South African, Kenyan leaders show support for Turkish schools


Date posted: April 8, 2014

SOUTH AFRICA

South African President Jacob Zuma and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have both expressed support for Turkish schools in their country, amid the Turkish government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools located abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement.

 

Zuma has said he will support Star College, a Turkish school system operating in his country, regardless of attempts by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to shut it down along with other Turkish schools in Africa. Zuma’s comments came during a meeting with the members of the executive board of the Star College group. He assured the Turkish delegation that he will continue to support them, reportedly urging them to continue their work and assuring the delegation that the schools will always be welcome in South Africa.

During a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gül in Ankara following bilateral talks and meetings between delegations, Kenyatta also expressed Kenya’s gratitude to the Turkish schools in his country, saying that Kenya applauds the Turkish schools’ efforts and considers them to be part of Turkish investment in the nation.

“We look positively toward Turkish investments; we are actually here to try to promote even more Turkish companies and investors to look toward not just the Kenyan market but the regional market. The investments and schools are very sizable, something that again we do appreciate,” he said.

The African leaders’ remarks in support of the Turkish schools in the country came after several reports had circulated in the media saying that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had sent orders to Turkish embassies to take steps to close the schools located abroad.

As a result of the Turkish government’s pressure on foreign countries, a Turkish school in Gambia immediately closed, according to some reports in the Turkish media. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally asked Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to close Turkish schools in the autonomous region of Iraq, according to sources close to the KRG prime minister. Erdoğan also called on the administration of Pakistan’s Punjab region to shut down its schools linked to the Gülen movement.

The attempt to shut down the schools comes at a time when the Hizmet movement has been subjected to an alleged smear campaign by the Turkish government, whose prime minister and many high-level officials are implicated in a sweeping corruption scandal that went public on Dec. 17, 2013.

Ufuk Education Foundation General Manager Süleyman Deşdemir was in the delegation that visited Zuma. Deşdemir said: “Star College has been active in South Africa for 15 years with eight branches and 3,000 students. Our school in Durban has the highest success rate in the country.”

There are many Turkish schools in Kenya because it is the biggest and most cosmopolitan country in East Africa. The first Turkish school in the country was established in 1998 and, now, a total of eight Turkish high schools boast alumni who have benefited from college education in 74 countries.

Source: Todays Zaman , April 8, 2014


Related News

Taraf daily to sue PM Erdoğan over treason accusations

Daily Taraf has announced that it will file a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on charges of attempting to influence due process after the Turkish leader called on the “judiciary to do its duty” against the newspaper for exposing a plan to eliminate the Gülen movement.

Academic Freedom in Turkey Under Seige

It appears that Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher from Turkey who promotes peace and tolerance, and the schools associated with his religious Hizmet movement can’t get a break. Now, Gülen’s schools are being targeted in his home country by the Turkish government’s ruling Justice and Development Party, known as the AKP, which should dispel any notion in the U.S. that the AKP is somehow in cahoots with the Gülen movement.

Brookings: Takvim’s news on Hizmet movement incorrect, totally ignorant

Commenting on the Takvim news piece, Ömer Taşpınar, a Middle East expert at Brookings, said the news does not reflect the truth and that pro-government dailies publish news supporting conspiracies against the movement.

Religious freedom threatened by Turkey’s response to coup

From his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, Gulen has disavowed any association with the coup attempt. “My philosophy — inclusive and pluralist Islam, dedicated to service to human beings from every faith — is antithetical to armed rebellion,” Gulen wrote for The New York Times.

Kosovo detains Gülen-linked teacher at Turkey’s request

A Turkish teacher named Uğur Toksoy was detained by Kosovo authorities just following a visit by Ankara Chief Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman, over his alleged links to the Gülen movement on Friday.

Panel Discussion – The Gulen Schools In Central Asia

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev rather quickly defused the problem with Turkey by making a visit to Ankara to meet with President Erdogan. Nazarbaev did not agree to close down the Gulen schools in Kazakhstan, but he did promise to carefully scrutinize those running the schools and those teaching in them.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

PII Awards Law Enforcement in New Jersey

Establishing a Culture of Coexistence and Mutual Understanding Conference Kicks off in Nigeria

500 Food Packages to 500 Families

Turkish mob boss to gov’t: Why bother with diplomacy? We’ll kill Gülen, his followers

Peruvian congress members speak about sociopolitical issues at PII in New York

Indonesian students in Turkey at risk of Gulen purge

Borough President Adams Celebrates Eid with Food Donation

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News