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Education International (EI) and education unions around the world stand in solidarity with our colleagues from Eğitim Sen, EI member organisation in Türkiye. We condemn the placement of Eğitim Sen’s Executive Board under house arrest as well as the violence and intimidation unleashed against educators, students, and protesting citizens in the recent anti-democratic crackdown.

Democracy under attack

On 19 March and in the following days, tens of thousands of people across Türkiye took to the streets to protest the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the democratically elected Mayor of Istanbul and main opposition figure. The arrest is widely considered to be an abuse of power by President Erdoğan in an attempt to remove his main competitor in the 2028 presidential elections.

Sparked by students on university campuses in Istanbul, the protests quickly spread across the country.

On 25 March, members of Eğitim Sen took industrial action in solidarity with protesting students and against the growing anti-democratic crackdown, which seeks to undermine university autonomy and academic freedom.

Authorities placed Eğitim Sen’s Executive Board under house arrest where they remain. Almost 2,000 people, including students, journalists, and lawyers, have also been detained.

While the union has been facing considerable pressure from Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian regime, this latest attack on its leadership marks a significant escalation and highlights the distressing erosion of democracy and rights in the country.

International solidarity

Education International and educators around the world have rallied to support colleagues in Türkiye.

EI expressed its solidarity with Eğitim Sen and protested the detention of its leaders in a letter to the Minister for National Education of the Republic of Türkiye, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Labour and Social Security, the President of the Grand National Assembly, the Secretary General of the Grand National Assembly, and to the Human Rights Investigation Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

In the letter, EI calls on Turkish authorities to

• Lift all restrictions on union rights.
• Support quality public education promoting non-discrimination and science-based learning.
• Respect and negotiate with Eğitim-Sen.
• Drop all baseless charges against Eğitim-Sen leaders.

Eğitim-Sen President Kemal Irmak joined the Committee Meeting of ETUCE, Education International’s European structure, from house arrest, on 9 April. Committee members expressed their unwavering solidarity with colleagues in Türkiye in their struggle for democracy and human rights.

ETUCE requested that the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye meet with a delegation from Eğitim Sen to demonstrate support for democracy watchdogs. Strengthening the rule of law is a cornerstone of Türkiye’s EU accession aspirations and its broader partnership with the EU.

In addition, several education unions affiliated to Education International, including AOb (The Netherlands), the American Federation of Teachers (USA), the National Education Union (UK), and FLC-CGIL (Italy), have condemned the actions of the Turkish authorities and have already expressed their solidarity with Eğitim-Sen colleagues.

Sign the petition for democracy!

A petition calling on the Turkish authorities to respect democratic principles and human rights has been published on the Labour Start platform. Click here and add your voice in support of education unionists and democracy in Türkiye.