Academics united: GIT Turkiye press coverage

Hurriyet Daily News covered the founding of GIT Turkiye and the press conference they held:

"Solidarity network

Some 400 academics from 50 different universities in Turkey and abroad have formed a solidarity network called “International Workshop Group for Freedom of Research and Education” to act as a watchdog to document and prevent oppression in Turkish universities.

“Today, a wide policy of oppression and intimidation is being systematically implemented in universities under the name of a ‘fight on terror.’ Hundreds of university students have been arrested like this,” İnsel said.

“Our colleague, Professor Büşra Ersanlı, was arrested on unsubstantiated accusations and has been in prison for 108 days. However, she has devoted all her life to maintaining peace. This is the last straw,” said Professor Zeynep Gambetti, an assistant professor at Boğaziçi University.

Ersanlı was arrested three and a half months ago for her alleged connections with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the alleged urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.

Academics who are especially known for their work on the Kurdish or Armenian issues, as well as those known for being political opponents of the government, are being systematically suspended from universities, Gambetti said."
To read the full text, please visit: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/academics-unite-against-oppression-at-universities.aspx?pageID=238&nID=13949&NewsCatID=339

For other news in Turkish press, see Bianet, Evrensel, Birgun, Ozgur Gundem, and Radikal.

Dink family petitions for the prosecution of public officials

GIT - North America had covered in a news analysis the state of the case on the murder of the Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Recently, the Dink family petitioned to prosecute the public officials
"Muammer Güler, Celalettin Cerrah, Ramazan Akyürek, Engin Dinç, Muhittin Zenit, Ali Öz, Ergun Güngör, Ahmet İlhan Güler, Bülent Köksal, İbrahim Pala, İbrahim Şevki Eldivan, Volkan Altunbulak, Bahadır Özkan, Özcan Özkan, Reşat Altay, Faruk Sarı, Ercan Demir, Özkan Mumcu, Mehmet Ayhan, Metin Yıldız, Hüseyin Yılmaz, Gazi Günay, Hacı Ömer Ünalır and Önder Araz.

Additionally, the complainants demanded the litigation of officials of the Trabzon Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Trabzon and Istanbul Provincial Police Directorates and the Police General Directorate Intelligence Branch Presidency who had apparently been informed about the Dink murder in advance.

"Trabzon police concealed organization"

The submitted petition points to prosecutor Hikmet Usta's concession that the investigation failed to be comprehensive. It was demanded to determine the responsibilities and roles in the murder played by the public officials who would have been obliged to prevent the murder after they had been informed about it. According to the results, trials should be opened against them, the petition requested.
Furthermore, the petition drew attention to officials of the Trabzon Provincial Police Directorate who destroyed related telephone records and hence concealed both the organizational structure behind the murder and the responsibility. It was claimed that Erhan Tuncel, who was acquitted in the context of the Dink murder, should have received a life sentence and that action should be taken to lodge a trial about officials of the Provincial Police Directorate of Trabzon."
To read the full text, please visit:

http://bianet.org/english/minorities/136199-dink-family-petitions-prosecution-of-public-officials

No discharge for policeman who killed student

Gultekin Sahin, a 45-year-old police officer who has been jailed pending trial with the allegation that the shot dead 21-year-old college student Serzan Kurt had applied, once again, to the high criminal court in Eskisehir (Eskisehir 1. Agir Ceza Mahkemesi) in order to be discharged from potential imprisonment up to 36 years.

The argument put forth by Sahin's lawyers is reported to have included the sentence: "He is a policeman after all; what was he supposed to do to those throwing stones? Hand them flowers?"

Sahin's plea for discharge was rejected again. Serzan Kurt, a sophomore at Mugla University, had died in hospital after having been critically wounded on May 12, 2010 in Mugla.

Newsfeed - February 15

To sign the inaugural declaration of GIT, please send an e-mail to diana.gonzalez2@wanadoo.fr -- to join GIT - North America, e-mail gitamerica@yahoo.com

GITTürkiye holds its first press conference

GITTürkiye will holds its first press conference tomorrow (Thursday, February 16) at 10 AM in Galatasaray, Istanbul. Read their invitation on GIT - North America.

Members of Education Workers' Union in Custody

In the last round of KCK arrests on Monday, February 13, union members were targeted. Read more via GIT - North America.

Another prominent critic of the government loses her job in Turkey

Read about the "indefinite leave" given to the columnist Nuray Mert by the Turkish daily Milliyet on GIT - North America.

