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Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, led by the AKP (Justice and Development Party), has, despite opposition, initiated a road construction project that goes through a forest area located in Ankara’s inner city, which is also property of Middle East Technical University (METU).
University students, the University presidency as well as the residents of the neighborhood located right next to the campus have opposed this project. Student resistance initially halted various attempts by the Municipal demolition teams to cut down the trees. Although the University administration’s appeal of Ankara Municipality’s proposed plan was still under legal consideration, the Municipality committed an environmental massacre by destroying 3,000 trees on the night of October 18. The land was cleared overnight, without any prior notice or permission. The night raid of the Ankara Municipality demolition teams backed by riot police was followed by an army of construction vehicles, working day and night to complete the unlawful highway as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the government foiled all possible legal attempts to resolve the conflict. The police have responded to the opposition from the University with excessive use of tear gas and water cannons. In other words, METU’s fight for its forest has also become a fight for its democratic right to protest and to exercise its freedom of speech.
This act shows how the government turns a blind eye to the environmental concerns of the people as firmly expressed during the Gezi Uprising. The attack on METU confirms the government’s commitment to sacrifice public green space for the ongoing construction projects. We also state that this action poses a vivid example of the government’s encroachment on the autonomy of higher education in Turkey.
We, the undersigned academics, condemn the unlawful environmental massacre and the police brutality in the Middle East Technical University campus. It is an unethical and unacceptable attack on METU as well as the academia in Turkey. We declare our full support and solidarity with all resisting METU students, academic personnel and staff.
In solidarity,
| Name | Institution | Country |
| Ahu Karasulu | Yıldız Technical University | Turkey |
| Akın Tek | Istanbul Sehir University | Turkey |
| Alaz Kilicarslan | Boston University | United States |
| Albeniz Tuğçe Ezme | University of Cincinnati | United States |
| Aleksandar Şopov | Harvard University | United States |
| Alevgül Şorman | Autonomous University of Barcelona | Spain |
| Ali B. Arslan | Brown University | United States |
| Ali K. Saysel | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Ali Rıza Güngen | Ondokuz Mayıs University | Turkey |
| Alidost Numan | University of Chicago | United States |
| Altan Ercan | Harvard Medical School | United States |
| Andrea Quaden | University of Hamburg | Germany |
| Andrew Littlejohn | Harvard University | United States |
| Anlam Filiz | Emory University | United States |
| Asiye Akgün | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Aslı Igsiz | New York University | United States |
| Aslihan Karatas | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Ataman Avdan | Simon Fraser University | Canada |
| Aydin Cem Keser | University of Maryland | United States |
| Aydin Ozipek | Northwestern University | United States |
| Ayfer Karakaya-Stump | The College of William and Mary | United States |
| Ayse Esra Sirin | Brown University | United States |
| Aysegul Kayagil | New School for Social Research | United States |
| Aysun Gezen | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Ayşe Gül Altınay | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Barış Balcıoğlu | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Bengi Akbulut | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Bilal E. Kerman | The Salk Institute | United States |
| Bilgen Ekim Ustunel | Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum | Germany |
| Bronwyn Isaacs | Harvard University | United States |
| Burak Cesme | Northeastern University | United States |
| Burak Kose | York University | Canada |
| Burak Özçetin | Akdeniz University | Turkey |
| Burcu Baykurt | Columbia University | United States |
|
Caghan Kizil |
German Center for Neurodegenerative Dis. | Germany |
| Can Eyup Cekic | Bilkent University | Turkey |
| Caner Özdemir | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Cem Oğuz | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Ceren Civelek | Galatasaray University | Turkey |
| Ceren Göğüş | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Ceren Gürkan | Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya | Spain |
| Ceyda Sungur | Istanbul Technical University | Turkey |
| Claudio Sopranzetti | All Souls College, Oxford | UK |
| Çağla Bozer | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Çağla Orpen | New School for Social Research | United States |
| Çağlar Dölek | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Dağlar Tanrıkulu | Rutgers University | United States |
| Deniz Arzuk | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Deniz Ay | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Deniz Ilhan | SUNY Stony Brook University | United States |
