News
Turkish schools in US select Olympiad finalists
Many countries that are home to Turkish schools have been holding language and culture festivals this month to select the students who will compete in the 12th Turkish Olympiads in June, with one such event recently being held in the US state of Virginia.
Current defamation campaign against Hizmet was part of Ergenekon scheme
A major campaign launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and media organs to defame and discredit the Hizmet movement was among the plans of the Ergenekon network, which once attempted a coup d’état against the AK Party.
Opposition, diplomats slam gov’t attempt to shut down Turkish schools
The government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools abroad which are affiliated with the Hizmet movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, have been severely criticized by opposition members and diplomats.
Gov’t pressure to shut down Turkish schools sparks outcry
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by the teachings of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, have sparked an outcry among opposition figures and diplomats, who criticize the government for “abusing education because of personal hostility.”
Cyber attacks on news websites threaten freedom of press, expression
Starting mid-February, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has been severely penalizing a number of news TV channels known for their anti-government broadcasts. Those channels, which include Samanyolu Haber TV and Bugün TV, were mostly penalized on the grounds that their programs were biased. The channels have been broadcasting reports about claims of corruption and bribery that have implicated some government members.
Samanyolu news faces cyber attack from abroad
On Thursday night Samanyolu Haber TV news channel was the latest to face a cyber attack, as readers have at times also recently been unable to access the websites of the dailies Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Taraf, as well as the Cihan news agency, particularly since the night of the local elections on March 30.
Zaman reporter says won’t leave her job on PM’s orders
Zaman correspondent Tuğba Mezararkalı, who was told by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to change her job and leave the Zaman daily during a press conference held on Friday, has said Erdoğan is clearly intervening in freedom of the press, stating she did not begin her job in Zaman, where she has been working for four years, on the prime minister’s orders and would not leave her job on his orders as well.
Daily Sabah rehashes decades-old, refuted claims against Gülen
In what is seen as a smear campaign against Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the pro-Erdoğan English-language Daily Sabah has rehashed old and refuted claims that Gülen is somehow linked to a 2006 attack on the Turkish Council of State by Alparslan Arslan, a lawyer who carried out the armed assault.
