Astana says Gulen-linked schools to remain

Kazakh President Nazarbayev visits a Kazakh-Turkish High School
Kazakh President Nazarbayev visits a Kazakh-Turkish High School


Date posted: August 1, 2016

Bishkek (AKIpress) – The Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan said in a statement on July 30 that the Turkish schools linked to Fetullah Gülen, who allegedly led failed coup attempt in Turkey according to the President Erdogan, will remain on the territory of the Central Asian nation.

The statement followed the Friday warning of Turkey’s ambassador to Kazakhstan. The ambassador was speaking after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday warned that followers of the controversial cleric could stage a coup in Kazakhstan’s neighbour Kyrgyzstan.

Ambassador Nevzat Uyanik raised the issue of “Kazakhstani-Turkish schools” believed to be run by foundations loyal to the 75-year-old Gulen’s ideas, saying Ankara does not support them. “These schools have no relationship to Turkey’s official state organs whatsoever,” Uyanik told a news conference in Astana, CNN-Turkey reports.

He called the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey “a warning to other countries,” adding that “we are sure that the relevant bodies will start taking the necessary measures,” apparently referring to Kazakhstan authorities. Cooperation “is not only in the interests of Turkey, these questions touch on the interests of Kazakhstan too,” he said.

“These schools (27) will be working as they used to. Students and parents should not fear that they could close down,” said in the Education Ministry’s statement also reminding that these schools “were established as a result of a bilateral education deal between Kazakhstan and Turkey supported by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and former President of Turkey Turgut Özal.”

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the only two countries in the mostly Turkic-speaking Central Asian region where Gulenist educational institutions still have a significant presence.

Source: AkiPress , August 1, 2016


Related News

Accused Turkish Cleric Assails President on Anniversary of Coup Attempt in WSJ Interview

Fethullah Gulen repeated his declaration that he has never been involved in any coup-plotting. “I never thought that he could go so bad,” said Mr. Gulen, who said that the Turkish president was unleashing mass hysteria inside the country. “Some parts of Turkish society have lost their ability to think.”

Row between Turkish government and Gülen movement heats up with new document

The row between followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement of and the Turkish government took another dimension after a daily revealed Nov. 28 that a decision from the National Security Council (MGK) recommending an action plan against the Gülen movement be signed by the government in 2004.

International community’s Erdoğan problem

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has returned to his agenda of political Islamism since the 2011 elections even though he had rejected it in the past, and he quickly set out to implement his plan to purge the Hizmet movement, a plan he had made long ago.

Two volunteers of Gülen Movement reportedly abducted after released by Azerbaijani Court

According to a report, Turkish citizens Ayhan Seferoğlu and Erdoğan Taylan were detained by Azeri police. However, an Azerbaijani court decided to release them. As their relatives were waiting Seferoğlu and Taylan to be free, they have reportedly been abducted by unidentified persons from the backdoor of the courthouse where they were tried.

Fethullah Gulen condemns the coup attempt in Turkey

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey. Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force.

Suspicious deaths, suicides become common occurrence in post-coup Turkey

The number of people who die in suspicious circumstances after being linked to the July 15 coup attempt has been rising with every passing day, a systematic occurrence that is casting a shadow over official statements pointing to suicide. At least 14 people have reportedly committed suicide. The relatives of most of them claim that the detainees are not the kind of people to commit suicide. Rumours also have it that some of the detainees were killed after being subjected to torture under custody.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Erdoğan’s requests to shut down Turkish schools abroad perceived as patronizing

Arbitrary rule in Turkey

Behind the war over prep schools [in Turkey]

Egyptian professor impressed with Fethullah Gulen

Woman looking after disabled children alone as prosecutor husband under arrest for 270 days

Turkish Physicians heal Somali sufferers

What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News