| Deniz Ozdemir | Yasar University | Turkey |
| Deniz Tarba Ceylan | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Deniz Yükseker | Koç University | Turkey |
| Derya Ülker | Mimar Sinan University | Turkey |
| Devrim Kılıçer | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Didem Türkoğlu | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | United States |
| Dilara Demir | Rutgers University | United States |
| Duygu Kasdogan | York University | Canada |
| E. Çetin Gürer | Villanova University | United States |
| Ebru Isgin | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | United States |
| Efe Murat Balıkçıoğlu | Harvard University | United States |
| Ekin Emek Berber | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Ekin Kurtic | Harvard University | United States |
| Elçin Arabacı | Georgetown University | United States |
| Elif Keskiner | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Holland |
| Elif Kuş Saillard | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Emrah Altindis | Harvard Medical School | United States |
| Emre Akbas | University of California | United States |
| Emre Gürcanlı | İtü inşaat fakültesi | Turkey |
| Emre Özçelik | METU – Northern Cyprus Campus | Cyprus |
| Emre Şahin | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Erdal Özmen | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Erdem Üngür | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Erdinc Erdem | New School for Social Research | United States |
| Eren Karaca | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Erol Köroğlu | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Esin Duzel | University of California, San Diego | United States |
| Esin Kasapoğlu | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Ethemcan Turhan | Autonomous University of Barcelona | Spain |
| Faranak Miraftab | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Feray Coskun | Freie Universitaet | Germany |
| Figen F. Oktem | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Fikret Görün | METU | Turkey |
| Filiz Gozenman | University of Nevada, Reno | United States |
| Filiz Kahraman | University of Washington | United States |
| Funda Üstek | University of Oxford | UK |
| Giray Enkavi | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Gizem Gezer | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Gizem Inak | Hertie Institute Tübingen | Germany |
| Gokhan Inan | North Carolina State University | United States |
| Gozde Burcu Ege | University of Washington | United States |
| Gökhan Atınç | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| Gülay Hasdoğan | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Gülay Türkmen | Yale University | United States |
| Gülçin Con | Purdue University | United States |
| Güven Gürkan Öztan | Istanbul University | Turkey |
| Güven Güzeldere | Harvard University | United States |
| Güvenç Şahin | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Hade Turkmen | Cardiff University | UK |
| Hakan Mıhcı | Hacettepe University | Turkey |
| Hakan Topal | State University of New York | United States |
| Hande Sungur | VU University | Netherlands |
| Hanifi Barış | University of Aberdeen | Scotland, UK |
| Hasan Yılmaz | University of Twente | Netherlands |
| Ibrahim Saylan | Izmir University of Economics | Turkey |
| Ilker Ozkan | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Ipek Akpınar | Istanbul Technical University | Turkey |
| Ipek Mercil | Galatasaray University | Turkey |
| Işıl Uluç | University of Vienna | Austria |
| Işıl Ünal | Ankara University | Turkey |
| İlke Şanlıer Yüksel | Doğuş University | Turkey |
| İlke Tekin | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| İlkem Kayıcan | Istanbul Bilgi University | Turkey |
| İlker Urlu | Ağrı İbrahim Ceçen University | Turkey |
| İnci Özgür İlhan | Ankara University | Turkey |
| İpek Çamlı | Ankara University | Turkey |
| ipek Sakarya | Istanbul University | Turkey |
| İsmet Koç | Hacettepe University | Turkey |
| Jon Clindaniel | Harvard University | United States |
| Julia McClure | Harvard University | United States |
| K. Mehmet Kentel | University of Washington | United States |
| Kelly Kato | Rutgers University | United States |
| Kemal Davaslioglu | University of California, Irvine | United States |
| Kevin Chamow | Rutgers University | United States |
| Leslie Gates | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Leyla Neyzi | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| M. Onur Arun | Univeristy of Manchester | UK |
| Mahinur S. Akkaya | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Maral Jefroudi | Intrenational Institute of Social History | Netherlands |
| Mehmet Baki Deniz | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Mehmet Şahin | Izmir University of Economics | Turkey |
| Mehmet Türkay | Marmara Üniversitesi | Turkey |
| Melike Sümertaş | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Melisa Kohen | Stanford University | United States |
| Meltem Kayıran | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Meltem Yılmaz Şener | Istanbul Bilgi University | Turkey |
| Metin Duran | Villanova University | United States |
| Michael Herzfeld | Harvard University | United States |
| Mine Tafolar | University of Texas at Austin | United States |
