Totalitarian interference in individual sphere

Orhan Kemal Cengiz
Orhan Kemal Cengiz


Date posted: November 21, 2013

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

The state is a mighty institution. If certain limitations are not in place, it invariably crushes individuals and their freedoms. If there are widespread extra judicial killings and torture, you cannot even dare to defend your most basic rights. If you do not have freedom of expression, you cannot protect your rights. If you cannot unite with others and organize, your voice will remain weak.

If you do not have property rights, you will be prone to interference by the state. If you do not have religious institutions in which the state cannot interfere, you will not find a haven in difficult times. When any of these safeguards start to weaken, the others will also be shaken. Power is like water; it will fill whatever gap it finds.

The government is making dramatic moves these days. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that the government will interfere in mixed-gender student housing because it finds this kind of coexistence contrary to its conservative values. This kind of interference by the state in an individual’s private life can only happen in totalitarian regimes.

Now, the prime minister is talking about closing the prep schools in which students enroll to get additional education and be more successful on university entrance examinations. When you listen to Prime Minister Erdoğan, he makes some arguments in this regard: The prep schools create a disadvantage for some, they are expensive and so on. But his whole argument is just a blur of some basic facts. These prep schools are only open to individuals who choose to enroll in them. No one is forced to register with these institutions. If state officials do not like these kinds of institutions, then they can pursue some public policies that would make them less attractive to people. For example, they could change the university entrance exam system so that people may need less external help provided by prep schools and others.

However, Prime Minister Erdoğan is not talking about changing the university entrance examination system or anything like that. He is simply talking about closing down prep schools, which is unmistakably totalitarian interference in the choices of individuals. And, if you ask me, with this move, the government will grossly violate some basic rights. It is interference in free enterprise. People can invest in whatever field they wish, so long as it is not in violation of any laws. By closing these business institutions, the government would also be interfering in labor rights because a lot of people will lose their jobs. Closing down prep schools is a clear violation of the right to education, which includes an individual’s right to receive whatever training or education he or she wishes to receive.

Everyone knows that Erdoğan is taking these steps for a single purpose: He wants to weaken the Gülen movement, which generates serious revenue from operating prep schools across the country. He wants to punish the Gülen movement, and so he wants to cut off one of its financial resources. Some people may like Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen; others may be irritated by him and his movement. A politician may be irritated by a religious figure or sect, and this politician could be prime minister of this country. However, if a prime minister decides to punish a religious movement, and if he tries to deliver this punishment by taking away some of its financial means, then this is a clear threat to democracy.

Therefore, closing down prep schools is not a simple policy measure in the field of education but a serious threat to democracy and a pluralist society.

I hope it will not happen.

Source: Today's Zaman , November 21, 2013


Related News

GYV organized peace conference at United Nation

Speaking at the conference, GYV Secretary-General Hüseyin Hurmalı said that the GYV has been working voluntarily both in the US and across the globe to establish peace and dialogue. “We have tried to eliminate prejudices and wrong ideas about Turkey, we know that it is important for Turkey to enter into a process of peace and development,” Hurmalı added.

Central bank data disprove interior minister’s rigging claims

Ala’s remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to Bank Asya, a participation bank affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which the government has tried to scapegoat through conspiracy theories to evade corruption allegations. Some news stories broke soon after Ala’s claims, reporting that Bank Asya’s accounts were being scrutinized for misconduct.

Erdoğan says personally pursuing fight against ‘parallel structure’

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan acknowledged during a speech on Tuesday that he has personally been pursuing a “fight” against the so-called “parallel structure,” adding that his administration is ready to cooperate with district governors to “clear” its members from state bureaucracy.

ICG report praises reformist role Hizmet plays in [Kurdish] settlement process

A recent report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG) on Turkey’s efforts to address the Kurdish issue has praised the positive role the faith-based Hizmet movement plays in the settlement process. The report, titled “Crying Wolf: Why Turkish Fears Need Not Block Kurdish Reform,” released on Monday.

Yamanlar College student wins gold medal in int’l computer project competition

Mustafa Ege Şeker, a student of Yamanlar College in İzmir, has won a gold medal with a computer project he made for the 14th InfoMatrix International Computer Project Competition.

Government purges police officers who exposed massive corruption

Since the corruption and bribery investigation into businessmen and senior government officials, including four then-ministers, went public on Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013, thousands of police officers have been removed from their posts and reassigned to other positions because of alleged links to the Hizmet movement.

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

Deputy denies telling daily Star of Hizmet plot against him

Gülen’s lawyer denies Turkish schools working against host nations

Woman detained along with 40-day-old baby while visiting jailed husband

Don’t lose the plot

TUSKON says systematic campaign of defamation is under way

U.S. schools are indirectly linked to preacher, often well-regarded

Gülen Movement: An Alternative to Fundamentalism

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News