Legal move by Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin against the 'We Defend Secularism Together' declaration: 'It reminds me of the February 28 period'

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin has announced that he will take legal action due to the statements used in the declaration titled "We Defend Secularism Together," which has sparked public debate. Stating that the declaration reminds him of the February 28 process, similar to certain statements made by relevant circles, Tekin shared his assessments on the matter during a television program.

Making statements during a live broadcast, Tekin evaluated expressions in the declaration such as, "The political Islamist regime is dragging Turkey step by step into the reactionary quagmire of the Middle East by clinging to the rope of the US and Trump. Moves aimed at gradually eliminating secular education, the secular legal order, and secular public life have gained momentum," as being ideological.

Defending that the criticisms in the declaration are unfair, Minister Tekin said: "Where in the circular we sent is this? There is no such thing in the sample activities. At the end of the text, we say: These activities will be carried out on a voluntary basis. None of the practices they mention, such as 'grades will be given, photos will be taken,' exist; either they don't know how to read and write, or they don't understand what they read. I don't take any of them seriously. I am also initiating a legal process due to the expressions used in the 168-signature 'we defend secularism' declaration."

IT REMINDED ME OF THE FEBRUARY 28 PERIOD

Underlining that there are no religious elements in the circular, Tekin pointed out that freedom spaces are not being restricted and stated that the discussions are baseless. In his statement, he included the following: "This reminded me of the February 28 process. It is a malicious declaration based on reading intentions; just as they are using their democratic rights, I will also use my democratic right. In their eyes, celebrating Christmas or Halloween is not against secularism, but for some reason, when it comes to Ramadan events, which are a continuation of our cultural heritage, they suddenly remember secularism. There is nothing religious in this circular."

The declaration, meanwhile, claims that Turkey is under a "reactionary-sharia siege" and states that "defending secularism is not a crime," opposing the imposition of Sharia. The prepared text also includes the view that the country is being dragged into a dangerous process in line with developments in the Middle East and that the secular order is under threat.

News Source: 12punto