On the 28th of May 2014 Salahaddin University awarded honorary PhD to Dr. Ismail Beşikçi, the famous Turkish sociologist and writer. The awarding ceremony was attended by Mr.
Fazil Mirani, the Secretary of the KDP Politburo, Mr. Ali Hussein, Head of the KDP Erbil Branch, Mr. Usuf Muhammad, president of the Kurdistan Parliament, Mr. Nawzad Hadi, the Governor of Erbil and a number of political party representatives from all the four parts of Kurdistan. It is worth mentioning that Dr. Beşikçi is visiting Kurdistan on an invitation of the Barzani Charity Foundation. He will be holding a number of seminars in different universities and cultural centers.
Defending the Kurds for Half a Century
In the ceremony Dr. Ahmed Anwar Dezaye, the President of Salahaddin University, stated in his speech that "we thought about a way to pay respect to Dr. Beşikçi's life-long works and contributions. He has been defending the rights of the Kurdish nation for the last half a century through his research and writings. Thus Salahaddin University Council decided to award honorary PhD to Ismail Beşikçi. We want to thank Barzani Charity Foundation for inviting Dr. Beşikçi."
The University President added that "such a decision by an academic institution is not an easy one, but we think that Dr. Beşikçi deserves such recognition and today is an important academic event. Beşikçi has devoted 50 years of his life to the Kurdish cause, for which he has faced much hardship and prosecution. He defended the Kurds at a time when all the doors we shut at the Kurds' face. He emphasized that the Kurds must enjoy their natural rights. Fortunately today the Turkish policy toward the Kurds has changed; we witnessed the worm reception of President Masud Barzani in Amed by the Turkish Prime Minister."
Dr. Beşikçi, after accepting the award, stated that "I'm happy to receive this valuable honorary award from Salahaddin University. Academic production and freedom of speech are very important pillars of any society. Universities play major role in revealing truth. Throughout the Middle East freedom of speech is restricted, yet there are universities in these countries without much production of scientific knowledge. Except Israel, freedom of speech is restricted in the wider Middle East. In the 57 member states of the Islamic Congress freedom of expression is restricted and truths are produced by the powerful ideologies. In true science there is only one criteria: evidence-based truths."
Dr. Beşikçi highlighted the importance of science and critical thinking for the development of a country like Kurdistan. This requires freedom of thought and expression.
