Tension has risen not only in Parliament but also in public squares. Deputies will apparently have to work for at least another full week.
Parliamentary commissions have recently worked weekends too. Yesterday [on Saturday], deputies discussed two bills, one on shutting down the prep schools [dershanes] and the other on [expanding the powers of ] the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Both bills are controversial. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) plans to shut down the prep schools instead of finding a solution for the problem [the need to improve public schools]. Prep schools do not appear to be the real issue here. The education bill is just a message to a specific audience. It turned out to be the first step in the destruction of the Hizmet movement [inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen]. The new bill [on dershanes] is not limited to prep schools. It aims to almost “reestablish” the Ministry of Education [by reassigning thousands of officials].
Turkey removes evidence of torture, maltreatment in prisons ahead of ‘Committee for the Prevention of Torture’ visit
The National Police Department warned all its personnel to obey international rules of detention and to stop using unofficial detention centers days before a delegation from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was to pay a visit to Turkey in order to ascertain if people in custody are subject to any maltreatment, according to an anonymous tip received by Turkey Purge.
Gülen’s lawyer refutes Erdoğan’s claims as baseless
Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has denied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s accusations against his client, saying the president has misrepresented the claims included in a recently unveiled indictment on a bugging scandal.
Parents Reject Decision to Shut Down Gülen-inspired Schools in Morocco
Zouhir Mohammed Kadour, the Director of the Mohammed Al-Fatih School, said, “We are shocked by the announcement of the Interior Ministry […] We’ve worked for the Al-Fatih School Group for 22 years. We followed the Moroccan curriculum, the Moroccan Ministry of Education program, and the school staff is Moroccan.”
EU report expresses concern about purge against Gülen movement
The progress report on Turkey that was issued on Wednesday by the European Commission expressed concern over the Turkish government’s purge against Gülen movement members, saying “any allegation of wrongdoing needs to be examined with due process, transparent procedures, and the right of every individual to a fair trial or equitable administrative process should be safeguarded.”
Something rotten within the government?
It stinks. This is the bluntest description of what the graft probe has revealed so far… So, regardless of the view of the issue as “Erdoğan vs the Hizmet movement,” it boils down to a battle between moral and immoral, clean and dirty, which is the real story of Turkey in the past 12 years. It was not the Hizmet movement, nor liberals, nor other reformists that brought the AKP to power; it was the average people of Turkey.
Astana says Gulen-linked schools to remain
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.
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