JINHA

ANKARA - The President Tayyip Erdoğan and partisan media called the Academics for Peace 'traitors'.

1,128 academics from dozens of universities in Turkey, in addition to academics from many more countries, signed the statement. The Academics for Peace held a press conference to share their call for the Turkish state to end its attacks on Kurdish regions yesterday. The academics announced that they will continue Parliamentary and international activities as long as their demands are not met. After the statement, the AKP's partisan media and the President Tayyip Erdoğan called the Academics for Peace "traitors". High Education General Board (YÖK) called the rectors and the Interuniversity Board for a meeting. After the meeting, YÖK made a statement, "the necessary legal measures will be taken against the declaration supporting terror."

In 1984, military junta leader Kenan Evren targeted 383 intellectuals who demanded democracy during the military coup. Kenan called the intellectuals "traitors". After 32 years, the president Reccep Tayyip Erdoğan made the same statement. Reccep Tayip Erdoğan said, " These intellectuals call people from another countries to follow the situation in Turkey. They are traitors."

(sy/fk/gd)