We do not accept, we are determined not to conform!

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Bu metin Türkçe de mevcuttur.

The incessant attacks of authoritarian rule against Turkey’s universities pursue at an accelerating rate. As Academics for Peace Germany, we do not accept President’s appointment of a rector to Boğaziçi University on January 1, 2021 and the subsequent detentions, which undermine the academic autonomy, scientific freedom and democratic values. We do not consider this appointment, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Academics for Peace Declaration, entitled “We will not be a party to this crime”, as a coincidence.  We consider it to be the persistance of an anti-democratic process and authoritarian rule that surfaced in 2016 when the President was given the power to appoint university rectors through a state of emergency decree.  We reject unlawful dismissals, statutory decrees, violations of rights, anti-democratic practices and the power to turn universities into spaces of unfair staffing and contingent meritocracy. The abolition of the rector elections is part of this picture and is a clear violation of the principle of academic autonomy of the university.  We oppose this violation and support the urge of Boğaziçi University Senate for implementing the principles adopted in 2012 to establish an independent, democratic and autonomous university; a precondition for scientific freedom and knowledge exchange. 

As Academics for Peace-Germany, we would like to state that we stand strongly with Boğazici University students, employees and faculty members in the struggle to protect the autonomous structure of universities.  

Academics for Peace – Germany