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Turkey Passes Law To Shut Down Schools Run By Erdogan Arch Rival Fet

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  • Turkey Passes Law To Shut Down Schools Run By Erdogan Arch Rival Fet

    TURKEY PASSES LAW TO SHUT DOWN SCHOOLS RUN BY ERDOGAN ARCH RIVAL FETHULLAH GULEN

    March 1, 2014

    AFP - Turkey's parliament has passed a bill to close down thousands
    of private schools, many of which are run by an influential Muslim
    cleric embroiled in a bitter feud with the government.

    In a late-night session on Friday, lawmakers in the 550-seat house
    voted 226 for and 22 against the bill which sets 1 September, 2015
    as the deadline to shut down the network of schools.

    The row between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his former
    ally, cleric Fethullah Gulen, erupted in November when government
    first floated the idea of shutting down the schools, a major source
    of income for Gulen's Hizmet movement.

    In December a corruption scandal erupted in which dozens of Erdogan's
    allies were detained in police raids on allegations of bribery in
    construction projects, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran.

    Erdogan accused so-called Gulenists implanted in Turkey's police
    and judiciary of being behind the graft probe in a bid to undermine
    his government.

    He retaliated by sacking hundreds of police and prosecutors believed
    to be linked to the movement run by Gulen, who lives in self-imposed
    exile in the United States.

    The corruption crisis, which dragged down four ministers and prompted a
    cabinet shake-up, has rattled the feathers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted
    government ahead of a highly-charged election year beginning with
    key local polls in March.

    Government has also accused Gulenists of wiretapping thousands of
    influential people - including the prime minister, the spy chief
    and journalists.

    The schools law comes on the heels of several other measures driven by
    Erdogan's government, which has pushed through legislation tightening
    state control over the Internet and the judiciary, generating criticism
    at home and abroad and raising questions about the state of democracy
    in Turkey.

    Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999 to escape
    charges of plotting against the secular state by the then-government,
    has denied any involvement in the corruption probe.

    Gulen's Hizmet (Service) movement - which describes itself as a global,
    social and cultural movement inspired by Islamic ideals - is active
    in education with around 4,000 private schools in Turkey as well as
    more than 500 around the world, mostly in the United States of America.

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