News
Islamabad High Court moved against expected closure of Turkish schools
The Islamabad High Court yesterday issued notices to ministries of foreign affairs and interior in a petition moved against any possible step of the government to close down the schools being run by Pak-Turk Education Foundation.
Pak-Turk schools issue: Foundation moves court for fear of closure
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the deputy attorney general to seek instructions from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Pak-Turk Education Foundation moved the IHC against the possible closure of the network by the government, on Wednesday.
Minister says Pak-Turk schools won’t be closed down
Karachi—Sindh Education minister Jam Mehtab Dhahar has assured a Turkish team Tuesday that Pak-Turkish schools will not be closed down in Sindh or anywhere in Pakistan. They gave the assurance to the visiting Turkish team during meeting in Karachi, with the Turkish officials, here on a tour.
Inside the rural Pa. compound where an influential Muslim cleric lives in exile
It was July 15. And what was happening, they soon learned, was a military coup. Gulen, who suffers from diabetes and heart disease, was distraught, Simsek said. Realizing “we couldn’t really do anything,” Simsek said, the group began to pray, loudly and together. Several wept. They didn’t stop praying until early the next morning.
Greater Jakarta: Students, parents protest Embassy’s statement
Students and parents at the Turkish-affiliated Pribadi Bilingual boarding school in Depok, West Java, have filed objections over a recent statement from the Turkish Embassy in Jakarta that referred to the school as having links with a terrorist organization.
Turkey: Detained higher education professionals at risk of torture
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about sweeping actions against Turkey’s higher education sector, including most recently prolonged incommunicado detention and related risks of torture and ill-treatment of hundreds of higher education professionals, in violation of Turkey’s obligations under domestic and international law.
Free speech groups condemn Turkey’s closure of 29 publishers after failed coup
Jo Glanville, director of English PEN, said: “The coup posed a serious threat to the Turkish state, but the closing down of publishers, alongside the mass sackings, detentions, arrests and allegations of torture, will have a grave impact on democracy. The crackdown on freedom of expression was already a continuing concern. The coup now appears to be an opportunity for Erdoğan to purge Turkey of his opponents.
Sweden delays sending back Erdogan dissenters
Asylum seekers with ties to the opposition from last month’s failed coup attempt in Turkey will not be sent back to the nation by Sweden until further notice, the Swedish Migration Agency has decided. People who have taken part in “credible political opposition” are also part of the risk group, the Migration Agency writes on its website.
The Scale of Turkey’s Purge Is Nearly Unprecedented
Only rarely in modern history has a leader detained and fired as many perceived adversaries as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has since a failed coup attempt last month. Here is how Mr. Erdogan’s vast purge would look if Americans were targeted at a similar scale.
Indonesian students in Turkey at risk of Gulen purge
Some 300 Indonesian students in Turkey are seen at risk of losing their education stipends as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tightens his grip on national security following the failed coup attempt in mid-July. Meanwhile, PDI-P lawmaker Charles Honoris said there was no need for the government to heed Erdoğan’s call to close down nine Gülen-affiliated schools in Indonesia, dismissing the Turkish President’s advances as “paranoia.”
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.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Reject Turkish Calls to Close Gülen Schools
Kazakh authorities said the Gülen schools would remain open. In a statement, the Education Ministry said “These schools (27) will be working as they used to.” The schools were established through a bilateral deal signed by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev and then-Turkish President Turgut Özal shortly after independence, according to Akipress. Both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are remaining firm that they will not bend to Ankara’s will on this issue.
Which is the bigger threat, Turkey’s coup or Erdogan’s response?
Erdogan’s counter-coup may do more to change Turkish politics than the coup plotters ever sought, completing the country’s transformation from secular democracy to what’s fast becoming the new favorite government for aspiring dictators — one where the media is strictly controlled, conformity is entrenched through the schools, elections bring little change, and presidents can rule for life.
Kyrgyz President Atambayev: Ankara should not threaten us with coup
If someone wants to help Kyrgyzstan, this help should be unconditional, the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev said. “If you set some conditions; then, please, do not help us at all. We are not dictated anything… Do not tell us what we should do. We do not need such aid; then, take it away,” the president added.
