Universities tolerate jihadists, ban referendum protest

While students protesting the recent referendum frauds are arrested or attacked by the security forces, reactionary student groups can organise events without any restrictions in universities
Thursday, 20 April 2017 07:16

The universities in Turkey have been the places where the AKP government has increasingly been oppressing and demonstrating its power to suppress anti-government voices. After the shady referendum, while anti-government students are assaulted and arrested, reactionary groups enjoy the freedom of organising and announcing their events.

Students of Muğla Sıtkı Koçaman University were arrested after protesting the referendum frauds. According to the claims, these students were assaulted by some unknown group. After the incident, they made a statement saying that they do not recognise these assaults and the referendum results. After the statement, the students were arrested.

EVENTS IN ANADOLU UNIVERSITY

A similar incident happened in Anadolu University, Eskişehir. Anti-government student groups protested the results of the shady referendum in the cafeteria. During the protest, the students were assaulted by the private security guards working in the university.

The security guards attempted to arrest the students, however, after more students gathered in the cafeteria, they had to step back by uttering verbal threats.

REACTIONARY GROUPS ARE FREE IN CAMPUSES

Despite these oppressive actions against anti-government students, fascist and jihadist groups are allowed to get organised in campuses by the university managements. A reactionary group named Anatolian Youth Association and known with their close links to the Islamist Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) set up booths in on the campus of Beyazıt of İstanbul University. The university management or the security did not attempt to prevent the group from offering delights to everyone for the sake of Holy Birth Week. Although the group threatened the students in the campus, the university management did nothing to prevent these reactionary group’s actions or activities on campus.