Message forwarded on behalf of Turkey's Academics for Peace.
To sign the petition and show your support, send a mail (stating your
name, position and university) to [log in to unmask]
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Dear Professors and Colleagues,
In the Kurdish region of Turkey, since 16 August 2015, there have been
58 officially confirmed, open-ended curfews in 19 districts of 7 cities.
Human causalities increase day by day, hundreds of civilians lost their
lives. You can find more information about the situation in the
following links.
1. Fact sheet by Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
http://en.tihv.org.tr/fact-sheet-on-declared-curfews-in-turkey-between-11-december-2015-8-january-2016/
2. Call by Amnesty International
http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/turkey-stop-imposing-arbitrary-restrictions-on-freedom-of-movement-ua-616
A group of academics launched a petition in Turkey, signed by 1128
academics in Turkey and supported by 356 international ones by January
10th. The international supporters include David Harvey, Noam Chomsky,
Etienne Balibar, Erik Swyngedouw, Judith Butler and many others.
And today, after a very brutal attack on tourists in Istanbul by the
ISIS; Turkish President Erdo?an made a defiant speech, mostly attacking
on this petition and those who signed it.
Hereby is the info by Guardian on this issue: 'In a typically defiant
speech Erdogan attacked foreign academics and writers, including Noam
Chomsky for criticism of his government. He said: “Pick a side. You are
either on the side of the Turkish government, or you’re on the side of
the terrorists'.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/jan/12/istanbul-explosion-several-reported-killed-in-tourist-area-live-updates.
Just 2 hours after this speech, Turkish Higher Education Council
announced that it would launch an investigation against those who signed
in Turkey. In this situation supporting the academics in Turkey is much
more crucial.
We would like to ask you to sign this petition in order to show
solidarity and if it is possible to convey this message to your colleagues.
You can sign the petition by sending a mail (stating your name, position
and university) to [log in to unmask]
Thank you very much for your interest.
Best regards,
Academics for Peace
The original petition is copied below.
As academics and researchers of this country, we will not be a party to
this crime!
The Turkish state has effectively condemned its citizens in Sur, Silvan,
Nusaybin, Cizre, Silopi, and many other towns and neighborhoods in the
Kurdish provinces to hunger through its use of curfews that have been
ongoing for weeks. It has attacked these settlements with heavy weapons
and equipment that would only be mobilized in wartime. As a result, the
right to life, liberty, and security, and in particular the prohibition
of torture and ill-treatment protected by the constitution and
international conventions have been violated.
This deliberate and planned massacre is in serious violation of Turkey’s
own laws and international treaties to which Turkey is a party. These
actions are in serious violation of international law.
We demand the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation
of Kurdish and other peoples in the region. We also demand the state to
lift the curfew, punish those who are responsible for human rights
violations, and compensate those citizens who have experienced material
and psychological damage. For this purpose we demand that independent
national and international observers to be given access to the region
and that they be allowed to monitor and report on the incidents.
We demand the government to prepare the conditions for negotiations and
create a road map that would lead to a lasting peace which includes the
demands of the Kurdish political movement. We demand inclusion of
independent observers from broad sections of society in these
negotiations. We also declare our willingness to volunteer as observers.
We oppose suppression of any kind of the opposition.
We, as academics and researchers working on and/or in Turkey, declare
that we will not be a party to this massacre by remaining silent and
demand an immediate end to the violence perpetrated by the state. We
will continue advocacy with political parties, the parliament, and
international public opinion until our demands are met.
For international support, please send your signature, name of your
university and your title to [log in to unmask]
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