CONFERENCE: ACADEMIC FREEDOM, AUTHORITARIANISM AND TURKEY

In the face of rising authoritarianism and right-wing populism, academic freedom is under severe threat in contemporary Turkey. Governmental repression on academics became all too apparent when the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, instigated a campaign of persecution against academics – Academics for Peace (BAK) – who signed a peace petition in January 2016. The […]

Urgent Call for Xerabê Bava by Academics for Peace- Germany & Academics for Peace- UK

As Turkey’s constitutional referendum is approaching, we are, once again, witnessing an intensification of state violence in the Kurdish provinces of Turkey. For more than a week, there has been no communication with the people of Xerabê Bava (Koruköy), a village in Mardin-Nusaybin. The village is under round-the-clock military curfew and there have been claims […]

Academic For Peace Initiative (BAK) seeks international solidarity 

In the last seven months, following the failed coup attempt, nearly 100,000 civil servants have been removed from their posts in Turkey. This includes teachers, police officers, soldiers, academics and lawyers. Among these there have been many academics known for being signatories to the [“We will not be a party to this crime”] peace petition. […]

May Accused of Propping up Erdoğan

LEADING trade unionists have demanded that Theresa May stop selling arms to Turkey, accusing her of propping up one of the world’s most oppressive regimes.The call was made at an emergency press conference on Wednesday night, organised by Solidarity with the People of Turkey (Spot), after a new decree issued under the state of emergency […]

The Press statement by SPOT: DEMOCRACY ON A KNIFE EDGE IN TURKEY

The policies of the AKP government, which have been ruling the country for the last 14 years, have pushed democracy to the edge. The severity of the situation exceeds even the circumstances of the military coup in 1980.By using the failed coup attempt of July 15th as a pretext, the government is arresting and firing […]