Tension has risen not only in Parliament but also in public squares. Deputies will apparently have to work for at least another full week.
Parliamentary commissions have recently worked weekends too. Yesterday [on Saturday], deputies discussed two bills, one on shutting down the prep schools [dershanes] and the other on [expanding the powers of ] the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Both bills are controversial. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) plans to shut down the prep schools instead of finding a solution for the problem [the need to improve public schools]. Prep schools do not appear to be the real issue here. The education bill is just a message to a specific audience. It turned out to be the first step in the destruction of the Hizmet movement [inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen]. The new bill [on dershanes] is not limited to prep schools. It aims to almost “reestablish” the Ministry of Education [by reassigning thousands of officials].
A Personal Story from Turkey: I am a “Man of Law” Not a Terrorist!
I am a lawyer, I am man of law but according to President Erdogan I am a “terrorist” who attempted for a coup! I am writing this letter from a city in Eastern Europe as I had to run away from persecution. Just after my departure on 22 July, Turkish police arrived at my house but could not find me. Instead, with the intention to bring me out they have decided to detain my mother who is 86 years old and can barely walk.
Only the people of the land can create a spring, GYV President Yeşil says
DASİDER Chairman Ahmet Öner emphasized in his speech that discrepancies among members of society are a reality of human life and are part of the richness of God’s reflection in the universe. Yeşil said, “We believe that the Alevis, Kurds and Circassians of these lands belong with us. The notion of ‘we’ is sufficient to describe all of us. It is always possible to grow together and to share every opportunity, based on justice and human rights.”
Group of activists walking across Europe raises 40,000 euros for Turkish refugees in Greece
A group of activists from the UK raised 40,000 euros for needy Turkish nationals who have landed in Greece as refugees in the face of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s post-coup witch-hunt.
Alleged Gülen sympathizers in prison banned from communication with outside world
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has prohibited individuals in Silivri Prison who are currently under arrest over their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement from communicating with the outside world during an ongoing state of emergency, the Sözcü daily reported on Monday.
Democracy tree grows in Abant as Turks and Kurds bond
ABDULLAH BOZKURT It was in 2000 that liberal and conservative intellectuals in Turkey came together for the first time to address difficult questions in a highly civilized and respectable manner. To mark the occasion, they planted a pine tree in the backyard of the famous Abant Palace resort hotel near the northwestern city of Bolu. […]
‘Selam: Bahara Yolculuk’: a true story on the big screen
ALİ KOCA / ISTANBUL The 2013 Turkish movie “selam” (Greeting) told the stories of volunteers who embraced humanity outside Turkey’s borders; it was a movie that was appreciated not for its cinematic qualities, but for the sake of the beloved memories of those pioneers who went to territories they knew very little about to open […]
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