Erdogan calls US handling of student protests “fascist”

– We, like the rest of the world, have followed the events at American universities in the last week with great interest, Erdogan said at a press conference on Palestine in Istanbul on Friday.

According to him, students have been “threatened” at Western universities and colleges because of their views on the Gaza war.

– We have seen how those who have been lecturing us for years regarding democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, suddenly become fascist when it comes to Israel and Israel’s interests, said the president, who repeated his support for Hamas.

More arrests

Erdogan’s government has itself been criticized for suppressing student protests following the president appointed an unpopular chancellor at Turkey’s top Bogazici university in 2021.

Several universities in the United States, including prestigious schools such as Columbia and Yale, have cracked down on students protesting the Gaza war in the past week.

There have been several arrests, and some protesters have been accused of making anti-Semitic statements.

Clash

The students demand that American educational institutions cut their financial ties to Israel, including by withdrawing any investments they may have in companies that sell weapons to the country.

The student protests have also spread to other countries, including to the prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris, where the police had to move out on Friday following pro-Israel demonstrators turned up to challenge pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had barricaded themselves there.