Young Academics seek your support

Read how you can support the petition launched by young academics in response to Erdoğan's statement on raising a religious youth in Turkey on GIT - North America.

Ragip Zarakolu applies to European Court of Human Rights

You can read on the law suit filed by the lawyers of Ragip Zarakolu, renown publisher and human rights activist, at the European Court of Human Rights via GIT - North America.

GIT Turkiye is holding its first press conference tomorrow

GIT Turkiye is holding its first press conference tomorrow (February 16, Thursday) morning at 10 AM at Cezayir Restaurant in Galatasaray, Istanbul. What follows is from their invitation to journalists:

There has been an alarming escalation in the influence and pressure exerted by political and social power holders on universities in Turkey. Academic are being arrested or silenced through administrative investigations, their job security is being eroded, and the respectability of academic activity is being damaged.

As academics, we are intent on uniting to struggle against the obstacles in the way of the free production and dissemination of knowledge.

The International Work Group for Academic Liberty and Freedom of Research in Turkey (GITTürkiye), founded for this end, is to be inaugurated at a press conference on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 10 a.m. at Cezayir Restaurant in Istanbul.

We are looking forward to your participation in this event.

Address: Cezayir Restaurant Conference Hall, Hayriye Cad., No: 12, Beyoğlu (behind the Galatasaray Lycée), Istanbul.

Members of Education Workers' Union in Custody

Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim-Sen) was among the unions and social organizations targeted in the last wave of arrests undertaken as part of the so-called KCK operations on February 13. Women are reported to have been especially targeted and taken into custody in relation to their taking part in March 8 (Women's Day) activities.

In related news, the Medical Association of Turkey (Turk Tabipler Birligi) has issued an official report certifying that the cause of death of Metin Lokumcu was the use of intensive and disproportionate chemical gas by the police force. Lokumcu, was a retired education worker, who died while partaking in a protest against Erdogan's election campaign on May 31, 2011, in Hopa.

Milliyet Daily gives renown columnist Nuray Mert an "indefinite leave"

According to the daily Evrensel, renown columnist and academic Nuray Mert, who recently declared her support of Kurdish movement and became sympatetic to Kurdish democratic struggle, may be the last fired journalist in Turkey.

Milliyet Daily gave Mert an indefinite leave, writes the daily Evrensel. It is stated that Mert recently criticised Prime Minster Erdogan on his inability to bring a solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey. Upon a question concerning her leave, Mert said "I don't want to make any comments, it is the daily Milliyet that should comment on this." Read the news in Turkish here.

Young Academics seek your support

The Young Academics who started a petition in response to Erdoğan's comments on raising a religious youth and who were interviewed by GIT - North America last Sunday, continue to seek international support for their petition. You can read the English version of the petition here and sign the letter here (scroll down the box in the middle of the page and enter your first name, last name, city, country, title, institution, and e-mail address; if you would not like your signature to be made public, click the button next to "Hayir"; and then press the "Dilekçeyi imzala" button).

Ragip Zarakolu: Human Rights Symbol in Modern Turkey Applies to European Court of Human Rights

Bulent Gokay writes on Ragip Zarakolu as human rights symbol in Turkey and the role of liberty and freedom in achieving global power: "For his courage, patience, intellectual rigor and pursuit of genuine democracy, Ragip Zarakolu received IPA Freedom to Publish awards ^↑ in 2008; he received awards in 1995 and 2007 from the Turkey Publishers Association, the NOVIB/PEN Free Expression Award ^↑ in 2003, and in 2010, he was given the National Library Award of Armenia."

Read more of the article in Open Democracy here.

Ragıp Zarakolu, arrested journalist, publisher, writer and human rights advocate, has been nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish parliamentarians. His lawyers have reportedly filed a suit at the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the prosecutor’s orders that led to his arrest on Nov. 1, 2011. Visit here to read the rest of news article on the law suit.

Newsfeed - February 12

To sign the inaugural declaration of GIT, please send an e-mail to diana.gonzalez2@wanadoo.fr -- to join GIT - North America, e-mail gitamerica@yahoo.com
 
An interview with young academics 
GIT - North America interviewed the young academics who penned the petition to criticize the Turkish Prime Minister's attempt at socio-religious engineering (see the next news item). Read the interview here.
 
Young academics say no to socio-religious engineering
Read about Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's statement on raising a religious youth and the critical response it generated among young academics on GIT - North America.
 
Professor of Education responds to the idea of raising a religious youth  
Read the response of Fatma Gök, head of the department of education at Boğaziçi University, to Erdoğan's statement on raising a religious youth via GIT - North America.

