Izmir Police Allegedly Files Kurdish and Alevi Students

Izmir police allegedly applied to secondary school administrations, demanding the lists of students with Kurdish and Alevi background. 

“Police reportedly told teachers that they would talk to family members to keep their children off from crime,”  Abdullah Tunalı, local administrator of Eğitim-Sen in Izmir, told bianet.  

“We sent messages to our members not to disclose any information regarding the profile of students.” 

“They are supporting TİKKO and PKK” 

Previously, police authorities in the western province of Izmir launched a project called “School Police”. Choosing Izmir as its pilot region, the project aimed to “prevent acts of violence in schools”. 

Tunalı claimed that civilly-dressed police officers visited public schools and held interviews with student advisors regarding the matter. 

“School Police visited public schools in Old Izmir, Yurtoğlu and Limontepe districts and demanded the information of 5 students with Alevi and Kurdish background, saying that it was for a luncheon organization. When school administrators asked why they asked those names, they said it was Alevi people who became prominent in Gezi protests and those people supported PKK and TIKKO organizations. They said they were planning to hold seminars and info session to prevent children with Alevi and Kurdish background from being new recruits.”

Eğitim-Sen released a statement on the issue, saying that the incident marked the latest practice of filing people with different religious or ethnical background. 

Abdullah Tunalı also urged all police authorities including juvenile crimes department to take action against the filing activities. 

Police authorities: Not ethical 

Officials from Izmir Police Headquarters, on the other hand, told bianet that such practice was not possible within their knowledge. 

“Such filing attempt is against our professional ethics,” he said. 

“If it is really the case,” he continued, “the statement of Eğitim-Sen can be admitted as an alert and legal action can be triggered.” (AS/BM)