The American Sociological Association (ASA) is the largest organization of sociologists in the world.  Though it is named “American,” it has a broad international membership.  It also considers itself to be part of a cosmopolitan, international world of scholars rather than a patriotic organization of Americans.  Recently, their executive officer wrote on the crisis in Turkey.  Noting the ASA’s commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she pointed out that the Turkish government is very much in violation of it.

In January, 128 scholars—including many sociologists—signed a public petition titled “Academics for Peace” that called on the Turkish government to resume peace talks in the Kurdish regions of that country, lift long-standing restrictive curfews to end the use of military force against citizens, and halt “[i]ts deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region.”

Most of the signatories to the petition live and work in Turkey. All were immediately denounced by the Turkish government which called them terrorists and traitors… Several were arrested, others were fired, still others had their offices searched and cell phones and computers confiscated….  These actions are a clear violation of Turkey’s responsibility as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[.]

The ASA sent a sharp note of protest to the Turkish leadership, expressing their outrage at the treatment of these scholars.  They have also joined several other protests against the Erdoğan government designed to highlight this issue.

ASA protests in the past have a troubled history with terrorism.  They have on multiple occasions attempted to protect the rights of their members to engage in research that involves actual correspondence or engagement with terror groups without turning the information over to proper authorities.  For example, they are currently supporting Boston College’s efforts to avoid turning over research related to “the Belfast Project,” which involved interviews with Irish terrorists.  They also defended sociologists Rik Scarce in his efforts to refuse to testify about his knowledge of the Animal Liberation Front and other ecoterror groups.

Nevertheless, on this occasion their efforts are a boon to the struggle against radical Islam.  The attacks on the Kurds that the Turkish academics were protesting are harmful to efforts against the Islamic State (ISIS).  Further, the silencing of criticism against the Erdoğan’s Islamist political party is coupled by calls by leaders of that party for Turkey to adopt an Islamic constitution, with all that would mean for sharia law standards on so-called “slander” and blasphemy.  Opposing Erdoğan and his regime is an important way of supporting deep democracy, the practice of supporting those fundamentals that sustain democracy in the long term.  Free inquiry and free speech are important constituents of those fundamentals.

Turkey’s brave academic protest very much deserves American support, and not just the ASA’s.  The Obama administration and members of Congress should join the ASA in calling out the Erdoğan government for its violation of basic rights.