
But while U.S. agency spokesmen are trying to be cautious in what they say, skepticism about Turkey’s claims that Gulen directed the plot are widespread in Washington. Last week, in comments that likely burned a few ears in Ankara, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told The Washington Post that he did not believe Turkey had yet offered enough proof to implicate Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania’s Poconos region for years.

Business people associated with exiled opposition leader Fethullah Gülen, or accused of supporting him, have filed official police complaints, the Parool newspaper reported. The Dutch government last week called for Dutch Turks who had been targeted to contact the police.

An analyst Dosmir Uzbekov believes that the closure of a wide network of schools and high schools “Sebat” will cause outrage among the population. “My son has graduated from Turkish lyceum, and I am very pleased with the education he received there. “Sebat” has become an inherent part of the education system of Kyrgyzstan.

Parties in the Tweede Kamer – the lower house of Dutch parliament – are furious about statements the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands made pressuring the Dutch government to help hunt down supporters of the Gulen-movement. Numerous parliamentarians expressed their annoyance to NU.nl.

Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch calls on Turkish-Dutch organisations to speak out about violence and intimidation and to build bridges instead. There’s a silence and it’s hurting my ears. It’s the silence that surrounds the violence against the Gülen supporters. What happened to the organisations normally so quick to ask for protection against intolerance? Where are […]

RODOLFO TOE Row over schools operated by alleged Turkish coup leader could spark new conflicts and aggravate divisions in Bosnia according to experts. A feud between Bosnian schools connected to Fethullah Gulen, alleged leader of the recent Turkish coup, and Turkish authorities in Ankara could exacerbate rifts within Bosnia, an international relations expert told BIRN. […]

On July 15 in Istanbul, Turkey, soldiers closed the two bridges across the Bosphorus, the first indication that elements of the army were planning to remove the government of President Recip Tayyip Erdogan. In Ankara, the national capital, other soldiers took control of television stations and shelled the parliament building. President Erdogan had to use […]

The municipality of Deventer will be placing surveillance cameras at the building of Turkish foundation Gouden Generatie on Tuesday. The building was set aflame on Saturday. Until the new cameras are in place, police surveillance will be intensified around the building, a spokesperson for the municipality said to RTL Nieuws.

Two students wearing red long-sleeve shirts combined with checkered skirts were chatting fluently in English while playing at the grounds of Kharisma Bangsa Bilingual boarding school on Tuesday afternoon. Meters away, in a guest room within the school’s lobby, a parent was speaking with a Turkish teacher.

In the eyes of the government of Turkey, where Gülen is from, the sprawling building immaculately cast in the bright colors of the red Kyrgyz flag is little short of an incubator of terrorism and plots to subvert the state. Ankara’s antagonism to Gülen’s international influence has deep roots, and the Turkish government’s attempt to link the educator with the recent failed coup is intensifying that animosity. But Kyrgyzstan, which is host to at least a dozen Gülen-linked schools and one university, is holding its ground — up to a point.

The dilemma for the Pakistani government is stark. Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim has warned that Turkey would be at war with any country that cooperates or aids the Gulen movement. Yet closing down schools that prepare their students for a modern society and economy is something Pakistan’s deeply troubled education sector can ill afford.

Erdogan’s propaganda channels and instruments have been referring to Hizmet as the “Gülenist Terror Organisation” for years and over the past months, this full-fledged criminalisation campaign has often seen relations between the Hizmet network and the Catholic Church – including the Vatican – being dragged into it. This has primarily been witnessed in the most staunchly nationalist press channels.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the expected move to close Pak-Turk schools across the country.
“We stand firmly by Turkish democracy but closure of Pak-Turk schools in Pakistan, which has a high illiteracy rate, could be disastrous for the country,” he said.