Turkey’s left-wing youth organizations, the Communist Youth of Turkey (TKG), the Youth Opposition (Gençlik Muhalefeti) and the Students’ Collectives (Öğrenci Kolektifleri), established a symbolic tribunal on November 29 in İstanbul in order to judge the crimes committed against universities.
The tribunal board included academics, lawyers and representative students from the youth organisations with the support of Turkey’s intellectuals, professional organisations and trade unions. Following the speeches of representatives showing evidence regarding the crimes against universities, the tribunal board announced the resolution declaration in the presence of hundreds of participators.
'CHAOS AND DARKNESS AT UNIVERSITIES RELATED WITH AKP GOVT'
Delivering a speech in the name of the tribunal board, Lawyer Özge Demir said, "We are on the side of the working people, of the idea of the university, and of the progressive, pro-Enlightenment accumulation fostered by the university," against the unlawfulness of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
The declaration of the Youth Tribunal underlines that the chaotic situation of universities in Turkey is directly related with the darkness led by the capitalists and the AKP government.
"It is ordered," the declaration states, "to hinder the AKP, which is incapable of ruling our country, from imposing its darkness upon the universities, to prevent the university rectors carrying out such interventions from becoming the supporters of turning universities into pro-AKP entitles, and to remove all the rectors who participated in this counterrevolutionary operation."
DISMISSED ACADEMICS MUST BE REINSTATED, NO TO CAPITALISM AT UNIVERSITIES
The declaration considers the reinstatement of all the educatory labourers, academics and scientists who were dismissed through the government-imposed state of emergency decrees and unlawful impositions.
"It is resolved that the projects such as the cooperation of university and industry in the service of capitalism to be terminated, breaking all the links of universities to capital including career days and business events," the declaration sets forth against the profit-oriented implementations at universities.
NO TO RELIGIOUS SECTS-DOGMAS, AND DISCRIMINATIONS AT UNIVERSITIES
Underlining that universities should host science and enlightenment against religious dogmas and religious sects, the declaration states that the rectors and administrators in favour of reactionary events at universities must be disentitled.
Based on the worldwide grounds of the university institution, the declaration decides that all the discriminating implementations at universities, including sex discrimination, must be stopped, adding that misogynist figures and abusers must be kept away from universities.
Emphasiing those anti-scientific productions, fake reports and documents must be eliminated at universities, the declaration resolves that all the restrictive implementations towards the students' organisations and clubs must be removed, providing more sources to scientific, cultural, artistic and sportive activities of such student groups instead.
NO TO GOVT-LED POLITICAL REPRESSION
Pointing out to the repressive implementations of the AKP government in order to hinder students and academics from engaging in politics and ideological production, the declaration concludes that all the obstacles by means of the police force, disciplinary investigations and paramilitary gangs must removed. The declaration emphasizes the hypocritical stance of the AKP government that attacks left-wing students and academics while fostering right-wing including Islamists, ultranationalists, pro-capitalist forces at universities.
On the basis of criminal evidence against the universities, the declaration concludes that all the rectors and university administrators who led reactionary, pro-market, sexist and repressive policies must be dismissed, adding that the investigations imposed by some rector offices on 67 students, who were taken into custody for having attended a protest demonstration to commemorate over a hundred people who were murdered by an Islamic State bomb attack in October 2015 in Ankara, must be halted immediately.
The Youth Tribunal calls on the people and the youth to get organized and struggle for equality, freedom and justice.
