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More than 150 university students detained in ‘battle for the future of Turkey,’ protester tells the Star

STUDENTS at a prestigious Istanbul university have warned of “dark shadows of power” in Turkey as they appealed for international solidarity with their struggle after more than 150 of their number were detained by police.

“We have been beaten and attacked by the police, and the government is so scared of us they put snipers on the buildings: this is Erdogan’s Turkey,” one student known as Deniz told the Star today.

“Please do what you can to help us. Our future is at stake. This is not just about education or academic freedom but a battle for the future of Turkey, and we want to end dictatorship,” she said.

At least 159 students were arrested at Bogazici University on Monday as thousands gathered in protest at a clampdown in which four students were detained at the weekend for displaying artwork that reportedly depicted LGBT rainbow symbols alongside an image of the Kaaba, the building at the centre of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s most sacred site.

The artwork was slammed as an “ugly attack” that mocked religious beliefs, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu have been accused of hate speech for their reaction: Twitter limited access today to a tweet by Mr Soylu, who had referred to the protesting students as “LGBT perverts.”

Products with the rainbow colours or references to LGBT must now be sold with an 18-plus rating “to protect children” in Turkey and, while homosexuality is not illegal, Pride marches are often banned on spurious safety grounds.

Deniz said the government fears that the popular support for the demonstrations could become “a new Gezi,” referring to the 2013 wave of protests in Istanbul that shook the government and gained widespread international support.

“Erdogan is weak, he is frightened of opposition and will do whatever he can to silence us,” she said.

Jailed former co-chair of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas has previously tweeted his support for the protesters, saying: “Your voice shakes the prison,” while the party’s MPs have tried to stop police making arrests.

The catalyst for the protests at the elite Istanbul university was the government appointment ofa pro-Erdogan rector, Melih Bulu, a businessman who had previously stood as a candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

His appointment, the first from outside the university community since the 1980 coup, sparked widespread anger and is seen as a reflection of a deeply authoritarian regime tightening its grip on all aspects of life in Turkey.

Thousands of academics have been detained as part of widespread purges under the 2016 state of emergency, most of them sacked after signing a petition calling for a peaceful solution to the country’s so-called Kurdish question.

Until now the Western-leaning Bogazici University had escaped relatively unscathed, accepting a compromise candidate as rector four years ago.  

But the imposition of Mr Bulu on January 1 triggered protests, and the authorities have responded with a heavy hand.

Some 24 students were arrested in a first wave of protests — many of them in violent raids on their dormitory accommodation — and subsequent protests have attracted support from trade unions and politicians, joining together to defend academic freedom.

Protests were banned today and a heavy police presence was blocking people from gathering, but Deniz said: “We refuse to bow: we will not stop and we will fight for our future.”

A protester was beaten unconscious in the Turkish capital Ankara today as police brutally attacked a demonstration in solidarity with those detained in Istanbul. 

Britain’s National Union of Students has been contacted for comment.

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