Legal experts discussed Erdogan’s eligibility to serve as president, because of questions about his college education. Other have questioned the fairness of the elections and there are allegations of electoral fraud. But aside from this, if the Turkish people elect a shepherd as their leader, I respect their choice. But personally I don’t see Erdogan is fit to be president.
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.
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.”
In Kenya, where Gulen’s Omeriye Foundation has grown from its first school in 1998 in the vast Nairobi slum of Kibera to a nationwide network of academies, the government has resisted pressure to close them down. Turkish officials have requested Kenya to shut down the Gulenist schools on a number of occasions before the attempted coup.
State Secretary Pramono Anung acknowledged Ankara’s statement on the affiliation of schools in Indonesia with the coup masterminds, but also said there was never any formal request from Turkey to shut down the school. Pramono indicated the government’s concern about Turkey interfering in domestic affairs.
Indonesia rejects any intervention with the country’s internal affairs including over alleged links of a number of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools with Fethullah Gulen, a popular imam, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a recent failed coup attempt. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said here on Friday Indonesia is a democratic country that consistently adopts active and independent policy.
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.
On the other side, there is one very important thing that Indonesia must avoid. The Turkish government has been inching ever closer to becoming an Islamist nation, abandoning its secularity that has acted as the foundation of modern Turkey until now. The government’s power is also getting increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“The Honorable Gulen’s books attract great attention. Now we have realized what a great idea it was to translate his books into Indonesian. His “Questions and Answers” and “The Messenger of God: Muhammad” have sold out. These two have been among best sellers anyway.
Kimse Yok Mu Foundation gave away Eid al-Adha meat to the needy in Venezuela’s largest slum, Petare, in the capital Caracas. The foundation’s volunteers who reached out to over 3,500 families were well received by the inhabitants. Malian Ministers attended the Eid al-Adha aid event co-organized by Kimse Yok Mu Foundation and the local Malian-Turkish Horizon Schools.