Turkish president to meet ODTÜ rector at presidential palace

ISTANBUL

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Turkish President Abdullah Gül is set to meet with the rector of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) at Çankaya Palace following growing discussions on violence between police and students on Dec. 18 at the university, daily Hürriyet reported today.

ODTÜ Rector Ahmet Acar reportedly requested the meeting, which is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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Turkish PM meets ODTÜ head following violence

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met the rector of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) today to discuss violence between police and students on Dec. 18, daily Hürriyet has reported.

ODTÜ Rector Ahmet Acar reportedly called the prime minister after Erdoğan heavily criticized the former and his academic staff for supporting the students and blaming police for violence that left one demonstrator, Barış Barışık, seriously injured.

Acar made no comments regarding the meeting.

ODTÜ rector has previously said the prime minister had been misinformed about the situation.

"I will relate how things developed one by one, directly to the prime minister," Acar said. "There is misinformation here. My reaction is not to the prime minister. I would like to inform him myself.”

Over 3,000 police officers were on hand to guard Erdoğan as he came to ODTÜ on Dec. 18 to witness the launch of Turkey’s first-ever domestically produced satellite, the Göktürk-2. Several hundred students were staging a protest at his presence when they were attacked by the police, resulting in clashes and injuries.

Erdoğan later took aim at ODTÜ’s professors on Dec. 22, saying that if the instructors were raising such “violent” students, then “Turkey has sunk.”

While Erdoğan meets with the rector, a group of ODTÜ professors and students gathered on campus to issue a press statement.