Columbia University Faculty Urge the Turkish Government to Free Osman Kavala

As Columbia University faculty engaged in international scholarship and teaching, we are deeply concerned about the arrest of Osman Kavala, one of the most prominent Turkish public intellectuals and a tireless promoter of peaceful international collaboration.  Osman Kavala is a colleague and a friend of Columbia of many years.  Many of us have collaborated with him on various cultural projects, witnessing his generous leadership in bringing people and cultures together.  We have had many occasions to witness Osman Kavala’s important international reputation as well as his diligent and responsible efforts to represent Turkish culture abroad.  Among the causes he championed closely were the cultural activities of Anadolu Kültür, the Depo Cultural Center and Diyarbakır Arts Center and Columbia faculty and students have had the privilege to benefit from these wonderful institutions.  Osman Kavala has always displayed his commitment to tolerance and pluralism, to peace, democracy and rule of law.  Kavala’s belief that bringing people together to build peace and understanding through art and culture has been inspiring for our own work and for the education of our students.

Osman Kavala is widely admired nationally and internationally as a representative of the best in Turkish culture. We urge the Turkish government to free Osman Kavala immediately and to drop all charges against him.