Hunger strike duo symbols of Erdogan’s purge
ANKARA: An Ankara academic and a teacher who have been on hunger strike for over four months after being sacked in the wake of Turkey’s failed coup have emerged as symbols of the biggest purge in the country’s history.
Academic Nuriye Gulmen and teacher Semih Ozakca were fired by a government decree under the state of emergency imposed after the July 15 coup bid last year.
They then held daily demonstrations in the heart of Ankara wearing vests with the simple words: “I want my job back,” winning widespread media attention.
On March 9, they went on a hunger strike to challenge their dismissal and were jailed in May on terror charges.
The pair are now over four months into their hunger strike, only consuming salty or sugary water, herbal teas and vitamin B1.
“We know that at this stage of a hunger strike, there is a risk of death,” their lawyer Selcuk Kozagacli said, adding they were suffering hearing and eyesight problems, and weakened muscles.
But Gulmen and Ozakca are just two of more than 100,000 people sacked by the Turkish state after the attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Under the state of emergency imposed a few days after the failed coup, Turkish authorities fired judges, civil servants, teachers and academics, accusing them of being sup- porters of the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara accuses Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, of ordering the failed coup. Gulen strongly denies the charges.
Turkish officials say the actions are needed to expunge the influence of Gulen’s movement and any other banned organisations from the state sector.
Opponents of Erdogan say the emergency powers are being used to purge anyone who has been critical including those, like Gulmen and Ozakca, who deny any links to Gulen but have a history of leftwing activism.