Erdoğan says 'no mercy' for Boğaziçi protesters, accuses Kavala's spouse of 'provocation'

The president has continued accusing the protesters of "terrorism" and targeting LGBTI+s.

İstanbul

Erdoğan says 'no mercy' for Boğaziçi protesters, accuses Kavala's spouse of 'provocation'

Erdoğan displays the "Rabia" sign, which symbolizes "one state, one country, one nation, and one flag" (Photo: AA)

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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again defended his decision to appoint Prof. Melih Bulu as the rector of Boğaziçi University, which has sparked protests among students and academics.

"I made the appointment of Melih, who was one of the nine candidates presented to me. If they had the guts, they would say 'Resign Erdoğan'," he said at a video conference with his party's women's branch congresses in six provinces.

He noted that Bulu studied at the Middle East Technical University (METU) and Boğaziçi and previously served as the rector of two other universities.

Those who oppose the appointment point out the university's tradition of having a rector from within its academic community and the university's principles, which include the democratic election of a rector.

The president also targeted Prof. Ayşe Buğra, an academic at Boğaziçi and the spouse of Osman Kavala, a businessperson and a rights defender who has been remanded in custody for more than three years on several charges, including "attempted overthrow."

"The wife of the person who is called Osman Kavala and is the representative of [George] Soros is among these provocateurs," he remarked.

About the police response to the protests, he said, "As we have seen in recent events in Istanbul, we are sadly witnessing the existence of a group who lost their ties with our country and nation mentally and at heart."

"Of course, we will show no mercy for those who are involved in terrorism, who have become toys of [terrorist] organizations. We will grab them by the collar and put them before the judiciary," added Erdoğan.

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"As the party and the government, it's our duty to adopt every child who is not involved in terrorism.

"There is a woman who is the [İstanbul] provincial head of the main opposition party. What are you doing there? Go do politics.

"They attempted to stage a demonstration in Kadıköy. İYİ Party was also involved in it.

"I am calling out to the families of our children: Please look after your children. Don't give any opportunity to the professional provocateurs who use their enthusiasm for their own interest.

"In order to spoil this insidious trick, we need to focus on the family. Inshallah, we will spoil this insidious trick together.

"We have two red lines: The first is our Rabia, and the second is our families. Because the Western world destroyed the family, it's shaken to its foundations.

"Making the family lose value is followed by many problems such as alcohol and drug addiction. Don't care what lesbians and like that say, we should look at our mothers."

What happened?

Prof. Melih Bulu has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University in a Presidential Decree issued on January 1. The appointment of Bulu has sparked harsh criticisms among both the students and academics of the university as well as in the academic community.

Appointed to Boğaziçi, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, from outside its community, Bulu was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections in 2015 for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The students and several students' clubs of the university have been campaigning on social media under the hashtag #kayyımrektöristemiyoruz (We don't want a trustee university president).

The call of the students was also supported by the faculty members of the university, who released a joint statement on January 3.

"An academic outside Bogazici University community was appointed as rector (university president), which is a practice introduced for the first time after the 1980s military tutelage," read their statement.

Amid harsh criticisms of students and faculty members, Prof. Bulu has shared a message on his Twitter account, welcoming his appointment to the position, saying, "We are all in the same boat."

The students protested the appointment of Bulu in front of the South Campus of the university in İstanbul on January 4. However, the police intervened into the protest with pepper gas and plastic bullets.

Next day, it was reported that there were detention warrants against 28 people for "violating the law on meetings and demonstrations" and "resisting the officer on duty." Later in the day, 22 of them were detained.

40 people in total were detained over the protests. All of the detained were released on January 7 and 8, 2021.

The protests of students and faculty members at the South Campus of Boğaziçi University have been going on since January 4.

On February 1, police stormed the South Campus and intervened into the students' protests. Earlier in the day, the students gathered in front of the campus for the protest. Police hindered the protest while also preventing the students inside the South Campus from joining their friends outside.

With the 51 students taken into custody inside the campus in the evening, the number of detained increased to 159. In a statement released by the İstanbul Governor's Office in the early morning hours on February 2, it was announced that 98 students were released from detention.

On February 2, Boğaziçi University students gathered in Kadıköy Rıhtım for another protest, which was attacked by the police with plastic bullets and tear gas. 134 people were taken into custody by the police.

About Melih Bulu

Prof. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Haliç University on January 17, 2020. In office in this foundation university for less than a year, he has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University.

He was a Dean and University President at the İstinye University from 2016 to 2019. Between the years of 2010 and 2016, he was the Head of the Business Management Department of İstanbul Şehir University's Business Management and Management Science Faculty.

He was the General Coordinator of International Competitiveness Research Institute (URAK), an NGO working on economic competitiveness of cities and countries, from the year 2017 to 2019. Since 2011, he has been the Executive Board member of the İstanbul Electric-Electronic Machinery and Informatics Exporters R&D Market.

In 2002, he founded the Sarıyer District Organization of the ruling AKP in İstanbul. In 2015, he was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections from the AKP in the first election district in İstanbul.

He studied Industrial Engineering at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara in 1992. He did his MBA and PhD at Boğaziçi University's Department of Management.

(AS/VK)