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By bianet:
Police attack students; Photo – bianet
Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Sebahat Tuncel yesterday submitted an official inquiry to Turkey’s Prime Minster Erdogan asking about police brutality on the METU campus in Ankara during his brief visit for the launch ceremony of the Göktürk 2 satellite on Tuesday (18 December).
In a statement, Tuncel said the police brutality with tear gas bombs and plastic bullets occurred even after Erdogan left the campus. “Police with tear gas bombs allegedly stopped ambulances entering the campus.”
“While university campuses belong to their students and they have the democratic right to protest,” the statement continued, “the police brutality on Tuesday was anti-democratic and unbalanced. It could almost cause deaths.”
Tuncel’s official inquiry included these topics:
- Why have you attended a satellite launch ceremony with 105 guard cars, 20 armored cars, one intervention tank and 2,500 police officers?
- Do you regard student protests as a democratic right? Is there any ongoing investigation concerning the police brutality? If not, why not?
- Have chief police officers addressed allegations concerning plastic bullets and tear gas bombs being thrown at close distance? Is there any ongoing investigation to find out who was responsible?
- Who gave the order for the police intervention on METU campus?
- Are the allegations true that police blocked ambulances and threw tear gas bombs?
This report has been lightly edited
