As academics at the University of Oxford, we would like to express our deep concern about the events taking place in Turkey. In response to the protests in Istanbul, as well as in other towns and cities in the country, rights and freedoms are being severely curtailed. In addition to what seems to be the deployment of excessive police force, we are witnessing a large number of arbitrary arrests, undue pressure being brought to bear on the Turkish media and, in a more general sense, serious infringements on the rights of assembly and free speech. While we recognise that the Justice and Development Party is the elected government and possesses a strong popular mandate, we also believe that, as a democratic government, it should seek to guarantee the civil liberties of all Turkey’s citizens.
We are particularly concerned with the uncompromising stance of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will inevitably further inflame a volatile situation. Several leading academics and intellectuals in Turkey have already signalled their fears at the response to these protests and expressed their solidarity with those on the streets, many of whom are university students. We join our colleagues in Turkey in calling on the government to respect basic freedoms and to resolve the impasse through dialogue and consensual politics rather than force and violence. We believe only a peaceful resolution of the standoff can pave the way for the strengthening of Turkey’s democracy.
Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Evrim Altıntaş Department of Sociology
Dr Christian Arnold Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Miryam Asfar Faculty of Oriental Studies
Professor Andrew Barry School of Geography and the Environment
Dr Mette Louise Berg Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Professor Paul Betts Faculty of Modern History
Professor Francesco Billari Head of Department of Sociology
Professor Julia Bray Faculty of Oriental Studies
Professor Richard Caplan Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Emine Çakır Faculty of Oriental Studies
Dr Igor Calzada School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Dr Gregory JH Deacon African Studies Centre
Dr Neli Demireva Department of Sociology
Dr Faisal Devji Faculty of Modern History
Dr Evelyn Ersanilli School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Dr Kimberly Fisher Centre For Time Use Research
Professor Sudhir Hazareesingh Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Peter Healey School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Dr Clare Heyward School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Dr Francisco Herreros European Studies Centre
Dr Renee Hirschon St Peter’s College
Dr Hande Inanç Department of Sociology
Professor Jeremy Johns Director of the Khalili Research Centre for the Art and Material Culture of the Middle East
Dr Man-Yee Kan Department of Sociology
Dr Celia Kerslake St Antony’s College
Professor Theo van Lint Faculty of Oriental Studies
Professor Margaret Macmillan Faculty of Modern History
Dr Adam Mestyan Faculty of Oriental Studies
Dr Laurent Mignon Faculty of Oriental Studies
Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis Department of Politics and International Relations
Androulla Kaminara European Studies Centre
Dr Kerem Öktem European Studies Centre
Professor Leigh A Payne Director of Latin American Centre
Dr Lauge Poulsen Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Jerome Ravetz School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Professor Steve Rayner School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Professor Simon Saunders Faculty of Philosophy
Dr Nicolai Sinai Faculty of Oriental Studies
Dr Ebru Soytemel School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Dr Vaclav Stetka European Studies Centre
Professor Oriel Sullivan Department of Sociology
Professor Catherine de Vries Department of Politics and International Relations
Dr Robert De Vries Department of Sociology
Dr Bryan Ward-Perkins Director of Ertegun House
Professor Laurence Whitehead Department of Politics and International Relations
14 June 2013
Source: theguardian.com
