Statement by TÜBA on the Pro-Palestinian University Protests in the USA
In the past six months, there has been a wave of peaceful demonstrations by university students and academicians in the United States in response to the severe conditions, especially systematic genocide, affecting innocent people in Gaza Strip. These students and academics representing institutions such as Columbia, Emory, Yale, New York, and Harvard, have been calling for a cessation of hostilities and urging their universities to sever links with companies connected to Israel.
TÜBA has observed with concern reports of violent encounters facing these students, and academics, leading to detentions and a pivot towards remote education aimed at dispersing these gatherings.
TÜBA stands in solidarity with these students and academics, and supports their right to peaceful protest. We express our profound disquietude over the excessive reactions against these student demonstrations based on the pursuit of peace and human rights. TÜBA firmly believes that such responses not only undermine the principles of academic freedom but also contravene fundamental human rights.
TÜBA calls on all involved parties to engage in dialogue and to respect the rights of individuals to express their concerns peacefully. We appeal to the international academic community and relevant authorities to protect these rights and to facilitate a discourse that is conducive to understanding and resolving such critical humanitarian issues.
As TÜBA, we once again declare our commitment to supporting academic freedom, protecting human rights and promoting global peace and justice, as we emphasized at the Science20 (S20) summit, which consists of the science academies of G20 countries. We hope that the inhumane attacks against innocent people in Palestine will end as soon as possible.