10.02.2017
With the 686 numbered State of Emergency Decree-law published on 7 February 2017, hundreds of academics were dismissed from universities in an unfair and unlawful way. Moreover, with this decree-law, 4 464 public employees -most of them being teacher- were dismissed from public service. The applications of State of Emergency which has become a counter-coup process have been imposing its unlawfulness at full pelt and have been converted into a repressive means against all sections of society.
Academics, retired faculty members, university students, human rights defenders, representatives of democratic organizations and activists who wanted to make a press statement on 10 February 2017 about 12:00 pm in front of the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science to show solidarity with the academics dismissed from service in an unfair and unlawful way and to protest this situation, were exposed to arbitrary and excessive use of power by the police.
As right defenders, we also were exposed to these types of treatments in person and witnessed. We were exposed to arbitrary and freewheeling treatment of the police, even though we presented ourselves as human rights defenders.
Even though they introduced themselves to the police and stated that they would participate in the press statement planned to be made in the yard, the defenders having wanted to participate in the press statement were exposed to arbitrary removal by the police and riot control police’s intervention with disproportionate use of force from time to time.
Being not contented with this treatment, the police chased the crowd on the street in front of the Faculty of Political Science for a couple of hundred meters, used gas bomb while chasing and occasionally fired at people with plastic bullets. Then, the police performed detentions and took many people standing on street into custody. Excessive force was used while performing these treatments.
The government wants to maintain its authoritarian applications with the freaky decree-laws published contrary to the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) and the Constitution. It targets the opposing sections of society together with intellectuals, democrats, socialists, trade unionists and right defenders having the ability to oppose.
Such applications targeting these sections who don’t have any connection with the coup attempt and are known to be against the coup attempt, as dismissal from public service, shutting down associations and foundations, silencing media organizations and confiscation are unacceptable.
What happened today shows that Turkey hasn’t stop becoming authoritarian and will increase repression methods until the day of referendum. It became clear from what happened today that the repression of government, which became a de facto autocracy, will increase during the referendum process.
We invite whole society to think over the meaning of the “Down with oppressions, up with freedom!” slogan shouted in front of the Faculty of Political Science.
Human rights are not domestic affairs of any country. Thus, we invite the international community to be more sensitive about this repression policy in Turkey together with human rights violations, and we call international human rights mechanisms to carried out their duties.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION