Violence actions, which appeared in Mersin University and Malatya Battalgazi Dormitory during last three days, reached to alarming dimensions. Argument, which occurred among dissident students of Mersin University, turned into fight. Subsequently police intervene to incidents with using violence and police took 65 students into custody after chastising them. This intervention increased tension.
Universities should be a science area. Moreover; universities should be precedent association, in which students can use their fundamental rights and freedoms in a democratic way. Any occasion, positive or negative, in universities affects all society as well. In this point; as IHD we expect that starting from university administrations, academicians and students to be respectful to fundamental rights-freedoms. It is essential that everybody’s rights- with latitude of thought- of meeting within peaceful aims, right of association and right of freedom of expression should be under guarantee. In this point students must show tolerance to each others and also university administrations provide atmosphere to all students so they use these rights freely. We believe that violence actions that appeared in universities harm, firstly, human rights culture. Attacks, against Kurdish students, are increasing that cause a more acute situation. If an ethnic conflict is appeared in universities it can spread throughout all society speedily and turned into a scintilla of fire. So we invite all students to act in more right minded manner.
Police Forces’ pressure and violence in universities is an absolute violation of human rights. Police forces’ raid to universities, using gas bombs in there, extreme violence against students by means of batons is not an acceptable situation. Actions of polices will only provoke new incidents. So; we believe that if university administrations ask help from Non-Governmental Organizations rather than calling police forces to campus for any events, it will be more useful-peaceful.
We call for students and society to act within cool headedness and use peaceful methods when express democratic reactions. Also; we call for university administrations and law-enforcement officers not to provoke of incidents via discriminatory policies but to practice more rationalist and democratic implementations.