January 18, 2006
Mr. Racep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister of Turkey
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik 06573
Ankara, Turkey
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
I write on behalf of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a national organization of college and university professors in the United States, to express my grave concern about the treatment of sociologist and author Pinar Selek. We understand that she was accused, along with three others, of orchestrating a 1998 explosion in Istanbul and with membership in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a subject of her academic research in sociology.
We further understand that although it was later found that the explosion occurred as a result of a spark involving a gas cylinder in a snack kiosk, Pinar Selek and her co-defendants are still being charged with crimes relating to the explosion and with being PKK members. We recognize that membership in the PKK is illegal in your country; however, credible sources inform us that no evidence exists to show that Pinar Selek or any of her co-defendants are members of the PKK. It appears, therefore, that Pinar Selek is being persecuted for the peaceful exercise of her rights to academic freedom and freedom of expression—rights that are widely seen as essential to the development of democratic societies.
The actions against Pinar Selek, and her severe treatment in detention, contradict statements made last month by Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Abdullah Gül on Human Rights Day. The deputy prime minister said that respect for human rights is an indispensable element in the process of your country’s democratization and development, and he noted Turkey’s desire to be regarded as a respected member of the international community. In light of the deputy prime minister’s strong statements, we urge you to immediately dismiss the charges against Pinar Selek and her co-defendants.
Since its founding in 1915, the AAUP has defended the free exchange of ideas among scholars. The 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which is the basis of academic common law in the United States, says that “the common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition.” Today, the AAUP regards the “common good” as a global aspiration and recognizes that the abridgment of academic freedom anywhere is an assault on academic freedom everywhere. Academic freedom is, therefore, a universal right, a human right, and may be regarded as an extension of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that Turkey adopted many years ago.
In closing, we would also like to offer you, upon request, a copy of the AAUP’s policies and documents that enshrine and codify the principles of academic freedom in higher education.
Sincerely,
Roger W. Bowen
General Secretary