The Bogazici University resistance, which Melih Bulu claimed it would "end in 6 months", did not end, but Melih Bulu's Bogazici adventure ended in the 6th month after he was appointed. What happened in the process, what were the highlights?
Prepared by: Sinem Ugurlu
The Bosphorus resistance, which AKP's Melih Bulu, who was appointed rector of Bogazici University, said "ends in 6 months", did not end in 6 months, but Melih Bulu was removed from office after six and a half months since his appointment (194 days).
What happened in the six-and-a-half-month period, what were the highlights of the resistance? We compiled it in 10 points.
The appointment of Prof. Dr. Melih Bulu, who was one of the ruling party AKP’s Istanbul 1st regional parliamentary candidates in 2015, as rector of the Bogazici University was announced with the Official Gazette dated January 2, 2021. The decision was met with a backlash. Since then, topics such as universities choosing their own rector, university autonomy and democracy have been widely discussed.
On January 4th, the first mass action was held at the Bogazici University, where students announced their demands. However, the students faced harsh police intervention and were detained. Police later secured the university's gate with a chain along with private security guards. This image of chain became a symbol of the Bogazici resistance.
On the morning of January 5th, students who participated in the Bogazici University protests were detained in house raids. The pressure and operations against the students continued after that date.
As of February 10th, the number of students arrested in the Bogazici protests was 11. As of April 2nd, however, there were no detainees left. The number of students sentenced to house arrest, on the other hand, had risen to 27. The unjust sufferings created by judicial control practices have still not been addressed.
On January 5th, Bogazici University faculty members attended the handover ceremony held on the university campus in their gowns. Faculty members turned their backs to the rector's office and protested. This protest by academics continued despite adverse weather conditions.
Following the mass actions of the students and the violence and detentions they were subjected to, there was intense support throughout the resistance from Turkey and around the world. Mass demonstrations were held in Istanbul with the participation of labour and democracy forces in places such as Kadikoy, Izmir and Ankara. Outside of these main centers, there were protests at many universities in Turkey. Political parties, trade unions and democratic mass organisations came together in the provinces and even in different cities in Europe. Musicians, theatre players and writers have jointly signed statements of support. The international academic circles also stated that they stand by the Bogazici protestors.
Representatives of the Nation Alliance, especially AKP’s President Tayyip Erdogan, frequently made students and academics targets, accused them of terrorism, being foreign forces, and resorted to conspiracy-theory explanations.
The actions that started with the slogan "We do not look down" and what followed were the most memorable of the Bosphorus resistance. On February 1st, democratic mass organizations and communities called for a rally in front of the Bogazici University. Before the protest, students were not allowed to leave the campus, those gathered in front of the campus were intervened, and several students were detained. Police responded harshly to students who wanted to come to the protest and detained several students. After the police's treatment of the students who took part in the protest, the slogan "We do not look down" went down as one of the symbols of resistance.
On February 3rd, Melih Bulu told Haberturk newspaper writer Nagehan Alci, "I never think about resigning. At first, I predicted that this crisis would end in 6 months, and it will be." On July 2nd, six months after the resistance, neither academics nor students gave up. Academics stood guard again, saying, "Today is a historic day. Once again, we do not accept, we do not give up". On July 3rd, after the Bogazici University Rectorate banned campus entrances, police and private security guards intervened and students were not allowed to enter the campus.
When the dates showed July 15th; The resistance that Bulu claimed would "end in 6 months" is not over, but Melih Bulu's journey as Rector of the Bogazici University is over. Melih Bulu, who was appointed by President Erdogan, have also been removed from his post by Erdogan's decision.
Although Bulu was sacked; many requests of Bosphorus students and academicians, especially the request for the election of the university rector, remain up-to-date.
Hediye Levent
Yusuf Karadaş
Yücel Özdemir