Boğaziçi community marks 2nd year of protests against Erdoğan's rector appointment

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A crowd of Boğaziçi University academics and students gathered on the school's main campus on Jan. 2 to mark the second year of their resistance against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rector appointments to their school.

"We don't accept! We won't give up!" the community once again said in the second year of their resistance despite a brutal crackdown on students by the government, with hundreds having been detained in protests against the rector appointment.

They reminded that they have been fighting against injustices together for two years.

“It is essential for autonomy that the decision-making authority in universities is in democratically elected committees and academic administrators,” they added.

After the appointment of pro-government figure Melih Bulu as the rector by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in January 2021, the university's students and academics launched a protest demanding his resignation.

Following months-long protest, Bulu was eventually dismissed from his duty by Erdoğan in July 2021. A month later in August, again via a presidential decree, it was Naci İnci who assumed duty as the rector of the prestigious institution despite the high disapproval rates he received on polls held among the community.

Academics and students are continuing with their protest against İnci's appointment. In this process, some students were detained and stayed behind bars for months while several renowned academics were dismissed.

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