Academics for Peace – Germany
As members and supporters of Academics for Peace – Germany, we consider the verdict at the Gezi trials as a part of the move of the political power to threaten and intimidate the opposition by taking hostages; and we object to that.
With this verdict, our friends Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Hakan Altınay, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi are taken hostages in addition to other members of the opposition. The aim is to threaten the segments of the society that reject the boundaries imposed on them and to silence voices that express the willpower to live together in peace. This verdict is just a part of a series of attacks, that is, a part of the attempt of the hegemon who presumes it can prevent change as it tries to hold on to power.
In a similar manner, the Kobane trial is being used to silence any dissident voice as the process of the trial tramples on the due process of law. The aim is to silence Kurds and Turks who do not obey the current political power that deprive them of their most basic rights; the right to engage in politics and the right to have a say on their own future. All this institutionalised violence is an expression of the hegemon’s fear of its existence being imperilled should there be social peace.
With the strength we obtain from our resolute stance for equality and justice, as a part of the voices that express the will to live together peacefully, we, academics, refuse this tyranny. With all our strength, we object to this intimidation against social peace, against our right to exist, against our right to engage in politics, and against our fundamental freedoms. We object to this menacing attack of silencing the society and banishing it to darkness.
In the land where we come from, “Gezi” is the word for the mode of contesting the lines that are forced upon society, it’s the word for the audacity to change the destiny imposed on us. Gezi is the constituent force of the new Turkey that can stand together equally in solidarity in all our colours, changing and emancipating together. Gezi is the seed of a free, happy, democratic and egalitarian world. This is the reason why the current political power in Turkey cannot stomach Gezi. They cannot stomach it because they know that they cannot destroy it no matter how hard they try: The idea is already on its course, the seed has long sprouted. Gezi is not our past, it is our map. Gezi is our future. We claim Gezi and repeat our promise to continue our struggle.
We are the future, #Gezi is the future.