Keyword: Democracy
AK Party vs. Cemaat?
Ali Ünal Of the many seemingly true claims that have been put forward in regards to the discussions that have come about surrounding the Turkish government’s attempt to close down exam prep-courses, some arguments bear good intentions while others call the Hizmet Movement to “keep quiet” with arguments that lie far from the truth. One […]
Terrorist organization seeks to fill void in Southeast after closure of prep schools
Terrorist organizations are getting ready to fill the void in the education system in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated Southeast following the government’s decision to shut down prep schools and study centers, the Bugün daily said on Monday. “The [terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party] PKK is increasing the number of Education Support Houses [EDEV] in the eastern and southeastern […]
Arbitrary rule in Turkey
ABDULLAH BOZKURT On Nov. 18, in a Cabinet meeting that lasted more than seven hours, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the ban on private prep schools with his ministers for almost four hours. The meeting came only four days after the draft bill on the ban was leaked to Turkey’s largest circulated paper Zaman. […]
Turkish Deputy PM rules out ‘ill will’ against Gülen community, unveils prep school draft details
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has announced September 2015 as the deadline for the “transformation” of private examination prep schools (dershanes) into private schools, while denying that the move represents hostility toward the “Hizmet” (Service) movement of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Speaking after a 7.5-hour-long Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2, Arınç also announced January 2014 […]
Education Ministry sought to profile students, teachers through surveys
A new document obtained by Today’s Zaman suggests that the Education Ministry sought in 2012 to profile students and teachers at some prep schools based on their religious and ideological backgrounds through questionnaires handed out to students at state schools. According to the document, the ministry ordered inspectors to visit state schools across the country […]
Government [in Turkey] replaces military in defamation tactics
LALE KEMAL A Turkish daily’s publication last week of a secret document dated to August, 2004 has sent shock waves through Turkish politics, which is becoming increasingly polarized ahead of the three elections Turkey will undergo before 2015. The secret document in question, published by the liberal Taraf daily, was about the once-infamous National Security […]
Erdoğan now at odds with once-closest ally
Those who have an interest in Turkish politics may have been a little confused for the last few weeks, observing the row between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government and the social movement of religious scholar Fethullah Gülen, or the “Hizmet” (Service) movement as they preferred to be called. The row is over the closure of private prep schools (“dershane” in Turkish).
KCK, Gülen, AKP: shifting alliances?
MUSTAFA GÜRBÜZ Regarding the heated prep school debate, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Ardahan Deputy Orhan Atalay explicitly spelled out the AKP- Gülen tension: “Just as the KCK [the Kurdistan Communities Union, an umbrella organization that contains the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)] is a parallel structure within the state; prep schools have become the same […]
The AKP, Gülen and Feb. 28 coup
İHSAN YILMAZ The Taraf daily uncovered a secret national security document which revealed that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2004 signed on to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet (Gülen) movement. As Today’s Zaman reported on Thursday: “The Taraf daily published a document on Thursday prepared by the National Security Council [MGK] […]
When paths part…
ORHAN MİROĞLU The Hizmet movement and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) have arrived at a critical junction in the road. The main problems that have emerged on the route towards this critical junction are of course not limited to the debates and disagreements surrounding the question of the closure of the prep schools. […]
Should I not respond to those who want to strangle me?
HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE The move to close down prep schools is getting complicated. Things are going out of hand, and the discussions over this serious education issue are becoming less serious and more irrelevant. A Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy who is also a member of the education commission made a horrible remark comparing […]
Row between Turkish government and Gülen movement heats up with new document
The row between followers of the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement of and the Turkish government took another dimension after a daily revealed Nov. 28 that a decision from the National Security Council (MGK) recommending an action plan against the Gülen movement be signed by the government in 2004.
Turkey’s Plans to Abolish Private Tutoring Centers Arrests Free Enterprise and Democracy
NEW YORK The Alliance for Shared Values considers Turkish government’s proposal to abolish fee-based private preparatory courses for admission exams and free private tutoring centers as government overreach and categorically opposes it. This unprecedented action: 1. Contradicts core principles of free enterprise and democracy: All major stakeholders from across the political spectrum have expressed opposition […]
Questions for the government regarding prep school closure
BÜLENT KENEŞ What we have concluded after discussing the government’s plan to shut down prep schools for the past 12 days is that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is resolved to proceed with the plan. In this process we have understood that no argument about prep schools’ contributions to education, pedagogy, the principle of equal […]
