MLA Statement of Support for Turkish Academics
The Executive Council approved the following statement in January 2016.
In recent weeks, numerous Turkish academics who signed the “Petition for Peace,” which condemns Turkish state violence in Kurdish-dominated Southeast Anatolia and asks the government to observe national and international law and to initiate a peace process, have been targeted by the Turkish government, accused of terrorist propaganda, and investigated by their universities. Some have been arrested and indicted. The MLA joins the Middle East Studies Association in calling on the Turkish government to stop all threats against the signatories of petitions, who are exercising their basic rights of free speech, and to respect freedom of expression, academic freedom, and the freedom to demand peace in times of conflict.