Turkish police dealing violently with Boğaziçi University protests

Amira al-Sharif

An international campaign is emerging in solidarity with the students of Boğaziçi University who have been demanding independence for their university.

The students have been protesting against the appointment of a university president from outside its faculty. The new president was appointed through a presidential decree by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish police has so far arrested 159 people in the wake of protests against Erdogan’s appointment of the university president. The new president is an affiliate of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Police used tear gas to disperse protests against the appointment of the new university president. They also arrested some students participating in the protests.

The protesting students chanted against police presence on the university campus and asked police to get out.

Boğaziçi University is one of the oldest in Turkey. The appointment of the new president, an associate of Erdogan, violated all university norms which for years depended on the appointment of a university faculty member as its president.

The protests erupted in Istanbul and Ankara. However, police used teargas to disperse the protesters. They also use rubber bullets to do this.

According to media reports, some of the protesters were beaten and detained. The protesters chanted against what they called “fascism”. Police also attacked journalists covering the protests for their media outlets.