APPOINTMENT OF MELİH BULU

Over 2,300 academics from 52 countries: We stand with Boğaziçi

Amid protests against the appointment of Bulu as the new president of Boğaziçi, 2,314 academics from 52 countries have signed a joint statement: “We stand with Boğaziçi University students and faculty in their struggle for academic freedom and autonomy.”

İstanbul

Over 2,300 academics from 52 countries: We stand with Boğaziçi

* Photo: Dilek Şen - bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Academic Solidarity Network, Academics for Peace and 12 groups of academics have released a joint declaration of support for the students and faculty members of Boğaziçi University amid ongoing protests against the appointment of Prof. Melih Bulu as the new university president.

As of 8.30 a.m. on January 18, 2,314 academics from 52 countries of the world, from the US to India and Hong Kong, signed the joint statement.

"We stand with Boğaziçi University students and faculty in their struggle for academic freedom and autonomy," the statement has read and added:

'Rights and freedoms are undermined'

"Turkey's AKP government continues to undermine the rights and freedoms of individuals as well as the principle of autonomy of universities and civic organizations. Most recently, Turkish police have attacked and detained dozens of students who peacefully protested the AKP's attempt to assert political control over Boğaziçi University in İstanbul.

"On January 1, 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used an emergency decree from 2016 (KHK 676) to appoint Professor Melih Bulu, a loyal member of the ruling party, rector of Boğaziçi University. Bulu is not a member of the Boğaziçi University faculty, which violates the established rules and practices of University governance.

'Government's response has been brutal'

"This attempt by President Erdoğan to bring Boğaziçi University under his control has sparked widespread faculty and student protest. The government's response has been brutal. Erdoğan has called the students 'terrorists' and LGBTI+ students in particular have been singled out for harassment. The police have conducted home raids with guns drawn, detained and strip searched protestors, and engaged in torture.

"We the undersigned condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with the students and faculty of Boğaziçi University.

"We call upon Professor Bulu to decline the position and we call upon the Turkish government to release any students still in custody, withdraw all charges, and respect academic freedom and university autonomy."

The declaration has been supported by Research Institute on Turkey, Academic Solidarity Network, PEN America, Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, Academics for Peace - North America, Academics for Peace - Germany, Scholars at Risk (SAR), SAR - Italy, EuroMed Rights, Interflugs - Berlin, SUNY Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU) - New York, Politics Department at Ithaca College.

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.

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.

(RT/SD)

Origin

BIA News Desk