Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007 | This is about the Jan. 11, 2007 article entitled “San Diego State’s Turkey Trouble,” by James O. Goldsborough.

The issue is not about academic freedom, but about the rule of law. The northern part of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey, is an illegal entity not recognized by the international community. If politics should be kept out of universities, why do you quote the State Department’s hortation? Should American universities also have had academic exchange with Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1930s?

Academic freedom is important: the freedom of financial transactions is also important, but does not protect dealings with thieves and thugs. The Turkish occupiers of north Cyprus are thieves and thugs. The pro-Turkey “Annan Plan” was rightfully rejected by Cyprus.

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