Top science council undergoes evolution

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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In the June edition of Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology) magazine, published by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, or TÜBİTAK, the theory of evolution is the cover story and 25 pages inside are on the topic. The story says Darwin’s theory has been under scrutiny for the past 150 years and no one has been able to refute his claims until now.

Bilim ve Teknik was criticized in March for withdrawing its story on Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, with many saying the decision was at best unscientific and at worst an act of censorship.

TÜBİTAK argued that the editor of the magazine, Dr. Çiğdem Atakuman, had exceeded her duties when she changed the original lead story on climate change to the Darwin story at the last minute. Atakuman, who was suspended as a result, said TÜBİTAK’s deputy head Professor Ömer Cebeci told her the matter was too controversial and that she could no longer be trusted to responsibly perform her duties.

The magazine, published by TÜBİTAK, the main state institution responsible for funding scientific research, was criticized for the last-minute replacement of the evolution story with one about global warming, resulting in the magazine coming out a week late. The cover story on evolution was part of an effort to recognize the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

Newspapers and academics criticized the incident as meddling by the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, which passed a law last summer tightening its control of appointments to TÜBİTAK. One of the magazine’s three-member board of trustees resigned in protest against TÜBİTAK’s handling of the affair and another confirmed Atakuman’s version of events. The third member is Cebeci.

However, one member of the TÜBİTAK Science Council, Professor Abdullah Atalar told the daily Milliyet at the time that the controversy was due to Atakuman "discovering" a day before the publication that 2009 was Darwin year. "She called people and made them work on the weekend to get the story ready. Sixteen pages were added to the original magazine. Cebeci objected to the changes, arguing that such an important story could not be rushed. So they returned the magazine to its original state," he said.