘these crimes’ are accounted for.

“Yes, we say ‘children get killed, don’t remain silent’. We say ‘curfews lasting for weeks, people doomed to starvation and drought, bombing residents, graveyards, house of prayers by tanks is a systematic massacre and deportation policy, and a crime against humanity.’ We want crimes committed against persons from all peoples in Kurdish cities like Mardin, Diyarbakır, and Şırnak; Reyhanlı, Gazi, Sultanahmet, and Ankara to be seen and known.

“We remind the President, Minister of Justice, Minister of National Education, Minister of Health and YÖK that all sorts of threats and insults against academics calling to ‘end war, children to not get killed’, education laborers putting down their tool, medical laborers doing their duty within the frame of Hippocratic oath, anyone desiring peace constitute crime.

“Fascist-racist propaganda and hate speeches are crimes and must be punished. We state that we embrace the petition of academics titled ‘We won’t be a party to this crime’ and that we will take legal actions against threats directed at academics and will advocate them.

“We the lawyers and legists having signatures below reiterate that we are a party to anyone announcing they won’t be a party to massacre, and that we will become voluntary lawyers of anyone who become a target for oppression and suppression policies conducted through media and jurisprudence”. (NV/TK)

Click here to see the signees