• Say silence on their suffering betrayal of moral duty
The student community in Inonu University, Malatya, Turkiye staged a protest in solidarity with the people of Gaza, following Jum’ah prayers on Friday.
The solidarity protest was part of a lineup of activities by the students held in the garden of the Theology Faculty Mosque.
They condemned the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli regime in Gaza, expressing support for protests taking place in universities worldwide.
Students set aside their academic robes and pens to participate in the sit-in protest, Muslim News gathered.
During the protest, the life stories of martyred academics, doctors, teachers, and students were read aloud.
Commemorating the huge number of lives lost to the ongoing Israeli genocide, the protesters chanted the slogan ‘silence is complicity in genocide’.
Abdullah Dinçadam, a medical student, read a poem written by Refaat Alareer, a Professor at Gaza Islamic University during the protest. Alareer had dedicated his poem to the children of Gaza before his own death in an Israeli airstrike.
In a multilingual press statement delivered in Turkish, Arabic, and English, Dinçadam highlighted the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
He lamented the destruction of schools, faculties, sanctuaries, and hospitals, and the loss of tens of thousands of lives, including students, teachers, lecturers, clergymen, doctors, and medical personnel.
He called for international action to halt the atrocities committed by Israel and ensure the right to education for hundreds of thousands of students affected by the conflict.
He described the obvious indifference to the pains and suffering of the people of Gaza as a betrayal of moral duty.
In the statement, he also condemned the intimidation tactics, including detentions and dismissals, faced by university lecturers and students advocating for Gaza globally. He said such actions undermine fundamental human rights and academic freedom.
“As a community, Inonu University expresses solidarity with the people of Gaza, rejecting indifference to their suffering as a betrayal of moral duty. We call upon the global academic community and world leaders to take immediate action to end the genocide and violence against pro-peace advocates.
“For more than six months, in front of the eyes of all humanity, a blatant genocide has been taking place in Gaza, with no distinction between women, children and civilians. During this time, all schools, faculties, shrines and hospitals in Gaza have been destroyed. Tens of thousands of students, teachers, lecturers, clergymen, doctors and medical personnel have been killed. Hundreds of thousands of students from primary school to university have been deprived of their right to education.
“We consider the bullying, threats, detentions, intimidation attempts such as dismissals against conscientious university lecturers and students who stand with Gaza all over the world as a blow to basic human rights and academic freedom.
“As Inönü University, we are aware that coming together for peace and justice is a necessity for the honor and future of humanity. While glorifying the common values of humanity is one of our main missions, the genocide in Gaza has overshadowed these values. For us, remaining insensitive to the suffering in Gaza is a rejection of moral responsibility. Remaining silent in the face of Israel’s attacks in Gaza is not an option, it is complicity in the crime.
“As a university community, we are ready to do everything we can to establish peace and justice. The reason why we have come together here today is to declare that we stand with the people of Gaza, that we share their suffering, and that we support and stand by the peaceful actions of all students and academics in universities around the world who feel responsible for defending human rights.
“We once again call on the entire world academic community, all university students, to mobilize the international community to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza. For the sake of human dignity, we demand that all world leaders take immediate action to end this genocide in Gaza and to end the violence against pro-peace students and faculties.”
The students said they would not relent in their struggle for peace and justice to make the world a better place.
“This is only the beginning. As Inönü University students, we will continue our struggle for peace and justice and we will continue to defend the common values of humanity. Because we believe that only by acting together, we can ensure peace and make the world a better place.”
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