Unidentified individuals have graffitied offensive remarks on a wall of the Turkish Cultural Center (TCC) in the city of West Haven, Connecticut.
The graffiti echoes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s hate speech against the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with which the cultural center is affiliated.
The TCC has been serving the Turkish-American community in Connecticut for seven years. Mehmet Elmacı, the coordinator of the organization, told Turkish media outlets that the incident was unprecedented. “We are a cultural center that does not take part in politics. Our goal has been to share Turkey’s cultural heritage with our community. We condemn those individuals who are inspired by Erdoğan’s hate speech toward the Hizmet movement to write offensive remarks on our walls,” he said.
Erdoğan steps up campaign against Gülen-inspired schools abroad
In a clear sign of his intensified campaign and escalating political vendetta against the movement, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Turkish diplomats on Tuesday to lobby in foreign capitals for the takeover of Gülen-inspired Turkish schools by a Turkish government-run foundation.
Independent deputy says there may be an attempt to pin political murders on Gülen movement
İlhan İşbilen, an independent deputy for İzmir, has said some sections of society are part of a “dirty scenario” that aims to make sure the Gülen movement, a faith-based grassroots social initiative, is uttered in the same breath as extrajudicial political killings.
Embassies Embark on Diplomatic Moves for the Release of Detained Sierra Leonean in Turkey
David Junusa, a Sierra Leonean national who lives and works in Ankara was detained at the Kavaklidere Police Station in Ankara when he showed up to renew his expired residency permit.
Gülen’s lawyer: Targeting overseas Turkish educators breaks law
Nurullah Albayrak, the legal representative of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, in a written statement on Wednesday spoke out against a front-page story in the pro-government Star daily that published the photos of 160 educators at Turkish schools overseas that are affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement, saying the daily is breaking the law and violating those individuals’ human rights by depicting innocent people as criminals.
EP discusses transparency call for Hizmet
In a letter dated Jan. 20 that was sent to all members of the EP, the Brussels-based Intercultural Dialogue Platform (IDP), whose honorary president is Gülen, stated that it welcomes calls upon the Hizmet movement to improve its transparency and accountability.
Division at home, cooperation abroad
Last week I visited Canada to speak at a panel on Turkey in Ottawa and give a lecture on Turkey-EU relations at the Munk School for Global Affairs in Toronto. The panel was part of the first Turkic-Canadian Convention intended to boost economic and cultural relations between Canada and Turkey. The convention was organized by the Anatolian Heritage Federation and was also attended by five members of the Turkish Parliament from the three major parties.
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