Academics sign statement saying ‘rule of law suspended’
Date posted: February 6, 2014
ANKARA
Academics signed a statement declaring that rule of law in Turkey has been suspended since a corruption scandal implicating various businessmen and government officials erupted on Dec. 17.
Professor Ayhan Aktar, Professor Ersin Kalaycıoğlu and Professor Yasemin İnceoğlu, as well as 147 other academics, signed a statement saying that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government cannot ignore corruption allegations by making up claims of a “parallel state” — which has no meaning in political science or law — and placing all responsibility of unlawful acts on the Hizmet movement, which was inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
A signatory, Professor Gencay Gürsoy, read the statement on behalf of the academics on Thursday.
The statement stressed that the reassignments of thousands of public servants and the worrisome attempts to curb the separation of powers through the judiciary have damaged Turkey’s respect for the principles of law and security and that they have broken the ties between law and legitimacy.
On Thursday night Samanyolu Haber TV news channel was the latest to face a cyber attack, as readers have at times also recently been unable to access the websites of the dailies Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Taraf, as well as the Cihan news agency, particularly since the night of the local elections on March 30.
Academics: Hizmet a movement, not a gang; Gülen builds ties
The Hizmet movement led by US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is not a gang but a movement, academics have said in reaction to a smear campaign led by the Turkish government against the movement and its representatives.
Dutch government calls on Turkish community to report threats by supporters of Turkish President Erdogan
The government is calling on Turkish-Dutch citizens to report if they are threatened by supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs wrote in a letter to parliament on Thursday, NU.nl reports.
A Year Ago Today: Teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu died of torture on his 13th day in police custody
Gökhan Açıkkollu, a history teacher suffering from diabetes, died of torture in police custody as part of a post-coup investigation into Turkey’s Gülen group. According to his father, Ayhan Açıkkollu, Gökhan was a diabetics patient while human rights defenders hinted at torture and maltreatment.
Canberra followers of Fethullah Gulen afraid to return to Turkey
Despite having recently become an Australian citizen, Mr Erdogan fears if he returned to Turkey at the moment he would be arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. He has friends in Turkey who have been stripped of their livelihoods and forced to go into hiding as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cracks down on “enemies of the state”.
Government as a black propaganda machine
In an effort to distract public opinion from the graft probe and the alleged involvement of the prime minister and his inner circle in corruption, Erdoğan has been conducting psychological warfare. Considering the Hizmet movement responsible as the force behind the investigation, Erdoğan declared the movement an enemy.
Latest News
European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests
ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases
Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade
Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
After Reunion: A Quiet Transformation Within the Hizmet Movement
Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet
Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away
Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice
In Case You Missed It
Don’t lose the plot
Gülen, Hizmet, the state and the AKP
Gülen book finds wide readership in northern Iraq
Romanian appeals court denies Turkey’s request for extradition of Erdoğan critic
Islamabad High Court moved against expected closure of Turkish schools
Islamophobia Network Targets Top Performing American Schools
Turkish citizens keen to return to Yemen after conflict settled