Turkish PM calls for boycott of Gülen movement’s schools
Date posted: February 27, 2014
ISTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has geared up his rhetoric against the movement of U.S. based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling for a boycott of the movement’s schools.
“Leave the prep schools and schools of [the movement]. Say: Public schools are enough for us,” Erdoğan said during a rally in the southern province of Burdur on Feb. 27.
“Public schools will be enough. If parents want additional lessons for their children on the weekends, we will do it. They will be free of charge,” he added.
Erdoğan accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating the massive graft probe targeting his government, but usually refers to the group through indirect terms such as “parallel state.”
The ongoing turmoil in the country increased this week, with the prime minister facing unprecedented accusations of corruption after the leak of incriminating phone conversations between himself and his son, in the wake of the initial police raids conducted on Dec. 17.
Erdoğan has called the tape a fabrication and accused the Gülen movement over it, while the opposition has urged him to resign.
‘Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force,” Gulen said. “I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly.’ Gulen sharply rejected any responsibility: ‘As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt.
Turkey tries to trap Obama with extradition demand [of Mr. Gülen]
But while U.S. agency spokesmen are trying to be cautious in what they say, skepticism about Turkey’s claims that Gulen directed the plot are widespread in Washington. Last week, in comments that likely burned a few ears in Ankara, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told The Washington Post that he did not believe Turkey had yet offered enough proof to implicate Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania’s Poconos region for years.
‘Everybody reads about Prophet Muhammad’
Anyone who wants to know and understand Prophet Muhammad from trustworthy sources can sign up for the project on the website www.herkesonuokuyor.com, and that the project offers examinations in three categories: middle school level, high school level and adult level. Middle school students will be tested from the book “Efendiler Efendisi Hz. Muhammed” by Rahime Kaya, while high school students will answer questions related to Reşit Haylamaz’s “Efendimiz” and adults will take an exam from “Sonsuz Nur” by M. Fethullah Gülen, Kuzu explained.
Turkish newspaper ‘Zaman’ shuts down in Germany amid ‘threats’
The Turkish-language newspaper “Zaman” will stop operations in Germany after “threats” to readers, a staff member has said. The Turkish government took over the paper in Turkey itself in March. “Our subscribers are being visited; they are being threatened that if they continue to subscribe, they will have problems,” Bag said. He added that the current situation in Turkey, where the government is carrying out a wide-ranging media purge, was spilling over into Germany.
Reaction mounts against PM’s witch-hunt remarks
Politicians, members of the judiciary and journalists have spoken out against threatening remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who stated that the government will carry out a witch hunt against followers of a faith-based group [Hizmet movement].
Kyrgyz president: Those calling Turkish teachers terrorists should see a doctor
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has said those who view as terrorists teachers working at the Gülen-linked SAPAT educational institutions in the country need treatment and should see a doctor.
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