Turkey’s Higher Education Council (YÖK) sent a directive Monday (April 7) to universities instructing them to launch disciplinary proceedings against students involved in organizing recent boycotts. Boycotts have spread across the country in recent weeks, launched by both the main opposition and university students, in response to the March 19th arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
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The directive from YÖK noted that the boycotting or prevention of lectures and exams is banned by Turkish law, and called upon universities to punish students involved as well as “extreme groups and banned organizations” responsible for the boycotts.
On April 2nd, a boycott organized by university students encouraged Turkish consumers to abstain from all purchases for an entire day.
Despite having supported boycotts in the past, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken out strongly against the recent student-led initiatives, and his administration labelled the campaign on April 2nd as ‘Damage to the nation’. Although technically legal under Turkish law, numerous individuals have already been indicted due to boycott-related social media posts on charges of ‘inciting the public to hate and animosity’.
Tuesday night demonstrations by students in Kadıköy
On Tuesday night, thousands of university students gathered in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district to demand the release of their peers still in detention as the result of the major protests in recent weeks.
The students were also joined by parents and family members calling for the release of those detained.
A concert was also held at Festival Park on the Kadıköy waterfront in solidarity with the detainees.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