Big brother is watching social media! 
Read about the dean of the College of Communications at Marmara University who is watching social media to identify his critics and chastise them by disciplinary action (and also the police doing the same for other purposes) on GIT - North America.

Petition and support event for Ragip Zarakolu 
Read about the petition and event that are organized as part of the continued efforts to free the imprisoned author and publisher Ragip Zarakolu on GIT - North America.

The Minister of the Interior strikes again 
İdris Naim Şahin, the Turkish Minister of the Interior, continues to make bewildering statements on freedom of expression. Read the latest on GIT - North America.

Do Erdoğan and Gül disagree on press freedom? 
Read Scott Griffen's commentary on press freedom in Turkey via GIT - North America.

An interview with young academics on academic freedom in Turkey

A group of young academics, organized in Facebook, wrote a protest letter addressed to Prime Minister Erdogan who recently expressed the government’s desire “to raise a religious youth.” In two days, they collected 2500 signatures from academics in Turkey and abroad. GIT North America contacted the initiators and asked questions concerning the petition and condition of academic liberties in Turkey.

1. What are your motives for initiating this petition?

First of all, “young academics” is not an organization. This petition started spontaneously in a Facebook conversation among a number of young academics from various backgrounds, beliefs and political stances. Our main motivation was to formulate and voice a common reaction to the repressive attempts of the conservative government over freedom of conscience and academic liberties. The prime minster's declaration to raise religious youth was the last straw. The repression is palpable, not only in the academia, but across the entire society. After winning the general elections for the third time, the government’s self-proclaimed conservatism slowly but surely has been metamorphosing into authoritarianism. Peer pressure and ubiquitous fear created by the imprisonment of scores of journalists, academics, students, publishers and intellectuals has gone hand in hand with an epidemic loss of jobs. Adopting a conformist and complaisant attitude is strongly recommended. If you have objections to the state of affairs but want to keep your job, then the only option is self censorship. This is an issue that we wanted to both expose and challenge in our petition.

The last wave of repressive measures that led to our petition, combined with the sheer silence of the media, is contributing to the environment of fear. The event triggering our action is the latest speech of Prime Minister Erdogan in which he explicitly stated the government’s goal of cultivating a religion the face of criticism, Erdogan’s response was that unless the young generation was raised with religious and conservative ideals they would end up becoming homeless children who live on dope. The PM does not bother to question the deep-rooted social and economic conditions that force children to grow up in the streets. He seems to think that being religious and conservative would keep any child off the street. In the same speech, Prime Minister Erdogan equates atheism with immorality and piousness with high morals. Such speeches divide society in the base of belief and establish a stifling hegemony to the benefit of the majority, i.e. Sunni Islam in the Turkish context. As we sought to declare in the petition, we are young academics from Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Alawite, Shafi’i, religious and non-religious, atheist and agnostic background, all joined with a firm belief in secularism. We think the government’s prime responsibility is creating the conditions for social equality, not establishing a religious hegemony.

2. So far, did you encounter in your institutions any attempt echoing the government’s intention to “raise a more religious and conservative youth”?

Those of us who work and study in Turkish universities are indeed swept by the tide. The first tool for repression in academia is the (by and large successful) attempts by the government to appoint to the decision-making positions of universities individuals sympathetic to the government's agenda. The same goes for the omnipotent Council of Higher Education (YOK). There are many cases where theology professors become deans of faculties of social sciences or education. A profound change is also underway in the identities and affiliations of the big-shots of the academic scene. Academics with political stances similar to that of the government have come to advisory positions both within academia and elsewhere. Numerous university presidents and the chair of YOK have been appointed over the past decade by the pro-government President of the Republic who has almost always chosen to appoint conservative or pro-conservative candidates regardless of whether they have received the majority of their peers’ votes.

Another facet of the mechanisms curtailing academic autonomy is the changes in the selection of students and research assistants. Universities now have to rely on a central examination rather than personal interviews. This supposedly removes the possibility of nepotism, but with consecutive news stories that exam sheets are leaked to certain religious groups from within OSYM -the centre that organizes all the central placement examinations in Turkey and remains under government control- that is hardly credible. Besides, we hear many discriminatory practices in the recruitment of research assistants. For instance one sociology department that organized an in-house exam, asked questions predominantly on figures in Turkish or Islamic history, questions that are familiar only to those who are graduates of certain small, provincial, more conservative sociology departments. Students who graduate from more prestigious universities such as METU and Bogazici face discrimination and mobbing in the universities in Anatolian cities, hotbeds of Islamic conservatism, where they have to serve in compensation for former scholarships. Within such an anti-democratic academic system we make every effort to take our steps in awareness of the lack of equal employment opportunity and of the risk of losing our jobs.

