A mawlid ceremony was held in Sinop, a northern province of Turkey, to commemorate Çanakkale martyrs. The ceremony was attended by the directors and chiefs of governmental institutions in the city. Sinop University Rector Prof. Dr Nihat Dalgın posed for the camera in the mosque during the mawlid, local media reported.
Rector Dalgın is known to be a pro-government figure, making statements in support of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). After the failed coup attempt in 15th July 2016, Dalgın stated that he "had never let Sinop University be a safe harbour for the Gülenists".
When Dalgın was appointed as the rector of Sinop University in 2015, he was on the third rank in the university election list, with 27 votes in favour. Yet, the President Erdoğan appointed him as the rector.
RECTORIAL ELECTIONS CANCELLED IN STATE OF EMERGENCY
Rectorial elections used to be held in three steps before the state of emergency. The universities used to hold rectorial elections; six candidates with the highest votes were sent to the Higher Education Institution (YÖK) and three nominees with the highest votes were carried to the approval of President. In several occasions, as in the case of Rector Dalgın, the second or third nominee was appointed by the President, receiving wide criticisms for being anti-democratic.
Following the failed coup attempt in 2016, rectorial elections in universities were cancelled and President Erdoğan had been given the full authority to assign rectors directly. This new practice enforced by a statutory decree has been evaluated as being more anti-democratic, giving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan more power to politically control universities, to take them under pressure and to remove academic staff with opposing views from universities.
In February 2017, numerous academicians, including the signers of "Academicians for Peace" text had been dismissed from their positions in the universities.
