Keyword: Asia
Rounding up the ISIS collaborators, in Turkey and Kurdistan
As U.S., Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish forces close in on Mosul, there is hope that the military campaign can force ISIS out of Iraqi territory. Of course, there are many questions still unresolved, for example, about how to pick up the pieces in Mosul.
Gulen-Linked Turkish Schools In Kazakhstan Being Renamed
Turkish-Kazakh schools across Kazakhstan are being renamed amid a campaign by Turkey against the exiled Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish-Kazakh schools were co-founded by Gulen’s Hizmet movement and his followers and have been functioning in Kazakhstan since early 1990s.
Turkish intelligence abducts Gülen-linked expats in Malaysia: relatives
With the government praising Malaysia over its alleged deportation of three Turkish citizens due to their links to the Gülen movement, recent tips from relatives stated that they were in fact abducted by Turkish intelligence officers.
Turkish Cultural Night in Philippines
Considering the significance of communication in the foundation of friendship, a Turkish community stage a cultural night to create a platform in reaching out as many Filipinos through undertaking a one-night event. Basically, their purpose was to create a venue where they could gather their Filipino friends to develop camaraderie as well as to improve the ties between the Turkish and the Filipino community in the country.
Islamabad High Court: No plan to close Pak-Turk schools
The government is not going to shut down Pak-Turk schools nor it has received any request from the Turkish government for the transfer of its management to any third party. This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in written comments submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in response to a petition filed by the management of the Pak-Turk schools.
The Turkish Connection: Pak-Turk Schools
The network of [Pak-Turk] of schools came under the media scanner last month, after the Turkish government demanded that Pakistan close down the entire network following the failed army coup to overthrow Turkish President Erdogan. Since then, Erdogan has ordered a ruthless purge and arrest of anyone even suspected of having links with his political rival, Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdogan holds responsible for the coup attempt.
‘Don’t link Thai schools with terrorists’
Thailand’s foreign ministry has cautioned against any rush to link four Thailand-based schools to a terrorist organization just because they have a handful of foreign shareholders. “We have been in touch with the embassy to request legally recognised and reliable evidence. But we have not received any additional information to date,” Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee, said yesterday.
Fil-Turkish gives out beef amid terror threats
Even with reports of terror threats in Davao City, a Filipino-Turkish educational group pursued their beef-sharing event on Monday, September 12, to celebrate peace and unity in the city. “This event crosses religions and cultures, it is for all to celebrate common understanding,” said ICAD Foundation representative Mustafa Gun.
Turkey: Effort to Force Closure of Gülen Schools Falling Flat in Eurasia
The situation in Georgia illustrates the challenge for Turkish diplomats. A few days after the July 15 coup attempt, a translation of a TV interview began circulating that featured Yasin Temizkan, Turkey’s consul in the city of Batumi. In the interview, Temizkan urged the Georgian government to close the local Refaiddin Şahin Friendship School, a private institution considered part of the Gülen network. The justification, Temizkan said, was that the school was “serving terrorist groups.”
Zaman school [in Cambodia] resists call for closure
Zaman school officials and parents yesterday urged the Cambodian government not to shutter the schools as the Turkish Ambassador to Cambodia Ilhan Tug has requested, saying students will ultimately suffer. Officials would also need to consider legal and administrative procedures, and so far, the schools have not violated any Cambodian law or regulation, he said.
India must understand Erdogan’s ideological motives for seeking extradition of Gülenists
Since its inception in India, Hizmet is known for its peace activism, interfaith dialogue and counter-extremism. Operating in the country through interfaith dialogue centres, educational institutions and cultural associations, it is articulating an evolving narrative of peace, pluralism and non-violence based on the spiritual ideas and principles of Gülen’s progressive and dialogic narrative of Sufism, as this research paper also elaborates.
Turkey’s ‘terrorists’ active in India. But who are they really?
Interestingly, Gulen was once an important ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and going by his ideology, comes across as a more moderate figure than Erdogan, who has been pushing an Islamic ideology which has little space for secularism. Till very recently, Erdogan’s policy being criticised for allegedly allowing Turkish territory to be used by terrorists.
Pakistan – Side effects of the coup in Turkey
PakTurk Schools’ Parent-Teacher Association expressed concern that the government may hand over the school management to “a political entity”. The association has demanded of the government not to make an unwise political move, and investigate if there is anything wrong with their curriculum. “Turkey is a friendly country and we respect its democracy. But we should consider the future of 11,000 students of these schools,” the association expresses.
Turkish NGO in Cambodia Denies Links to Terror
The Mekong Dialogue Institute (MDI), a Turkish NGO based in Phnom Penh, on Monday denied any links to terrorism, although the organization was inspired by Fethullah Gulen, the man accused by the Turkish government of being behind last month’s failed coup in Turkey.
