22 Kasım 2015 tarihinde Radikal Gazetesi’nden Armağan Çağlayan’a verdiği röportajda “Dışkı yedirmek işkence değildir” diyen Prof.Celal Şengör, üyesi olduğu ABD Ulusal Bilimler Akademisi (NSA) üyelerinin “Ulusal Bilimler Akademisinde İşkenceye Destek Yok! (No Support For Torture at NAS)” başlığı ile imzaya açtığı bir kampanya ile kınandı ve Akademi yönetimine Celal Şengör’ün üyelik statüsünün yeniden değerlendirilmesi çağrısında bulunuldu.
İlgili metnin İngilizce olarak tamamına bu yazının devamında ve imza kampanyasına bu linkten ulaşabilirsiniz: http://www.nosupportfortortureatnas.org/
“Dear members of the Committee on Human Rights of the NAS, NAE, and NAM,
We are writing to bring to your attention the deplorable remarks made recently by Celal Sengor, a Turkish geologist and a foreign member to the National Academy of Sciences. In an interview he gave to the mainstream Turkish daily, Radikal, Sengor blatantly stated that being forced to eat human excrement is not a form of torture. Celal Sengor also praised the generals who were responsible for the 1980 coup, and asserted that to this day he supports all the actions the generals took during and after the coup. We attach for your review copies of the original interview, as well as a certified translation of it.
Approximately 600,000 people were detained, 50 were executed by hanging and several thousand people were severely tortured in the aftermath of the coup, one of the bloodiest in the history of Turkey. In 2014 a Turkish court gave life sentences to the ex-army leader General Kenan Evren, now deceased, and General Tahsin Sahinkaya.
The work of this committee is grounded in principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). We acknowledge that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression as declared under Article 19 of UDHR. However, we also strongly believe that members who serve as role models for defining excellence in their scientific field have a moral obligation to uphold universal human rights standards.
Article 5 of the UDHR claims “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits torture, and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The European Court of Human Rights convicted Turkey in 1993 for violation of Article 3 in the infamous Yesilyurt feces case, where villagers were forced to eat feces by the Turkish security forces. See Gurdogan, Mustak, Mustak and Mustak v. Turkey, App no 15202/89 15203/89 15204/89 15205/89 (ECtHR 1993).
We are well aware that the election process for membership to the National Academy of Sciences is highly strenuous. Only a select few, who have risen to the top in their field would be considered for this prestigious title. Therefore it is with no surprise that many NAS members influence policymaking in various scientific topics and advise governments, organizations and policy groups around the world.
We condemn Celal Sengor for praising those who are guilty of crimes against humanity and for downplaying the effects of the military coup of 1980 in an attempt to revise history. We believe that this also contradicts with the values of the National Academy of Sciences. Therefore, we, as academics, researchers, scholars, and graduate students, strongly urge you to reevaluate the membership status of Celal Sengor.
CC:
Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Peter Agre, U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the NAS, NAE and NAM
Dr. Torsten Wiesel, Chairman Emeritus of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch
For English translation of the interview, click here.
To see news on the subject, click here.”