Statement of Hemispheric Institute of Performance And Politics Regarding The Situation In Turkey
We write as academics, artists and concerned citizens to express our strong objection to the current situation in Turkey. While we strongly condemn the attempt to subvert the democratic process in Turkey through the attempted military coup of July 15, 2016, President Erdogan’s response has gone beyond acceptable measures, using the occasion to undertake a massive purge that includes such actions as the suspension from duty or arrest of judges, military personnel, civil servants, university deans, and teachers. More than 15.200 educators and administrators have been suspended, while Turkey’s Higher Education Council (YÖK) has ordered the dismissal of all Deans from the country’s public and private universities. All Turkish academics are banned from going abroad and those that are abroad are called to return to the country. These measures show how the Turkish government is becoming an authoritarian presidential regime that restricts the role of any legitimate political opposition and its function of democratic oversight. There are reports that those in custody cannot find lawyers, since no one dares defend them out of fear that they will be added to the purge lists. Through this statement we, and along with numerous professional associations across the world, strongly condemn the measures that President Erdogan has taken, and we call on our local authorities to demand political and academic freedom in Turkey as fundamental tenets of democracy.