Alwaght- The Turkish government continues to show no tolerance to criticism with the latest incident being the arrest of 12 academics for signing a declaration denouncing Ankara’s military operations against Kurdish militants. The move comes after more than 1,200 scholars were being investigated for criticizing the Turkish State.
Reports say the 12 who were detained by police are lecturers at Kocaeli University in the northwest. Police are still processing the paperwork for nine other academics, who will also be arrested.
The 1,200 academics had been accused of allegedly participating in “terrorist propaganda” after they signed a declaration condemning military operations against Kurdish rebels in the southeast.
Around 1,200 academics from 89 universities, including prominent foreign scholars such as Noam Chomsky, David Harvey and Immanuel Wallerstein, signed the declaration, which was titled: “We won’t be a part of this crime.”
It called on the authorities in Ankara to end the “massacre and slaughter” in southeast Turkey and lift the siege of Kurdish towns and cities. The declaration also accused Erdogan of waging a war against his own people.
“The responsibility for the present self-inflicted crisis in the country must lie squarely with Erdogan, who perceives the Kurds… as obstacles to his plan to establish supreme rule for the Turkish presidency,” the declaration said. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke against the signatories.
The academics’ criticism of the military operation against the Kurds also angered Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan, who called the declaration “treachery” and urged the judiciary to get involved.
In turn, Chomsky, a prominent US linguist and philosopher, accused the Turkish president of hypocrisy and applying double standards to terrorism as well as openly aiding terrorist organizations.
“Turkey blamed ISIS [for the attack on Istanbul], which Erdogan has been aiding in many ways, while also supporting the al-Nusra Front, which is hardly different. He then launched a tirade against those who condemn his crimes against Kurds – who happen to be the main ground force opposing ISIS in both Syria and Iraq. Is there any need for further comment?” Chomsky said.
The clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been outlawed by Ankara, have been ongoing since July, with Turkey’s authorities claiming that those killed during the security operation in the southeast were PKK members.
