The Academics for Peace (, BAK) refers to an association of academics who support a peaceful solution to the
Kurdish Turkish conflict. They were established in November 2012 and their first public appearance was in support of hunger strikers in Turkish prisons.
History
In November 2012 about 10,000 prisoners were in a hunger strike and had three demands. They wanted to be able to defend themselves in Kurdish language while on trial, the improvement of
Abdullah Öcalan's detention conditions, and the start of
peace negotiations
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surre ...
between Turkey and the
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...
(PKK).
A group of academics discussed their demands in a meeting and subsequently they prepared a petition in support of the hunger strikers. Eventually, more than 200 academics from over 50 universities signed the petition in support of the prisoners' demands.
Then, since negotiations between Öcalan and politicians of the
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were initiated in January 2013, the Academics for Peace actively informed about it.
After the peace process was terminated and the conflict gained force the BAK signed a second petition called "We will be not a party to this crime!". The petition was directed against the human rights violations in cities like
Nusaybin
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
,
Cizre
Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Dis ...
and
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province.
Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...
and demanded the reactivation of the peace process.
The BAK organized press conferences in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
and
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
on 11 January 2016, during which they read out their demands.
The petition was initially signed by over a thousand academics from more than 80 universities. The Academics for Peace encouraged academics from foreign countries to sign the petition as well and over 300 academics, amongst which figured prominent academics like the feminist
Judith Butler
Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...
and the linguist
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
, signed the petition.
Reaction to the petition "We will be not a party to this crime!"
![Protest for the arrested academics (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Protest_for_the_arrested_academics_%282%29.jpg)
The academics were supported by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, the US Ambassador to Turkey
John Bass,
and other NGOs. But the Turkish Government of
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep may refer to:
People Surname
* Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer
* Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer
Given name
* Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer
* Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and poli ...
began a campaign against the Academics for Peace, with Erdogan accusing them of being terrorists themselves.
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
students called for the dismissal of the Academics for Peace from their universities,
and the prominent Turkish criminal
Sedat Peker
Reis Sedat Peker (; born 26 June 1971) is a Turkish mafia boss and whistle-blower who has made various allegations about Turkish politicians and numerous government engagements in illegal activities through his own YouTube channel. He has describe ...
published an article directed at the academics on his website in which it was stated ‘‘We will shed your blood and swim in it!”.
Peker had to stand trial for the threat but was acquitted.
Devlet Bahçeli
Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish politician, economist, former deputy prime minister, and current chairman of the far-right, ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
An academic in economics from Gazi University, B ...
, the leader of the
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...
(MHP) made a statement accusing the Academics for Peace of treason, while several signatories received threats over anonymous messages and had their universities offices marked red. Hundreds of signatories had to resign or were dismissed from the universities where they worked.
Legal prosecution
The Turkish Government ordered the detention and arrest of dozens of signatories of the second petition and accused them of propaganda for a terrorist organization. Against all of the over 1000 signatories investigations were opened.
Over 600 signatories were charged, mostly under Article No. 7.2 of the Anti-Terror Law or
Article 301 of the penal code of the Turkish Republic. In most trials which ended in a verdict, the defendants were found guilty of the offences and sentenced them to prison sentences between 15 months and 3 years.
The majority of the sentences were suspended but against 36 academics not. 29 verdicts were not suspended as the prison term in question was above 2 years and against the others it was not suspended as the defendants did want a suspension of the verdict.
In July 2019, the
Constitutional Court of Turkey
The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( tr, , sometimes abbreviated as ''AYM'') is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the for ...
ruled that the rights of expression of the signatories of the petition were violated and in September 2019 a Turkish court for the first time acquitted one of the Academics for Peace. In the following months several trials ended with an acquittal. 171 academics for peace were found innocent by 17 separate courts as of September 2019. As of 30 October 2020, 204 academics were sentenced to a prison term higher than one year. While most verdicts were appealable, thirty-six academics are in prison, either because their verdict amounts to over two years or the academics did not accept the deferral of the verdict.
Awards
* 2016 MESA Academic Freedom Award of the
Middle Eastern Studies Association
Middle East Studies Association (often referred to as MESA) is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encoura ...
* 2018, Courage to Think Defender Award of the
Scholars at Risk
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a U.S.-based international network of academic institutions organized to support and defend the principles of academic freedom and to defend the human rights of scholars around the world. Network membership includes over 5 ...
[{{Cite web, last=, first=, date=, title=Academics for Peace Granted 2018 Courage to Think Defender Award, url=https://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/196666-academics-for-peace-granted-2018-courage-to-think-defender-award, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501234356/http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/196666-academics-for-peace-granted-2018-courage-to-think-defender-award , archive-date=2018-05-01 , access-date=2020-10-18, website=]Bianet
Bianet (acronym for tr, Bağımsız İletişim Ağı, lit="Independent Communication Network") is a Turkish press agency based in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Its focus is on human rights and it is mainly funded by a Swedish organization. It was establish ...
Aachen 2016 – Peace Prize
Johann-Philipp-Palm 2016 – Award for Freedom of Press and Expression
Middle East Studies Association 2016 – Award for Academic Freedom
Diyarbakır Medical Chamber 2016 – Prize for Peace and Democracy
Human Rights Association 2016 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu Award for Freedom of Thought and Expression
Hrant Dink 2016 – Inspirations Award
Halkevleri 2016 – Solidarity Award
Social Democracy Foundation 2016 – Prize for Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Solidarity
İstanbul Medical Chamber 2017-Sevinç Özgüner Award for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy
Scholars at Risk Network 2018 – Courage to Think Defender Award
Suruç Families’ Initiative 2019 – Award for Justice and Resistance
References
External links
Scholars at Risk Peace Petition Scholars, TurkeyInside Higher Ed: Peace Petition Signatories Face Continued Prosecutions
Modern history of Turkey
Human rights in Turkey
Peace movements
Human rights in Kurdistan