Turkey's intellectuals issue a declaration: We are concerned

In a period in Turkey characterized by rapid authoritarianism, the disregard for the rule of law, the restriction of freedom of expression, and increasing environmental destruction, many intellectuals and artists have issued a joint declaration expressing their concerns.

The group, which includes writers, academics, artists, and representatives of civil society, criticized the country's current situation in their statement titled "WE ARE CONCERNED!" and called on society to share these concerns.

"WE ARE CONCERNED AGAINST THE DESTRUCTION OF DEMOCRACY AND LAW"

The declaration emphasized that the principle of the rule of law has been damaged and criticized the restriction of democratic rights. The failure to implement Constitutional Court rulings, the usurpation of the right of members of parliament to be elected, and the portrayal of individuals seeking justice as potential criminals were among the prominent topics in the declaration.

The intellectuals stated that law in Turkey has become politicized and drew attention to human rights violations. The neutralization of universities, the association of protests with terrorism, and the removal of elected mayors and the appointment of trustees were also among the issues criticized in the text of the declaration.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND ECONOMIC POLICIES

The statement, which expressed concerns regarding the destruction of nature in Kaz Mountains, Akbelen, and İkizdere, noted that environmental resources are being handed over to capital and that the public's struggle for rights is being suppressed in this process. At the same time, current economic policies were criticized, pointing out that employees, retirees, and workers are being burdened in the fight against the economic crisis.

CONCERN FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

The declaration also expressed discomfort regarding the negative effects of Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on women's rights. It was stated that women's fundamental rights are being opened to debate and that femicides are increasing, adding that this process brings with it the danger of "Talibanization."

"WE CALL ON ALL OF SOCIETY TO JOIN THIS VOICE"

In the statement, the intellectuals specifically called on opposition parties, civil society organizations, unions, writers, artists, and scientists to share these concerns.

Full text of the statement:  

W E A R E C O N C E R N E D !...

This call is the loud expression of our concerns, which have increased as Turkey has taken on a rapidly authoritarian climate where law, human rights, art, science, and above all, the right to life are disregarded...

We call on everyone, primarily opposition parties, civil society organizations, unions, associations, artists, writers, scientists, and in short, everyone who does not normalize, who prioritizes the right to life and freedoms, to join this voice.

We are CONCERNED by a mentality that disregards the rights of academics who have no job security, classifies every protest as terrorism, handcuffs university gates, detains and arrests students, opens criminal cases against them, neutralizes a university that enters world education rankings, and says, "The purpose of education is not knowledge."

Looking at the atmosphere the country has reached, we are CONCERNED by an order where everyone who seeks their rights is shown as a potential terrorist, marginalized and persecuted, where one is detained and arrested one morning for a critical article they wrote, and where a climate of fear is dangled like the sword of Damocles...

We are CONCERNED by this trend that has books collected, concerts banned, throws artists in front of lynch mobs to intimidate them, cannot even tolerate the free production of artists and writers who have no security, and has mafia "leaders" threaten politicians, journalists, and artists...

We are CONCERNED by a legal system that removes elected mayors from office and appoints trustees in their place, sets up police barricades in front of the people's municipalities, creates new grievances with fabricated crimes, does not recognize Constitutional Court rulings, and usurps the right of elected MP Can Atalay to be elected and the right of tens of thousands of people from Hatay who voted for him to vote, disregarding the Constitution...

We are CONCERNED that the government is passing the bill for the economic crisis it created onto employees, workers, and retirees, and that it continues to grow poverty and the army of the unemployed with policies that prioritize capital and the wealthy while placing the burden on the citizen's back...

We are CONCERNED by this understanding that confronts the public with police and gendarmerie to hand over our forests in Kaz Mountains and Akbelen, our streams in İkizdere and Çamlıhemşin, and our coasts in Marmaris and Gökova to capital, and practically disregards our future...

We are CONCERNED by the silence of a tiny village and a huge country regarding the fact that newborn babies were referred to contracted hospitals for unfair gain, causing them to die, and that the murderers of an 8-year-old child have not been found for months...

We are CONCERNED by the steps taken to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention arbitrarily with a single signature, to marginalize us based on our lifestyle for years, to open to debate the most basic rights such as girls' right to education, women artists' right to perform their art, women athletes' right to play sports, women's right to walk freely on the streets, and to work in certain professions, and the fact that at least one woman is murdered every day and our country is moving towards Talibanization...

Finally, we want it to be known that we are raising our voices because law, justice, and freedoms are being disregarded by the palace regime. Just like the concerns of intellectuals in the 1970s and 80s...

WE ARE CONCERNED…"

Signatories

Ahmet YAVUZ, Ali AYAROĞLU, Ali ÖZ, Ataol BEHRAMOĞLU, Ayşe KULİN, Ayşegül YALÇINER, Ayşenur ARSLAN, Barbaros ŞANSAL, Barış İNCE, Berkant GÜLTEKİN, Buket UZUNER, Enver AYSEVER, Erdal BAYRAKOĞLU, Fatih MAÇOĞLU, Halil ERGÜN, Haydar ERGÜLEN, Hilmi YARAYICI, İlkay AKKAYA, Kemal VAROL, Kutsal EVCİMEN, Mustafa GAZALCI, Muzaffer ÖZDEMİR, Orhan AYDIN, Öner YAĞCI, Prof.Dr. Aysit TANSEL, Prof.Dr. Hakkı KESKİN, Prof.Dr. Zeki KILIÇASLAN, Reis ÇELİK, Sedef KABAŞ, Sinan KARAHAN, Songül BULUR, Süheyla TAŞÇIER, Şükrü ERBAŞ

ATAOL BEHRAMOĞLU WITHDREW HIS SIGNATURE

Poet Ataol Behramoğlu, one of the names who signed the declaration, announced in a post on his X account that he withdrew his signature from the declaration due to the phrase "everyone who does not normalize."

Behramoğlu said, "The declaration titled 'We are concerned' was published without removing the words 'everyone who does not normalize,' which would lead to misplaced and unnecessary polemics, despite my warning. In this case, I have to withdraw my signature from the declaration, let alone agreeing with its criticisms, I even find them incomplete."