Twitter blocks MHP leader's tweet against Boğaziçi protesters

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Twitter has blocked a tweet about the Boğaziçi University protests by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of the government.

Bahçeli posted a series of tweets on Wednesday (February 3), calling the protesters "terrorists," "vandals" and "barbarians" and said they were "not the children of this country."

CLICK - Erdoğan, Bahçeli target Boğaziçi students, LGBTI+s again as protests intensify

Late yesterday, Twitter blocked one of those tweets in which he said, "Those who rely on spies, oppressors and dark circles are not children but venomous snakes whose heads need to be crushed. Those who join the queue to extend the illegal protests to other universities should tragically pay for it."

The other tweets where he also used strong words against the protesters remain accessible.

Twitter put a notice that says the tweet was no longer available but does not explain why such action was taken. Its rules ban threats of violence.

On Tuesday, the platform restricted a tweet by Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu for violating its rules about hate conduct. In the tweet, he targeted LGBTI+s over the protests, saying that "Four LGBT deviants were detained."

Soylu also reacted to Twitter's action against his and Bahçeli's tweets last night, calling LGBTI+s "deviant" again.

"Twitter, which forms a protecting shield for terrorist organizations and the deviant LGBT, as we witness, is trying to disrupt the chemistry of countries, democracy and peace with the communications monopoly it has," he said.

In another tweet, He shared the screenshot of Bahçeli's blocked message and said, "We denounce the attitude of Twitter, which cannot tolerate Mr. Bahçeli's statements."

Releasing a written statement after Bahçeli's tweet was blocked, the MHP said, "Although Mr. Bahçeli put a distinction between terrorists and students, which is also confirmed by the security directorate, Twitter reacted to this from beyond the ocean.

"Twitter and the powers behind Twitter have supported those who are connected and linked to terrorist organizations and stage protests in front of Boğaziçi University. Some of our chairperson's posts have been restricted."

Minister of Transport Adil Karaismaioğlu announced yesterday morning that an ad ban had been imposed on Twitter because of failing to appoint a legal representative in Turkey in accordance with the new social media law.

Today, the hashtag "Should Twitter be closed down?" (#TwitterKapatılsınMı) became a trending topic on Twitter in Turkey. Under the hashtag, some pro-government accounts said that Twitter "started a war against Turkey."

Academics and students of Boğaziçi University, one of the top higher education institutions in Turkey, have been protesting the appointment of a rector from outside the university's academic community since early January.

Several demonstrations in support of Boğaziçi students have also been held in various parts of the country, including Ankara, the capital, İzmir and Bursa.

Hundreds of protesters have been detained so far as the government accuses them of being linked to "terrorist groups."

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.

(EKN/VK)