‘From Boğaziçi to METU, we don’t accept trustees’

* Photo: Dilek Şen - bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish

After President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Prof. Mehmet Bulu, an academic outside the community of Boğaziçi, as the new president of the university, it has caused harsh criticisms and protests among students and academics.

While 17 students were still detained as of 3.22 p.m. today (January 5) for having protested the appointment of the new president in front of the South Campus yesterday, statements of solidarity have been released by both the students of Middle East Technical University (METU) in the capital city of Ankara and the former workers of Bimeks technology firm.

CLICK - 17 students detained for protesting new president of Boğaziçi

Accordingly, the students of METU have announced that they will support the protest of Boğaziçi students and academics in a protest to be held at 2 p.m. local time in Turkey tomorrow. In a brief message and call released on the social media account of "METU Must Be Defended" platform, everyone has been called on to join the protest against the appointment:

"We are waiting for everyone to join our meeting in order to cry out loud that we do not accept trustees anywhere, from Boğaziçi to METU."

Verşan Kök, the current president of the METU, ranked second in the university presidency election in 2016; however, President Erdoğan still appointed him as the METU President on July 29, 2016, which caused similar reactions among the METU community back then.

On the below social media message of the platform, it is said, "METU stands with Boğaziçi, we don't want trustees, we want elections!"

ODTÜ Öğrencileri 6 Ocak Çarşamba günü saat 14.00'da Boğaziçi öğrencilerinin direnişine desteğe çağırıyor.

Boğaziçi'nden ODTÜ'ye hiçbir yerde kayyumları kabul etmediğimizi haykırmak için herkesi buluşmamıza bekliyoruz. #BoğaziçiDireniyor#KabulEtmiyoruzVazgeçmiyoruz pic.twitter.com/UmashJM9cT

— ODTÜ Savunulmalıdır (@OdtuSavunulmali) January 5, 2021

Support by Bimeks workers

Dismissed from Bimeks company without their wages and severance being paid, former Bimeks workers have long been protesting on several platforms, especially at and in front of Boğaziçi University, as their former boss Vedat Akgiray has been teaching at the university.

Expressing their support for the students of Boğaziçi within this context, Bimeks workers have reminded that they have been detained for 15 times so far for protesting at the campus. The workers have demanded that the detained students be released. "We will come and rip out the handcuffs on the university with our fellow students," they have said on Twitter:

Kapısında 15 kez gözaltına alındığımız Boğaziçi Üniversitesi önüne, üniversiteye vurulan kelepçeleri öğrenci kardeşlerimizle söküp atmaya geleceğiz!

Bu sabah gözaltına alınan öğrenci kardeşlerimiz serbest bırakılsın!#KaçamazsınAkgiray#BoğaziçiDireniyor#ArkadaşlarımızNerede pic.twitter.com/c6BIT2R4FO

— Bimeks Direnişçileri (@bimeksdirenisi) January 5, 2021

(DŞ/SD)