Turkey: Police detain teachers protesting ministry's interview practices

Police in Ankara detained numerous teachers who gathered to protest their dismissal from the Ministry of National Education (MEB) due to interview practices. The protest, organized by the Private Sector Teachers' Union, saw police intervene as teachers attempted to march from the ministry building to the Parliament.

During the police intervention, several teachers, including the union's general president Eren Edebali, were handcuffed and detained. Fırat Çoban, the Ankara provincial head of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), who came to support the teachers, was also detained.

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We see that the problems that the Ministry of National Education cannot solve continue to grow. Our teachers working in the private sector and those who are victims of interviews, who have been struggling for years to get their rights, are met with police intervention while trying to make a statement in front of the MEB! We will definitely change this incompetent system that confronts teachers with interviews, barricades, and violence.

Suat Özçağdaş, a Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul lawmaker, shared the union's post on social media, demanding the release of the detained teachers. He criticized the MEB's unresolved issues, stating, "We see that the problems that the Ministry of National Education cannot solve continue to grow. Our teachers working in the private sector and those who are victims of interviews, who have been struggling for years to get their rights, are met with police intervention while trying to make a statement in front of the MEB! We will definitely change this incompetent system that confronts teachers with interviews, barricades, and violence."

Özçağdaş added, "We will not surrender education or our teachers, who are the bright future of the country, to this darkness. We stand by our teachers' rightful struggle to the end. Keep your promises, eliminate the injustices our teachers are experiencing! Immediately release our general president Eren Edebali and all our detained teachers!"

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We will not surrender education or our teachers, who are the bright future of the country, to this darkness. We stand by our teachers' rightful struggle to the end. Keep your promises, eliminate the injustices our teachers are experiencing! Immediately release our general president Eren Edebali and all our detained teachers!