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After Turkey's Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek and other officials accused theTurkish academics planning the conference of "treason," the rectorate of Bogaziçi University, which was to host for the academic gathering, decided to postpone the conference just hours before it was due to open. As AFP reports:
"This is a stab in the back to the Turkish nation... this is irresponsibility," Anatolia News Agency quoted Çiçek as saying at a parliamentary debate [on Tuesday]. "We must put an end to this cycle of treason and insult, of spreading propaganda against the (Turkish) nation by people who belong to it," he said.
The opposition joined the criticism. Sükrü Elekdag, a senior MP for the main opposition Republican People's Party and a retired ambassador, called the conference "a treacherous project" aimed at disseminating pro-Armenian propaganda "under the guise of research."
Below is an excerpt from the official announcement of the conference cancellation (my quick transl., followed by the Turkish original). This is not a good day for the future of academic freedom in Turkey.
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The Office of the Rector of Bogaziçi University has announced that the conference entitled "Ottoman Armenians in the Period of the Empire's Collapse" has been postponed. The written statement released by the Rector's Office, expressed regret that the conference, which had been planned as the result of a joint initiative by faculty members at Bilgi University, Bogaziçi University, and Sabanci University as a venue for scholarly discussion, and which was to be hosted by Bogaziçi University, has come to be faced with such serious accusations.
The press release stated:
"The fact that prejudicial statements have been advanced regarding the contents of a conference that is yet to be held, gives cause for concern that it will result in undermining the academic freedom of state universities.
"Under these conditions and faced with the potential consequences of going forward with the conference, we have decided that it would be more appropriate to postpone the conference and are informing Turkish public opinion of that fact."
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Bogaziçi Üniversitesi (BÜ) Rektörlügü, ''Imparatorlugun Çöküs Döneminde
Osmanli Ermenileri'' baslikli konferansin ertelendigini bildirdi. BÜ Rektörlügü'nün yazili açiklamasinda, Bilgi, Bogaziçi ve Sabanci üniversitelerine mensup ögretim üyelerinin ortak girisimiyle ve BÜ'nin evsahipliginde bilimsel bir tartisma ortami olarak tasarlanan konferansla ilgili olarak BÜ'nin ciddi ithamlarla karsi karsiya kaldiginin üzüntüyle görüldügü belirtildi.
Açiklamada, söyle denildi:
''Henüz gerçeklestirilmemis olan bir konferansin içerigiyle ilgili pesin hükümler öne sürülmesinin, bir devlet üniversitesinin bilimsel özgürlügünü zedeleyeceginden kaygi duyuyoruz. Bu sartlar altinda ve toplantiyi gerçeklestirmenin dogurabilecegi sonuçlar karsisinda toplantinin ertelenmesinin daha uygun olacagina karar verdigimizi Türkiye kamuoyuna bildiririz.''
