As academics at the University of Oxford, we would like to express our deep concern about the events taking place in Turkey. In response to the protests in Istanbul, as well as in other towns and cities in the country, rights and freedoms are being severely curtailed. In addition to what seems to be the deployment of excessive police force, we are witnessing a large number of arbitrary arrests, undue pressure being brought to bear on the Turkish media and, in a more general sense, serious infringements on the rights of assembly and free speech. While we recognise that the Justice and Development Party is the elected government and possesses a strong popular mandate, we also believe that, as a democratic government, it should seek to guarantee the civil liberties of all Turkey's citizens.

We are particularly concerned with the uncompromising stance of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will inevitably further inflame a volatile situation. Several leading academics and intellectuals in Turkey have already signalled their fears at the response to these protests and expressed their solidarity with those on the streets, many of whom are university students. We join our colleagues in Turkey in calling on the government to respect basic freedoms and to resolve the impasse through dialogue and consensual politics rather than force and violence. We believe only a peaceful resolution of the standoff can pave the way for the strengthening of Turkey's democracy.

Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Evrim Altıntaş Department of Sociology

Dr Christian Arnold Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Miryam Asfar Faculty of Oriental Studies

Professor Andrew Barry School of Geography and the Environment

Dr Mette Louise Berg Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Professor Paul Betts Faculty of Modern History

Professor Francesco Billari Head of Department of Sociology

Professor Julia Bray Faculty of Oriental Studies

Professor Richard Caplan Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Emine Çakır Faculty of Oriental Studies

Dr Igor Calzada School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Dr Gregory JH Deacon African Studies Centre

Dr Neli Demireva Department of Sociology

Dr Faisal Devji Faculty of Modern History

Dr Evelyn Ersanilli School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Dr Kimberly Fisher Centre For Time Use Research

Professor Sudhir Hazareesingh Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Peter Healey School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Dr Clare Heyward School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Dr Francisco Herreros European Studies Centre

Dr Renee Hirschon St Peter's College

Dr Hande Inanç Department of Sociology

Professor Jeremy Johns Director of the Khalili Research Centre for the Art and Material Culture of the Middle East

Dr Man-Yee Kan Department of Sociology

Dr Celia Kerslake St Antony's College

Professor Theo van Lint Faculty of Oriental Studies

Professor Margaret Macmillan Faculty of Modern History

Dr Adam Mestyan Faculty of Oriental Studies

Dr Laurent Mignon Faculty of Oriental Studies

Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis Department of Politics and International Relations

Androulla Kaminara European Studies Centre

Dr Kerem Öktem European Studies Centre

Professor Leigh A Payne Director of Latin American Centre

Dr Lauge Poulsen Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Jerome Ravetz School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Professor Steve Rayner School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Professor Simon Saunders Faculty of Philosophy

Dr Nicolai Sinai Faculty of Oriental Studies

Dr Ebru Soytemel School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Dr Vaclav Stetka European Studies Centre

Professor Oriel Sullivan Department of Sociology

Professor Catherine de Vries Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr Robert De Vries Department of Sociology

Dr Bryan Ward-Perkins Director of Ertegun House

Professor Laurence Whitehead Department of Politics and International Relations