3. What do you think about the condition of academic freedom in Turkey?

We believe that academic freedom in Turkey is in decline. Opening new universities, improving infrastructure and providing more material resources does not necessarily lead to better academia. Academic freedom is under serious attack. Currently, a high number of academics languish in pre-trial detention in prisons. Most of these arrests are due to their research on the Gulen Movement and the Kurdish problem. This is the epitome of the severe intolerance to dissident ideas. Academics are being targeted as ‘suspects’ in Ergenekon and KCK cases. Some of the recent examples are the arrests of Prof. Busra Ersanli and Coskun Musluk, a research assistant from METU. In addition to these direct threats, there are indirect challenges compelling academics to self-censor their research. Pro-government cadres in the decision making positions of universities and YOK is in and of itself an inhibiting factor.

As a policy of repression, many leftist and dissident young academics are not given positions or employed as research assistants; and they cannot offer courses even after getting their PhDs. The juries for the approval of Associate Professors are carefully selected to make sure they do not approve the proficiency of candidates with dissident political stances. One such case includes the denial of the position to a candidate (from a Political Science department to add to the irony) for having “articles with ideological elements” published. Another recent example is the denial of a full professorship in METU, which, ironically, retains its status as the most liberal academic environment, to Mesut Yegen for his 'dissident' views on Kurdish politics.

On top of pressure on academic freedom of research, young academics in Turkey are also victims of an “insecurity policy.” This also curtails free research. The shift in the employment status from 33a to 55d and the Academic Staff Appointment Program (OYP), polished and marketed as “job security” while de-facto resulting in forced exile of free minds, are just a few of the factors detrimental to the job security of young academics. Private universities pay postgraduate students peanuts, do not even register research and teaching assistants as employees and therefore do not pay any social security premium for their work. The state turns a blind eye to all that. In the meantime, you get to be exploited as a source of cheap labor to the point that you cannot conduct fruitful scientific research. The increasing rate of unemployment, alongside the lack of job security and of academic autonomy of the institutions continuously worsen the situation for young researchers.

4. Why do you think there is an incessant curtailment of freedoms in Turkey? Is it due to government’s deliberate intervention?

This is not an issue about one particular government or another in office; this is a state policy. The state policy is designed to prevent the rise of a generation with self esteem and freedom of thought. The shadow of this policy can be seen in every area of life: first and second degree education, university education, compulsory military service, employment policies, religious repression and so on. Regardless, we are still trying to “do science” and survive as free-minded individuals. Most of us are the products of the post-1980 coup environment. We have not been brought up within a democratic environment. We are a generation trying to establish the sort of freedom we have never witnessed in person. Thus, this petition and attempts like this must be considered as small but meaningful steps for a more democratic Turkey.

Prime Minister Erdogan often reiterates the very mental scheme that feeds into the repression of freedoms: you are either with AKP or against it. If you have a political stance parallel to that of the government and do not step over political and social boundaries set by the ruling party, you are in the safer territory. One step ahead, and you have exposed yourself to tremendous risk. This is a constant threat, and it threatens not only young academics but also full professors and even students. Currently, hundreds of students are under arrest for participating in legal protests, for being members of legal political parties and organizations. Music albums, magazines, books and lecture notes can be used as “evidence” to charge and detain them. Although these students have not engaged in a single act of violence they are accused of being members of some “terrorist organization.” They remain in jail for months, for years and lose their right to education altogether.

5. Certain academics state their disbelief in the effectiveness of petitions. They say that petitions help justify political apathy on behalf of those who give their signatures --that signing petitions curbs further protest. Would you agree with this critique?

There are two ways to see this: On the one hand, and on a more theoretical level, digital forms of organization and protest do indeed eliminate the incentive to go out and take action --perhaps more radical and more effective action. On the other hand, the agglomerative capacity of the Internet is undeniable. Seattle would not have been Seattle in the absence of the Internet. It has also been the decisive factor in the strength of the social movements that swept across the Arab world. One can not deny the importance of social media in community building, especially in an international community like the academia. A single petition will fail to force a government to change its policies, but will serve both to remind the government that we are here and we are not happy and to disseminate that message to increase public engagement. On another and equally significant note, the venues for expressing our views are so few and so perilous that it is hard to think of a more effective alternative. To cut a long story short, the answer would be, yes, Internet is indeed a perfect tool for social and political movements, for raising objections and voicing dissent, provided that one does not stop there. If we just clicked “send” and went to bed in blissful pride, that would be pure and simple tokenism. There we would have a problem.

