Turkish University Suspends a Professor.

YAYLA, Atilla; TURKISH politics & government, 1909-; ATATURK, Kemal, 1881-1938; FREEDOM of speech; EUROPEAN Union membership; DICTATORS; GAZI Universitesi

ANKARA (Turkey); TURKEY

The article reports on the suspension of Atilla Yayla, a professor of public administration at Gazi University, in Ankara, Turkey. The action was taken in response to comments he made at a November 2006 conference, referring to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, as "that man." He called into question the display of Atatürk's portraits in government offices and criticized his dictatorial rule as being regressive. Yayla's suspension is considered in the context of Turkey's controversial stance on freedom of speech, which is impacting its bid to join the European Union.