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.
Thousands of orphans and needy people around the world whose lives depend on the aid they receive from charities such as Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?), the largest volunteer and global aid organization based in Turkey, are at risk of being affected by the Turkish government’s restrictions on the charitable association.
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