6. What else do you think young academics need to do to enhance academic liberty and freedom of expression? Do you have any suggestions?

Before we can even start pondering academic freedom, the entire national education system needs to be reformed. We need a social and political environment inclusive to different ways of thinking, acting, being. People should not be murdered because of their ideas or for the simple fact of being, or saying they are, gay or atheist. As for the longer term, we should strive to create a younger generation with stronger faith in and passion for a deliberative and participatory democracy. We need to lay the foundations for further freedoms. This is a long process for which there is no magic wand. When it comes to immediate purposes, however, we believe that it boils down to spreading the word that all is not well on the Turkish front. The people abroad who have the perception that the reforms and practices in Turkey are swaying the country to a more liberal and democratic order are, simply, misled. Turkish academics who hold tenure may have a little more liberty for boldly speaking out or acting, but with news of one jail sentence after another against the intelligentsia, activism, it seems, is easier said than done.

Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan sparks furor by saying he wants to ‘raise a religious youth’

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's comment that his governmet wants to "raise a religious youth" evoked suspicion among young academics in Turkey who started a petition in reaction to Erdogan's words. More than 2000 people, most of whom are academics, signed the petition within 24 hours. (The petition can be accessed in English here, in French here, in Spanish here, in German here, in Greek here).

Kemalist nationalism is passé, the new target is a religious youth: Professor of Education responds to the idea of raising a religious youth

A few days ago, Prime Minister Erdoğan declared his party's vision for the youth: to raise a religious generation. These statements immediately raised concerns among different parts of the population as it resonated the indoctrination principles of education, also visible among Kemalist nationalists. Following this, PM Erdoğan snapped at the critics and asked whether they would rather see the youth becoming homeless kids who are paint-thinner addicted--a social problem that arose in Turkey after the 1990s mostly, similar to Brazil and India. In the context of Turkey, this social problem was also related to the armed conflicts in the East and Kurdish provinces. Thus counter-posing being religious to a social problem, homeless kids with paint-thinner addiction, PM Erdoğan deepened the polemic over indoctrination towards rendering the youth more religious through education, which he seemed to advocate earlier, by implying that rebelling youth would end up being homeless with substance addiction. According to this logic, then, religion would be their salvation.

Education scientist and head of the Department of Education at Boğaziçi University, Fatma Gök evaluated these statements. Ekin Karaca wrote for Bianet:

"Religious Generation versus Liberal Education?

“We will raise a religious generation” was the statement of PM Erdoğan made last week. Prof Fatma Gök assessed this much disputed statement for bianet. She said that the republican ideology as well as the AKP saw education as a tool to raise certain generations.

 

Istanbul - BİA News Center

08 February 2012, Wednesday 

At the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Extended Meeting of Provincial Chairs in the beginning of February, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "We want to raise a religious generation. Do you expect the AKP to raise an atheist generation?" His statement created quite a stir in the Turkish media and was discussed controversially. Erdoğan commented the voiced criticism: "Do you want the youth to become thinner addicts? Do you want the young people to be a generation that rebels against the older ones? Do you want the youth to be a generation cut off from national and moral values without any integrity and concern?"
The Head of the Boğaziçi University Faculty of Education, Prof Fatma Gök, said in a statement made to bianet that she found the prime minister's speech utterly grave.

'Education is the most important device for ideology'

Gök said that they analyzed the situation as education scientists and by problematizing the result they worked on how to create a more liberal education. Gök reminded that the prime minister did not feel the need to consider these aspects but openly announced, 'We are going to raise a religious generation'.
The education expert pointed to many schools of thoughts world-wide that contemplated the up-bringing of people in an educational framework. According to Gök, the prime minister adopted one school out of all these schools of thought that he saw as a tool to change the manner of education.
Gök [...] referred to Louis Althusser to define the general functions of education in capitalist societies: 'Education is the most important device of ideology of a society'.
All governments wanted to shape education according to how they wanted to raise the people but they could not say it openly, the academic claimed.
'Education happens at a point where the society and the individual are merging. Therefore, the people in power try to shape education', Gök argued.

[...]

