Stating that the government is trying to create a perception that the students are heathens and criminalizing them, the students said: “They can’t intimidate us with arrest. We will not take a step back.”
The protests against the appointment of Melih Bulu as a rector to the Boğaziçi University spreaded to the country. While the government is trying to supress the resistance by targeting the students, the students say they will resist until an elected rector takes the office. Stating that they will not take a step back, the students detained in the protests called for solidarity.
GROUND FOR RESISTANCE
Yunus Emre Karaca from Marmara University who was detained and tortured by the police, said the police attacked them without any warning. Underlining the fact that the people around supported the students anyway, Karaca said: “Kadıköy has turned into a ground for resistance. They did not expect that. They expected us to disperse but we didn’t. We faced a brutal attack. We were subjected to torture and insults. We were taken into custody while the riot cops kicked us but we didn’t back down.”
‘WE ARE NOT HEATHENS’
Explaining that the government can not maintain its power anymore and that’s why they try to supress those who resist, Karaca said that’s why the students were declared terrorists. Underlining that the government is trying to exonerate itself by accusing the students of being heathens, Karaca said: “This is what they propagandize in their own media. They are trying to make us look like traitors. We have no platform to tell the truth. That’s why we all should come together. We have to raise our voices in bigger numbers. Then people will be able to understand that things are not like how the pro-government media shows.”
‘WE WILL RESIST’
İstanbul University student Mert Batur stated that his friends who were taken into custody were subjected to ill-treatment and said: “They tried to seperate one of our friends and abduct him. We were interrogated. What happened was not giving our statements to the police. We were able to find our friend who was abducted only after public knew about it and with public support.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the protests are growing, Batur said that they will step up the struggle to get results. Underlining that appointing rectors to universities is everybody’s problem, Batur said they will resist against any injustices.
