Police attack students with pepper gas at Boğaziçi University

* Photos: Dilek Şen

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The students of Boğaziçi University, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, have been protesting the appointment of Prof. Melih Bulu, an academic outside its community, to the Presidency of the university.

Appointed by President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a Presidential decree on January 1, Bulu was also a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections for President Erdoğan's ruling AKP in 2015.

CLICK - 'We don't accept, we don't give up!'

Upon the call of Boğaziçi Solidarity, an independent students' platform, students gathered in front of the South Campus of the university in İstanbul at 2 p.m. today (January 4) and protested the appointment of Bulu.

"The new trustee of Boğaziçi University has been appointed: Melih Bulu, who is a capital holder and an MP candidate for nomination from the AKP. Let's cut it short and say it straight away: Bulu is not our University President, we don't want a trustee University President," said the students. They also called on Prof. Melih Bulu to resign from office.

While hundreds of students and faculty members joined today's protest, the group chanted the slogans "The state has the seal, we the universities" and "Melih, look and count how many of us there are."

They also carried banners that read, "Tell us Melih, why you?" 

The students of Boğaziçi University were also supported by students of Middle East Technical University (METU) from the capital city of Ankara and İstanbul Technical University (İTÜ) from İstanbul.

During the forum organized by the solidarity, the police intervened against the students. Spraying peper gas on students, the police also fired plastic bullets towards where journalists were trying to cover the protest and intervention of the police. Some journalists were bashed around.

Police attacked students at Boğaziçi University, used pepper gas and plastic bullets #WeDoNotAcceptWeDoNotGiveUp https://t.co/PF77m99aiZ pic.twitter.com/yfdOoPWKh7

— bianet English (@bianet_eng) January 4, 2021

As the students did not stop waiting in the area, police officers attacked students with pepper gas again and battered some students.

Moreover, after intervening against the students, the police "handcuffed" the door of the university so that the students could not enter.

Police attacked students and journalists at Boğaziçi University, used pepper gas and plastic bullets #WeDoNotAcceptWeDoNotGiveUp https://t.co/PF77m99aiZ pic.twitter.com/OgOcBoEw5Q

— bianet English (@bianet_eng) January 4, 2021

What happened?

Prof. Melih Bulu has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University in a Presidential Decree issued on January 1. The appointment of Bulu has sparked harsh criticisms among both the students and academics of the university as well as in the academic community.

Appointed to Boğaziçi, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, from outside its community, Bulu was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections in 2015 for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The students and several students' clubs of the university have been campaigning on social media under the hashtag #kayyımrektöristemiyoruz (We don't want a trustee university president).

The call of the students has also been supported by the academics from the university, who released a joint statement yesterday (January 3).

"An academic outside Bogazici University community was appointed as rector (university president), which is a practice introduced for the first time after the 1980s military tutelage," read their statement.

Amid harsh criticisms of students and faculty members, Prof. Bulu has shared a message on his Twitter account, welcoming his appointment to the position, saying, "We are all in the same boat."

About Melih Bulu

Prof. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Haliç University on January 17, 2020. In office in this foundation university for less than a year, he has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University.

He was a Dean and University President at the İstinye University from 2016 to 2019. Between the years of 2010 and 2016, he was the Head of the Business Management Department of İstanbul Şehir University's Business Management and Management Science Faculty.

He was the General Coordinator of International Competitiveness Research Institute (URAK), an NGO working on economic competitiveness of cities and countries, from the year 2017 to 2019. Since 2011, he has been the Executive Board member of the İstanbul Electric-Electronic Machinery and Informatics Exporters R&D Market.

In 2002, he founded the Sarıyer District Organization of the ruling AKP in İstanbul. In 2015, he was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections from the AKP in the first election district in İstanbul.

He studied Industrial Engineering at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara in 1992. He did his MBA and PhD at Boğaziçi University's Department of Management. (DŞ/NÖ/SD)