| Mukadder Okuyan | New School for Social Research | United States |
| Murat Arcan Kündük | Hacettepe University | Turkey |
| Murat Germen | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Neslihan Demirtaş Milz | Izmir University of Economics | Turkey |
| Neslihan Dostoglu | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Nilay Noyan | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Nilgün Erdem | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Nilufer Akalin | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Nora Tataryan | Concordia University | Canada |
| Nur Bahar Sakızlıoğlu | Utrecht University | Netherlands |
| Nurbanu Karataş | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Odilka Santiago | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Olga S. Hünler | Izmir University of Economics | Turkey |
| Onur Erten | Rutgers University | United States |
| Onur Yildirim | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Oya Tagit | Université Paris-Sud | France |
| Ozan Ekin Kurt | CEPN, Université Paris | France |
| Ozan Karaman | University of Glasgow | Scotland, UK |
| Ozgur Oksuz | New York University | United States |
| ozlem celik | University of Sheffield | UK |
| Ömer Allahverdi | Dicle University | Turkey |
| Ömer Turan | Istanbul Bilgi University | Turkey |
| Önder Güneş | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Önder Küçükural | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Özge Ejder | Yeditepe University | Turkey |
| Özge Öner | Jönköping International Business School | Sweden |
| Özge Özdüzen | Edge Hill University | UK |
| Özgür Narin | Ordu University | Turkey |
| Özlem Aslan | University of Toronto | Canada |
| Özlem Kaplan Yurtseven | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Öznur Sahin | University of Western Sydney | Australia |
| Pelin Akçagün | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Pelin Bayindir | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Pelin Çetken | Istanbul Kultur University | Turkey |
| Pervin Oya Taneri | Cankiri Karatekin University | Turkey |
| Pınar Kemerli | Cornell University | United States |
| Pınar Kılıcer | Leiden University | Netherlands |
| Pinar Deniz Aksoy | Fordham university | United States |
| Rabia Harmansah | University of Pittsburgh | United States |
| Rachel Martins | IST, University of Lisbon | Portugal |
| Ricardo Laremont | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Rossen L. Djagalov | Koç University | Turkey |
| Sahizer Samuk | IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca | Italy |
| Salih Can Aciksoz | School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies | United States |
| Samuel Andrew Hardy | Univeristy College London | UK |
| Sander van Lanen | University College Cork | Ireland |
| Sara Suna Yucel | The Rockefeller University | United States |
| Sarp Balcı | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Seda Altug | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Selin Dilli | Utrecht University | Netherlands |
| Serap Türüt Aşık | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Sergül Aydöre | University of Southern California | United States |
| Serim Gursoy Denel | California Polytechnic State University | United States |
| Serkan Taşkent | Sakarya University | Turkey |
| Sezen Bayrak Gurel | SUNY Binghamton University | United States |
| Sibel Karadağ | Koç University | Turkey |
| Simge Yüz | Ludwig-Maximilians-University | Germany |
| Sinan Eden | IST, University of Lisbon | Portugal |
| Sinem Ayhan | University of Bologna | Italy |
| Sumru Atuk | The City University of New York | United States |
| Suzan Odabasi | Middle Tennessee State University | United States |
| Şükrü Ekin Kocabaş | Koç University | Turkey |
| Tezcan Durna | Ankara University | Turkey |
| Tolga Kobas | Columbia University | United States |
| Tolga Tezcan | TUBITAK | Turkey |
| Tuba Zehir | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Tülin Ödün | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Ümit Fırat Açıkgöz | Rice University | United States |
| Volkan Çıdam | Istanbul Kemerburgaz University | Turkey |
| Yasemin Dildar | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | UK |
| Yasemin Ergin | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Yelda Erçandırlı | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| Yiğit Atılgan | Sabancı University | Turkey |
| Zeynep Atalay | St. Mary’s College of California | United States |
| Zeynep Gambetti | Boğaziçi University | Turkey |
| Zeynep Helvacı | University of Münster | Germany |
| Zeynep Kalaylıoğlu | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
| zeynep kurtulus | University of Arizona | United States |
| Zeynep Oğuz | Harvard University | United States |
| Zeynep Tuna Ultav | Izmir University of Economics | Turkey |
| Zeynep Ü. Kaşlı | University of Washington | United States |
| Zeynep Yanasmayan | Max Planck Institute | Germany |
| Zeyno Ustun | New School for Social Research | United States |
| Zülfü Aşık | Middle East Technical University | Turkey |
P.S: Please email your names and your affiliated academic institutions to solidaritywithmetu@gmail.com to show your support.
The statement in Turkish may be read at <solidaritywithmetu.blogspot.com>.
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