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PROTESTING students in Turkey fear that they will be killed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded them “terrorists”and claimed that the LGBT community is incompatible with the country’s values.
Students and teachers at Istanbul’s prestigious Bogazici University oppose Mr Erdogan’s appointment of Melih Bulu, a former candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), as rector.
Their protests have met a violent response, with 528 people detained this week, according to Interior Ministry figures.
Snipers have been positioned on buildings with their sights targeted on protesters and police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrations.
On Wednesday, Mr Erdogan said: “This country will not be run by terrorists. We will do whatever is needed to prevent this.
“This country will not again live a Gezi event in Taksim. We have not stood with terrorists and we will not,” he said, referring to the 2013 protests that nearly brought down the government.
The authoritarian president claimed that “there is no such thing” as LGBT, in response to a poster in rainbow colours hung near Mr Bulu’s office depicting Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry hit out at the United States yesterday after it criticised the government’s heavy-handed response to the protests.
"No-one should dare to interfere in Turkey's domestic affairs,” a ministry statement said.
One of the protesters told the Morning Star that they fear being killed, citing new legislation allowing police and intelligence officials to requisition weapons from the armed forces to put down protests.
“This shows how weak Erdogan is, but the protests are growing. We will not bow our heads,” she said.
Britain’s National Union of Students offered solidarity with the protests.
National president Larissa Kennedy said: “State violence and police brutality are global injustices and our rage and solidarity are with the LGBTQ+ students from Istanbul’s Bogazici University who are fighting for liberation at this time.”