'Republican ideology of national education is the same'

Gök underlined that no regime wanted to leave school and education alone. In her opinion, the term 'raising a generation' described the same situation in both the 89-year national education ideology and the AKP's education ideology.
Fatma Gök stressed the difficult issue of realizing education that was purified of any ideologies. Therefore, people in Turkey had to pursue a society with a more balanced ratio between the economic capital and the social and cultural capital, she propounded.
'Education free of any ideologies is the dream of some liberal pedagogues'."

To read the full text, please visit:

http://bianet.org/english/religion/136000-religious-generation-versus-liberal-education

For a critique of Erdoğan's mentality compared with Kemalism, please see Galatasaray University professor and GİT - Türkiye member Ahmet İnsel's column in Turkish:

http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalYazar&ArticleID=1077963&Yazar=AHMET-INSEL&CategoryID=97

Big brother is watching: A dean, a student, the police and their social media (re)actions

While Prime Minister Erdoğan is constantly on the media for not taking criticism and opposition well, he is not the only one. Dissidence overall in Turkey's public domain is punished, a recent example of which we have reported on GIT - North America about students who would receive university-level sanctions if they participate in protests. One other such example is Yusuf Devran, ironically the Dean of the College of Communication at Marmara University, who read a critique about himself on an urban dictionary type website, eksisozluk written by an anonymous author and decided it was an insult and first legally identified the author who turned out to be the valedictorian of the Department Mikail Boz, and then prosecuted him and implemented disciplinary action against the student and suspended him from school for a semester.  The student is coming from a less advantaged background, and this will likely make the student lose his fellowship essential for him to attend school.

Mikail Boz had criticized Dean Yusuf Devran because according to Boz, 20 days after he received the rank of professorship, he was top-down appointed the head of the department by the university bureaucracy, bypassing other more experienced professors in the department. Mikail Boz made another entry for Yusuf Devran, stating that four months later, Devran was again top-down appointed the dean of the College of Communication. Calling the dean "bugger," Mikail Boz also insinuated that this top-down appointment and rapid going up in the ranks might be due to the fact that Devran has worked in "Samanyolu TV," one of Fethullah Gülen's media flagships. Boz later announced that he had apologized if his language was offensive, but that his apology was limited to that, and that he does not apologize for the content of his critique. Basically, Mikail Boz states he is against top-down assignments for such posts in universities, and that who will occupy what administrative position (i.e., head of the department, dean, etc) should be based on elections and decided by vote.   

It turns out Mikail Boz was not the only target of the dean Yusuf Devran, who apparently also follows other social media such as Twitter and Facebook and detects what people affiliated to the college say, including personal comments and critique on himself, and either bans them from entering the college or prosecutes them. To read another account on this in Turkish, please click here.

This attitude of attempting to control unwanted expressions and to eliminate them from the public domain by intimidation tactics has mushroomed in Turkey, especially with a close scrutiny of the social media. More recently, another incident of police control over Twitter made it to the news:

"A group of people who arranged for a dinner via Twitter for the protest action 'Haydarpaşa should not get dark' encountered a police control [Haydarpaşa is a historic railway station. Some services will be stopped and rumor has it that the intention is to turn the station's historic building into a hotel or something similar, in conjunction with neoliberal policies]. The police was informed due to a related notice on Twitter. In the opinion of lawyer Bolaç, the police are 'closely following the internet'."

To read the full account of the incident, please visit:

http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/135853-first-surveillance-of-twitter

This whole bigger picture is reminiscent of the Peter Greenaway film; hence, the entry title. As we watch different persona changing colors and get stigmatized and punished because of their personal expressions on different issues, the means to control expression and association and to target undesired dissidence get multiplied.

Let Zarakolu Reunite with His Books!

A petition and a support event are being organized as part of the continued efforts to free the imprisoned author and publisher Ragip Zarakolu, as well as his son. "Their indefinite detention continues in the High Security Prison in Kocaeli, without any definitive prospect of a court case in the near future," the press release for the petition reads, "Enough of the writers, teachers, students, academics, politicians behind bars! Down with a system that buries books into the depths of censorship and the press into the depths of self-censorship! Ragip is asking to be reunited with his books... We are determined to reunite him with his books." To sign the petition visit here.

In conjunction with the petition is organized a "support night" where, alongside live music, speakers, including William Nyegaard, Eugene Schoulgin, Fikret Baskaya, Ismail Besikci, Sirri Sureyya Onder, Pinar Akdemir, will take the stage. The event, which will take place at Ankara Sanat Theater on February 25 at 7 p.m., is free and open to public.