Professor Battal Odabası Fired for Signing Peace Petition

Associate Professor Battal Odabaşı from İstanbul Aydın University has been fired for signing a declaration that calls for the restoration of peace and an end to ongoing military operations in Southeast Turkey.

University officials ordered Odabaşı to remove his signature from the declaration by Monday. When he refused to comply, they dismissed him.

29 academics have been suspended from their posts for signing the declaration, titled, "We will not be a party to this crime," which was launched on January 10 by the Academics for Peace group.

The statement, first signed by 1,128 academics, highlights the number of civilian deaths that have resulted from the violence and calls on the government to restore a peace process abandoned in July 2015. It was read in Turkish and Kurdish at a press conferences in İstanbul and Ankara on Jan. 10.

Read more about the crisis of higher education in Turkey.

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