Tag Archives: International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies

Turkish scientists and the government

Scientists in Turkey are threatening to walk out on the Turkish Academy of Sciences due to some recent government initiatives affecting the academy’s governance. From the Sept.9, 2011 news item on physorg.com,

Members of TÜBA [founded in 1993], the Turkish Academy of Sciences, are threatening to resign en masse in order to fight a decree issued by the government of Turkey that would strip the Academy of its autonomy.

The decree, issued on 27th August, which was just after the start of a nine-day holiday in Turkey, says that one-third of the members of the academy will now be appointed by the government and a further one-third by the Council of Higher Education, which is also a government body. [emphasis mine] Only the remaining one-third will be elected by current members. The president and vice-president of the academy will in future be appointed by the government rather than by sitting members. In addition, honorary members will lose their voting rights and the age at which members are deemed honorary will be reduced from 70 to 67.

(It’s interesting how many times governments try to sneak in news that might upset people just before a general holiday of some kind. I wonder how often it works?)

The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies and the current academy’s scientists are trying to convince the government to rescind the decision. Meanwhile, there is talk of creating an independent academy (the current academy is publicly funded) but gaining financial resources presents a challenge.

You can find more details about TÜBA and the current situation here.