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   XPost: alt.politics.usa.congress   
   From: bilgeekhhann@bilgekhannnnnetorg.tr   
      
   Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis   
   Volume VIII, Issue # 184, September 26, 2006   
      
   DISSIDENT WATCH:  YUCEL ASKIN   
      
   By Dr. Michael Rubin   
      
   YUCEL ASKIN:  TURKISH DISSIDENT WHO HAS BEEN IN THE EYE OF THE   
   STORM CENTERING ON ISLAMIST ENCROACHMENT ON TURKEY'S SECULAR   
   UNIVERSITIES -- DEFENDING CONSTITUTIONALISM, THE RULE OF LAW, &   
   THE SEPARATION OF GOVERNMENT & RELIGION -- RESISTING EFFORTS OF   
   PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN & HIS RULING JUSTICE &   
   DEVELOPMENT PARTY TO WEAKEN TURKEY'S SECULAR FOUNDATIONS &   
   DESTROY THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE COUNTRY'S EDUCATIONAL   
   INSTITUTIONS -- DEFENDING THE TURKISH REPUBLIC AGAINST THE   
   FORCES OF POLITICAL ISLAM   
      
   FULL STORY:   On October 14, 2005, police in the eastern Turkish   
   city of Van arrested Yücel Askin, the Rector of Yüzüncü Yil   
   University, on charges stemming from alleged corruption   
   involving the purchase of medical equipment. In an effort to   
   humiliate the Rector, the police allowed local television to   
   film Askin's arrest and denied him bail. Few outside observers   
   accepted the charges, and, within days, university presidents   
   across Turkey were rallying in Van for the freedom of their   
   colleague. [1]   
      
   Askin has been in the eye of a storm centering on Islamist   
   encroachment in Turkish universities. As Yüzüncü Yil Rector, he   
   defied pressure from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's   
   ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has sought to   
   break down the barriers between mosque and state in Turkey.   
   Askin defended secularism, questioned the qualifications of   
   those with exclusively religious educations to gain admittance   
   to secular universities, and enforced the headscarf ban.   
      
   These charges were not the first leveled against Askin. Police   
   raided his home in July, 2005, in search of illicit antiquities   
   and arrested him on charges of violating the law on protection   
   of cultural assets. [2] A judge later dropped the charges when   
   it emerged that Askin held government licenses for every   
   artifact in his possession. [3] The corruption charges appeared   
   just as spurious. The University purchased the medical equipment   
   a year before Askin became rector. [4] It would be difficult for   
   the Rector to corrupt a decision of which he was not part.   
      
   Still, the government is determined to press the case, not only   
   against Askin, but also against his senior administrative   
   colleagues. On November 13, 2005, University General Secretary   
   Enver Arpali committed suicide after being held for months   
   without trial. Askin's trial has yet to be scheduled. [5]   
      
   The Turkey Higher Education Board (YÖK) has condemned the   
   situation. Soon after Askin's arrest, it released a statement   
   indicating that "defending the Rector amounted to defending the   
   Republic." [6] Prime Minister Erdogan responded by warning the   
   rectors to "mind their own business." [7] While the court   
   replaced one judge after determining he was biased in favor of   
   the AKP, [8] YÖK Chairman Erdogan Teziç's comments that   
   "politicization of the judiciary poses a serious threat to our   
   country," [9] drew an angry response from the government   
   prosecutors, who announced a new investigation into the YÖK for   
   illegal criticism. [10]   
      
   The rule of law has suffered under the AKP as the party   
   implements its agenda to weaken Turkey's secular foundations.   
   Erdogan has launched an all-out assault on institutions and   
   independent panels. On March 1, 2006, over the objections of the   
   President, the AKP-dominated Parliament passed a bill to found   
   fifteen new universities. Rather than bolster education, the   
   move will better enable Erdogan to control it. Fifteen new   
   university rectors drawn from a field of the Prime Minister's   
   candidates means fifteen new votes on the Higher Education   
   Council, enabling the Prime Minister to undercut the YÖK's   
   anti-Islamist consensus. [11]   
      
   At an AKP meeting on February 14, 2006, Erdogan complained about   
   continued bans on teachers wearing headscarves and called on the   
   judiciary to change its mindset. [12] If constitutionalism and   
   the rule of law are to be preserved in Turkey, though, it is the   
   Prime Minister who must change his mindset.   
      
   NOTES:   
   [1] Sabah (Istanbul), Oct. 23, 2005.   
   [2] Milliyet (Istanbul), July 17, 2005.   
   [3] Turkish Daily News (Ankara), Dec. 16, 2005.   
   [4] Turkish Daily News, Dec. 23, 2005.   
   [5] Sabah, Nov. 13, 2005.   
   [6] Turkish Daily News, Oct. 20, 2005.   
   [7] Turkish Daily News, Oct. 21, 2005.   
   [8] Turkish Daily News, Dec. 15, 2005.   
   [9] Turkish Daily News, Dec. 23, 2005.   
   [10] Turkish Daily News, Jan. 31, 2006.   
   [11] Turkish Daily News, Mar. 2, 2006.   
   [12] Turkish Daily News, Feb. 15, 2006.   
      
   http://www.proconservative.net/PCVol8Is184RubinDissidentWatchYucelAskin.shtml   
      
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