The York University Faculty Association (YUFA) is proud to express its solidarity with academics who have been exiled from Turkey, purged from their positions, and/or put on trial in Turkey.

In this short video, YUFA President, Richard Wellen, and YUFA Vice-President External, Terry Maley, send greetings of solidarity to the international conference, Academic Freedom & Politics, which will take place from December 8 to 9, 2017 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) in Munich, Germany. The conference features sessions led by academics from Turkey and their allies, and will discuss the political situation in Turkey and the international solidarity initiatives that are underway.

"These purges--including the dismissal of academics and teachers from their jobs, the confiscation of their passports, and the trials that are beginning this week--are absolutely unacceptable violations of the norms of academic freedom," says Maley. "A motion of solidarity with purged colleagues in Turkey was passed unanimously by university faculty associations from across Canada at the recent national conference of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). We stand in solidarity with you!"

For more than a year, the CAUT has been generating solidarity with academics in Turkey, and has prepared numerous resources for allies in Canada, such as this recent report.

"Like CAUT, YUFA has a long and proud history of supporting international solidarity initiatives for social justice, peace, and academic freedom," adds Wellen. "We are proud to stand with our colleagues in Turkey, and to build meaningful support at York University in Toronto and on campuses across Canada for this critical struggle for justice."

YUFA will host its first organizing meeting in solidarity with academics in Turkey on Friday, December 8 at 10:00 a.m. in 390 York Lanes. All YUFA members and allies are welcome to attend.

For more information, or to get involved in YUFA's solidarity initiative, please email [email protected].

YUFA president, Richard Wellen (left), holds a sign that reads, "YUFA supports academic freedom everywhere." YUFA Vice-President External, Terry Maley (right), holds a sign that reads, "Solidarity with academics in Turkey!"