May 6, 2006

Bidding to privatize the food services at the University of İstanbul was held today. 500 students, dining hall workers, university employees and staff gathered for a protest rally and when they attempted to enter the campus grounds, the police attacked them with pepper spray and truncheons. Several students were seriously injured and seven were detained.

The students from all campuses came together and started to march towards Medico Health Services Headquarters where the bidding was taking place. They marched under a placard that said, “Workers, Staff, Students of İstanbul University United -We Won’t Let Our Country, Our University, Our Dining Hall Be Sold”. Along the way they chanted slogans against the privatization of the food services at the university. When they arrived, they were met with a police barricade.

The group continued voicing their protests with whistles and clapping. A speaker, speaking on behalf of the group said they were against privatizing the student services because they were aware of the results of contracting out. He gave as an example the recently contracted out courthouse dining hall where it was proven that horse and donkey meat was served to the workers. Instead, he said, they wanted to eat food prepared under the supervision of the University. Privatization meant poor quality and higher costs. Moreover, privatization meant loss of jobs and they would continue resisting all contracting in other services too.

Another student speaker said, “We, in solidarity with the workers, employees and staff members, have been resisting the privatization of the food services. We held a referendum and the majority voted no. We protested, we rallied and we boycotted. However, the university president, Mesut Parlak does not heed what we say. He insists on contracting out. He wants to commercialize our university piece by piece. That is why we are here today- to prevent the sale of our university and laying off the workers. And now the servants of the capital are putting up barricades in front of us but we shall persevere.

The protests continued with slogans and when the bidding was concluded the protesters marched to the main entrance to the campus where they read a press release. When the protesters attempted to enter the campus grounds, the university security guards and the police attacked them, pepper spraying and beating them with truncheons. The protesters returned the attack with placard sticks, stones and eggs.

The police also attacked the press photographers trying to take photographs and confiscated some of the cameras. Seven students were arrested and some others were injured.

Devrimci Gençlik: Sendika.org

EK