Cambodia’s Zaman Institutes Get Big-Name Backing


Date posted: January 19, 2017

Ben Paviour

A couple with close ties to the prime minister have taken leading roles in Zaman-operated schools in Cambodia, a move likely to weaken the position of Turkish authorities who want the schools shut down for their alleged links to “terrorism.”

In the months following a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, Turkish Ambassador Ilhan Kemal Tug called for the Education Ministry to shutter Cambodia’s Zaman University and Zaman International’s kindergarten, primary and secondary school campuses, claiming they were managed by the same organization that plotted the failed overthrow.

However, in a meeting with students, staff and board members on Saturday, the school—whose pupils include the children of senior government officials—announced that a power couple would be taking over operations, according to an announcement posted to Zaman University’s Facebook page this week.

Chea Sophakanny, daughter of Land Minister Chea So­phara, is now chairwoman of the company and its largest shareholder, according to the post, while her husband Eang Sophalleth, a personal adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen, is its honorary chairman.

Mr. Sophalleth said on Thursday that he and his wife had been investors in the school for 10 to 15 years, but had previously taken a backseat role in its operations.

“But now, we decided to get involved,” he said, citing growing competition and Cambodia’s need for better human resource training.

“Whatever is involved with the [Turkish] Embassy, we don’t care,” he added.

“We follow the rules. We follow the law. We are fine,” Mr. Sophalleth said.

A Zaman official, who declined to be named as a matter of policy, said that Ms. Sophakanny had owned many of the school’s buildings since its 2005 founding and that the couple’s active management would help “expand our activities and investments in the future.”

Mr. Tug, the Turkish ambassador, was traveling outside the country on Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

 

Source: The Cambodia Daily , January 20, 2017

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Arab Students in Turkey Facing Arbitrary Arrest

Arab students who have previously studied at universities considered by Turkish security forces to have been influenced by the U.S-based cleric Fethullah Gülen are being arrested and threatened with deportation by police. Many such students have already been deported.

Indonesia rejects intervention over schools’ alleged links with Gulen

Indonesia rejects any intervention with the country’s internal affairs including over alleged links of a number of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools with Fethullah Gulen, a popular imam, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a recent failed coup attempt. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said here on Friday Indonesia is a democratic country that consistently adopts active and independent policy.

Azerbaijan’s Turkish Schools celebrates 20th anniversary

Gulistan Palace in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku witnessed an exciting ceremony for the 20th anniversary of Turkish schools. A conference entitled “Contemporary Azerbaijan and Çağ Schools” was held as part of the celebration. The Secretaries of Education, Transportation and Social Security of Azerbaijan, congressmen, and presidents of several universities attended the conference. In his speech, Dr. […]

US assures private schools are under legal protection against closure

Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) Executive Director Mark Gibb has said no one, not even President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has the authority to close down Turkish schools in the US in response to the Turkish government’s bid to close down schools opened by entrepreneurs affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement, which is also known as the Hizmet movement.

2-month-old denied breast milk for 17 days while under detention with mother

Put under detention with his mother at Ankara’s Sincan Prison, a two-month-old newborn had been denied access to breast milk for 17 days.

Turkish government defiant as battle over prep schools rises

Both the government and the Gülen movement have raised the stakes in the debate over a plan to regulate private prep schools, or dershanes. The tension recently peaked, with Erdoğan describing the group’s objection to his government’s plans as a “smear campaign.” Ekrem Dumanlı, editor-in-chief of daily Zaman, which is known for its close ties with the Gülen movement, wrote an open letter to Erdoğan and urged him to review his decision.

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

What else should Gülen say?

Turkey to bid farewell to rule of law if president approves HSYK law

Imam who lives in rural Pennsylvania arouses praise, concerns

Government media runs riot in smear campaign against Hizmet

Albanian president to Erdoğan: Turkish schools pose no threat

Dismissed top editor of Zaman: We made a mistake by not objecting to the imprisonment of journalists

Monday Talk with Alp Aslandogan on Gulen Movement and Recent Coup Attempt in Turkey

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News